Searching for Jobs for Seniors

written by: Jim Imorde

Now that you know what career you want to pursue and have your resume updated along with a generic cover letter, you are ready for the next step - searching for jobs for retirees. There are many search sites available to you for this effort. Most of them are not specific to seniors but I still found most of them to be very helpful.

Each of the sites provides you with items to choose from, including keywords, location, and categories of industries. Of course, the better you define your area, the more focused you can be on choosing the job that might be right for you. Once you find a specific job that you may be interested in, you usually have the ability to click on it and get full details on it. If interested at that time, you can then click on the Apply button.

When you get to the application screen, most of the search sites have the same basic format. They will usually allow you to post your existing resume utilizing your browser. Once you do this, you will need to look over the text since many times the wrapping isn't exactly what you want in the field they provide. What I did to handle this problem was to create a template. The first time I posted my resume, I fixed it to fit the field they provided, then I copied and pasted the end result to a separate file that I labeled as my posting resume file and then used that version for all future postings. Most of the time this worked like a charm.

The cover letter section of the application does vary from application to application. I believe that the cover letter is a very important part of what you submit to the recruiter for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is usually the first thing the recruiter sees and it should contain the reasons why this job is a perfect fit for both you and the company. You should tweak your generic cover letter to fit the specific job you are addressing at the time. Now, from time to time, I also found that the cover letter is not always asked for so if you have a point you need to make, you may have to find another way of doing that.

Now we get to the search engines themselves. Here are a few of the sites that are available to you that are specific to jobs for retirees.

• Workforce50.com - This site is specific for jobs for seniors. It provides a good deal of useful information for seniors. You can also search by specific states for jobs in your area where the recruiter is targeting seniors for jobs. One note here is that this listing by state is rather short right now due to the financial climate, but hopefully this will improve shortly.
• Beyond.com - This site targets specific community niches
• Retirementjobs.com - - Here's another site supported by age friendly employers
• Dinosaur-exchange.com - This is an international site that also assists in finding jobs for seniors

Here are a few of the other sites that are not specifically related to jobs for seniors but contain the bulk of what is available out there in the job market.

• Careerbuilder.com
• Monster.com
• Jobsearch.usajobs.gov -Provides list of government jobs by state
• Job.com
• Dice.com - Provides listing of tech jobs
• LinkedIn.com - A site for professionals to network with others to perhaps find that right employer
  

I have one final point to make now. As you submit for various jobs, make sure you save or print the application, as well as, the cover letter if something specific was stated for this job, so that when the recruiter calls, you will have the information at hand. Lastly, it ensures you do not duplicate a submittal for the same job and also it is good to have as documentation if you are receiving unemployment compensation.

In the next article, we can discuss what happens when you get that callback from the recruiter.

Article Source: Jobs for Seniors
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