The 405 Club

Ed. note: Welcome to the new installment of“Notes from A One Stop,” a social commentary documenting The Job Enthusiast’s experiences as a One Stop Career Counselor. In this article she tackles the prevalent issue of Ageism. Enjoy.

“Cut Back: Facing Ageism,” is a short documentary made by a mature woman, Patricia Sahertian, 55, a graphic artist who relocated to Port Jefferson, Long Island and could not find full time work. She became a freelancer and decided to create a documentary to raise awareness of the inner demons a graying workforce faces in becoming reemployed.  Seven dislocated workers from Long Island NY are featured in the film. Each has a compelling angle and some belief or observation about a cruelty in the work world that they must personally overcome and forgive in order to move forward. Each one has been laid off and hurt by the experience.

Very often, those over 50, feel the loss of a job mostly keenly because they fear not being able to obtain a new one. These sentiments in the film are usually held by those who are still in the grief mode after job loss, before their own personal inner recovery and planning a strategy or game plan as to what they will aim for next.

It is possible to find work after 50, despite these very real feelings which must be acknowledged before the next step. This is accomplished in part by defeating ageism from legal aspects, if applicable and one believes one was discriminated against or fired wrongly (hard to prove!) and in changing one’s attitude by staying relevant to the workforce, grooming oneself attractively and fashionably, acquiring basic and advanced PC skills, projecting a dynamic personality and energy level and concentrating on strengths and achievements and how they can be parlayed into either a career change, since more people are not retiring at retirement age, or a comeback into their former fields. Laid back status quo won’t do it.

The purpose of this short documentary is not to give answers but merely to highlight the issues people face and provide commiseration.

-By The Job Enthusiast Who Won’t Rest Till Everyone Is Put To Work!

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