When Experience Counts
Older workers are finding a welcome in the job market
It wasn't age that told Marlies Heitmann it was time to end her career in the travel industry. It was the series of bad news that kept costing her jobs: the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the discontinuation of the Concorde flights, the anti-French sentiment regarding the invasion of Iraq. So at 55, Manhattanite Heitmann retired, after having worked as a manager for Lufthansa, Air France, Ritz Paris, and Orient Express.
Only that retirement didn't stick. "I don't feel at all my age," says Heitmann, now 59 and working as a placement agent with the Randstad USA workforce staffing firm. "I plan to work another 15 to 20 years. I see no reason not to, in addition to needing to financially."
Heitmann is not alone. For reasons of personal fulfillment and financial incentive, many people ages 50 and older--"experienced workers" in human resources jargon--are planning to work well past traditional retirement ages. For many of the more than 70 million members of the baby boom generation, that will mean switching jobs, with some moving on to maximize their pension-plan benefits while others are downsized. The good news: The growing demand for highly skilled employees will enable many people ages 50 and older to take their pick of the right job to bridge their way into full retirement.
According to one AARP report, 68 percent of workers between the ages of 50 and 70 say that they plan to work in some capacity during retirement or never retire at all. "People want and are able to work more," says Roselyn Feinsod of the human resources consulting firm Towers Perrin, who prepared the report for AARP. "And it's really going to challenge companies to rethink what a career means."
Fun on the job. Good health, the desire to remain productive, and enjoying the interaction of working with others are chief among the reasons experienced workers offer as they look to extend their careers. "I'm not the kind of guy who's a couch potato," says Dean McDermott, a fast-talking 50-year-old who has worked as a manager at Premier Automotive, an auto logistics company in Dundalk, Md., for five years. "I'm not looking for the rocking chair." Having worked in management for various companies for 30 years, McDermott--who umpires youth league baseball on the weekends--is looking into starting his own wholesale seafood business. He says previous experience lets him choose work that excites him. "You can go to work, and it doesn't seem like a job," McDermott says. "You can have fun."
Of course, there also are financial reasons for mature workers to remain employed. According to a survey from Putnam Investments, 44 percent of those who return to work in their 70s are still paying off their mortgages. Restrictions on pension benefits often force these employees into the job market. The Internal Revenue Service prohibits employers from paying pension benefits to people who continue to work for the company. And, as those benefits are often based on an employee's salary at the time of retirement, it's often better economically for an experienced worker to leave a company outright than to continue to work in a reduced capacity and at a lower income.
Rising temps. An increasingly attractive option for mature workers is flexible staffing, or "temp work," which could help them maximize their experience and skills without having to commit to long hours in the office. "Companies expect a flexible staffer to hit the ground running," says Genia Spencer of Randstad. "Experienced and mature workers come most equipped to meet these objectives." Temp positions can range in responsibility from basic phone and clerical work to managing projects. And given the predicted shortage of labor, experienced workers could have their choice of positions.
Many experienced workers are aware of this advantage. Maureen McGovern worked in investment banking on Wall Street for decades before deciding to move to her current home in Austin. Now she works as an elementary school substitute teacher and takes temporary jobs working in offices. "The nice part of being older is that you can pick and choose," she says. "Even though my chronological age is 57, I feel like I'm 30."
In fact, some companies are developing employment options intended to cater to the lifestyle choices of mature workers. Home Depot offers a snowbird program that lets employees work at a store in their hometown and then fill a similar position at another store if they travel south for the winter. Borders and CVS offer similar positions. AARP each year compiles a list of the "Best Employers for Workers Over 50" (visible after clicking on "Alternative Work Arrangements" at aarp.org/money/careers/flexiblework). The organization also has a featured-employer program, in which it has partnered with more than 20 employers to place mature workers in jobs ( aarp.org/careers).
Career advisers recommend that mature workers emphasize actual skills and abilities in resumes and interviews, instead of job titles or years of experience. And, like all job searchers, mature workers are advised to be familiar with the particular goals and methods of the companies to which they are applying.
The increasing power of the aging baby boom generation on the workforce hasn't yet removed all barriers. Age discrimination still has its effects. Heitmann, who walks miles to work every day and swims on weekends, believes she was denied some jobs because of her age. "I never experienced it in the travel industry, because people knew me," she says. "But once I left that [industry], it was eye-opening." She tried "watering down" her resume but found that didn't work. Eventually, she got her job with a temp agency, where she now sometimes helps place other mature workers in positions. "Once you've been in a situation, it helps you put a better spin on things," she says.
This story appears in the March 20, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.