Queenager Careers: February Noon Jobs Board - don't despair, help is at hand!
Our monthly newsletter which helps women like you get back to work
Rather serious shot of me - off to spread the word at a big corporate about why they need to employ more older workers! The theme of this year’s Internatioanl women’s Day is Inspire Inclusion, but age is always the bit that gets forgotten!
Dear Queenagers,
Hope you are all well on this gloomy February day - it is pouring with rain here in London - not exactly weather to inspire optimism. But if you are looking for a job at 45 plus you probably already know it can be tricky. I have a great friend going for an interview this morning, I’ve just been chatting to her so the reality of this kind of job search is very much in my mind. The article I wrote earlier this year about being made redundant at 49 and feeling like I had died has had over 50k hits on LinkedIn and hundreds of comments, all from Queenagers who have been through something similar. So I know there are lots of you out there studiously raking through jobs sites every morning, filling out online forms and never hearing anything back! I’ve been there. When I applied for a few online jobs before I set up Noon I never heard back from anyone!
The good news is that more and more companies are realising that we are facing a massive talent squeeze as demographics change. The population is ageing. Research from 55 Redefined which supports our Noon Jobs Board (check it out today) finds that by 2050, the working age population (16-64) will have shrunk in Western countries by 21-28% leaving a shortfall of over 50 million skilled, university-educated employees. To fill that gap, employers will need to hire and retain older workers. And in our Noon research we found that women 45 plus value flexibility 16 times more than status (20% of Queenagers are caring for a family member for between 9 and 50 hours a week - the intersectionality of this is huge with Pakistani and Bangladeshi women overwhelmingly caring for relatives). According to the Centre for Ageing Better, men do less than half of this kind of elder-care which is perhaps why 25% more women than men cite flexibility as crucial!
So this month we are featuring two employers who understand the Queenager job landscape and who are actively seeking experienced women.
Specsavers have a joint venture partnership opportunity for career changers who want to start a business and avoid the risks of starting up on their own. Specsavers are seeking people with life experience who can become an audiology business owner (and there's no audiology experience needed). LINK HERE
The other employer is
EE
EE are offering flexible roles in their stores in London and Manchester areas, open to older workers who can talk all things internet to their customers - whose average age is 52. You do not need to be a wizz at technology and there's no there's no jumping through hoops online. The process is just a simple form fill and you get an email and a phone call right away to assess your suitability. Job description HERE. One Queenager who just got applie for a job with EE says:
“I came across the ad being advertised somewhere on social media. After checking the ad/agency was legitimate, I decided to give it a go. I filled in the form and the following day I received a reply from the recruiter ... and have spoken to them over the phone today and I am going to attend their Retail Experience day. So it's thumbs up from me. (Suzanne T.)”
And of course there are lots of other jobs on the Noon Jobs Board
Good luck!
Eleanor