Is it as hard as I've been told? Some of my coworkers who were laid off months ago are still having trouble landing a new job and they are quickly getting discouraged. I refuse to believe the main reason is their age, considering that it comes with some major advantages, mainly the knowledge, know-how, and experience. Should I be worried about the state of the job market for the people in my age group or is this a fluke?
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Makes sense. In the US you don’t get the boot until you’re an ancient 45 years old. Except for executives of course.
Well, the Canadian business really screws older employees, especially finance. Saw a lot more older employees whenever I went to Houston.
In my experience the only practical way to counter ageism is to be overqualified. Just get your foot in the door somewhere, even if the position you take is 1 or 2 steps beneath where you think you should be. Then dazzle them and work your way back up.
This advice assumes you’re leaving the oil industry and changing careers, which normally would be another hindrance to finding gainful employment at 45+, but at present is the only choice you have. If you’re trying to get right back into what you were doing, but with a different operator, it’s a pipe dream. Accept it. Keep your pride and move on. All you can do is shake your head in contempt, but those few job postings out there: the hiring managers are looking for unicorns, they’re testing the market, or they really are not ready to hire.
In my experience, there definitely is ageism and discrimination, regardless of the job or industry for which you’re interviewing. It just means it might take longer to find a fit, but it will happen. Keep at it. All that said, I hope you’re not a technical person looking for a new technical job in oil and gas. You will need much patience and tenacity to land another position in this shrinking industry.
- to add to my previous reply (53 just found new position). I need to add that I am not a geologist or engineer. I make a decent living, but geo's and eng's my age make over twice as much as I do as an IT person. I don't see how these (geo/eng) non-manager salaries are sustainable.
I'm 53 and resigned 2 weeks ago after almost 8 years with COP and started with new a company today. I had lots of interviews. What I contribute to my success is always learning whether that is the business or learning new technologies.
This is a good question. Highly experienced, i.e., older, E&P professionals tend to assume companies covet extensive experience and are willing to pay for that experience. This is rarely true, and you just need to see it from the company's perspective to understand why.
Most job openings today involve unconventional development, which is really just a repetitive, mining operation. It doesn't take long for an less-experienced hire to acquire the necessary skills to do the job, so why pay more for something that isn't needed? Also, each company has their own unique set of best practices and procedures to most effectively "drain the mine." Experienced workers bring new ideas and biases which tend to conflict with the status quo, and are rarely appreciated. Less-experienced hires are lumps of play-doh ready to be molded into whatever the company needs, and later thrown away when they too become "expensive." Sound familiar?
Sadly, we're in an era where drilling longer laterals closer together and pumping more sand into cr-p rock constitutes "creativity." The era of exploring for, and developing real reservoirs is closing, and with it the need for highly experienced staff. Yes, some companies still do this, but those jobs are as common as a four-leaf clover.
Good luck.