Job age discrimination

There are supposed to be employers out there who like mature, experienced legal secretaries and assistants. However, I don't know where these people are hiding out. I am retired, not happy about being bored to death, not happy with the budget, and I am trying to get back into either legal assistant or legal secretarial work. There is no other work so challenging and exciting - also stressful - but I can and did take it for years.

What I am getting on interviews are questions about whether I am afraid of computers or technology. My resume lists multiple computer programs from the time they started using them in offices. Does that look like I'm afraid? I love computer work and really enjoy learning new software programs. If you have older employees who drag their feet on this, then fire them and hire me.

One other thing I will not tolerate with my experience is anyone's request that I take a typing test. It is an insult to me after reading my resume. Do you think I did all those pleadings by the hunt and peck system. Further, I happen to be so fast in my typing that people can't believe it. I took a five minute test years ago and finished the whole page single spaced, got up from my chair, went into the other room and asked them if I should just stop or turn over the sheet of paper. They were astounded and told me to go back and turn the page over and just keep typing. So I did, and got about one-fifth into that page before the bell went off. I have been clocked at 90-100 spm. Typing tests are for someone just out of school or who has never worked in an office before. Don't insult a highly professional person by degrading them that way.

At my age, you get skills, maturity, self-respect and professional dignity. You get honesty and hard work. I don't waste any of your time on my cell phone or checking my e-mails at home. What's wrong with that?

Thank you for listening.

If they want a typing test, then give them one....If they are giving it, then it IS part of the hiring ptocess.

No offense but why don't you leave it to someone who is younger and has a family to support? You are already retired. Get a hobby to fill your time, do something wild if your terribly bored.

Although I am young, I must agree with you. It seems as though looks over rule qualification these days. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

Sarah,

You're an offensive idiot.

There is no such thing as a retired employee in this economy I am a more mature person who lost eight years of my productive years to recover from multiple surgeries. I returned to school and earned a BS in Legal Studies. I am the sole support for my family and if I don't find employment soon will end up homeless. I don't have the years younger people have of riding out the economy. I have had to do that twice. I just want to be considered for employment based on the degree I worked hard to earn and the wealth of experience I accumulated.

Sarah in Owosso, Michigan said: No offense but why don't you leave it to someone who is younger and has a family to support? You are already retired. Get a hobby to fill your time, do something wild if your terribly bored.

Although I am young, I must agree with you. It seems as though looks over rule qualification these days. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

Dear whiteknight: Thanks for the kind words. One person wrote to me and said I was an obnoxious idiot. You also printed the answer from another person who suggested I forget about having a life more or less and let the younger ones take over. That's hard to do in this economy on only SS income. But the other reason is that once you love a career and the clients you deal with, you can't give that up. I was great with clients and I miss that, and they need people who care also.
I certainly hope you find some work soon, but the fact remains that most places want young and cheap and are not willing to pay for years of success, devotion, loyalty, skills, and professional pride. Then they complain when they can't get good help. You are in a terrible state to try to survive on a tight budget, because I hear the cost of living in Florida is horrible and many are moving back up north. However, with $200-plus heating bills up here, that has become unbearable also. All we both can do is keep trying. You went all out to get your professional skills, and you certainly deserve a reward for that. May this new year help get us a real life again.

vh in Ohio

WHITENIGHT: Since you have a Bachelor's degree, go to this website www.teachgrant.ed.gov. Let the government give your $,4000 a year to complete a teacher certification course (a Masters!!!). University of West Florida has an online course for M.ED.

I also have a Bachelor's Degree and have been in the legal field for 25 years - and am unemployed. I took UWF TeacherReady Program, certified in English 6-12. If I can, I'm going to let the government pay for a Masters!!!

Thank you for your valuable advice. I was trying to find a way to mesh the legal with the substitute teaching and this may be it.

vh in Dayton, Ohio said: Dear whiteknight: Thanks for the kind words. One person wrote to me and said I was an obnoxious idiot. You also printed the answer from another person who suggested I forget about having a life more or less and let the younger ones take over. That's hard to do in this economy on only SS income. But the other reason is that once you love a career and the clients you deal with, you can't give that up. I was great with clients and I miss that, and they need people who care also.
I certainly hope you find some work soon, but the fact remains that most places want young and cheap and are not willing to pay for years of success, devotion, loyalty, skills, and professional pride. Then they complain when they can't get good help. You are in a terrible state to try to survive on a tight budget, because I hear the cost of living in Florida is horrible and many are moving back up north. However, with $200-plus heating bills up here, that has become unbearable also. All we both can do is keep trying. You went all out to get your professional skills, and you certainly deserve a reward for that. May this new year help get us a real life again.

vh in Ohio

It's a free country and if someone retired wants to work, then she or he should go for it! If my mom who is retired had the experience and background that you do, I could only commend and support her for wanting to continue to be active and involved at her age.As for any silly infantile person who told you to "leave it to the younger ones" - or the ones who "have a family to support." I'd like to see her eat her words because she will be 50 or 60 one day just like everybody else. Also, those of us who DON'T have a family to support we should all give up our jobs to those that have kids? Her comments are the stupidest thing I have read on any of these forums AS OF YET.

Thanks for your very kind comments, Grant013 of New York. There is nothing wrong with my brain, and I'm still working on getting more legal work. Am doing about 15 hours a month right now but could easily do 40-plus in my home. I really don't want to fully retire until I'm 90. It's so easy for attorneys to just mail me their dictation tapes and I do their work in my home and e-mail the work back. Also, I'm interested in doing interrogatories and productions of documents for them and medical reviews. I refuse to waste over 35 years of skills, and the letters are going out this month to several. However, doing work at home this way means I can work for someone in any state. I tried that once but got too many freaky replies so stopped that. Let's both hope for a great 2009. Thanks again. V. Hester

What kind of an agency did you go to? No one tests typing speed with paper! I have extreme doubts about the "legitimacy" of your complaints. Instead, I sense a bitter person who feels a sense of entitlement.

TR in Albany, New York said: What kind of an agency did you go to? No one tests typing speed with paper! I have extreme doubts about the "legitimacy" of your complaints. Instead, I sense a bitter person who feels a sense of entitlement.

No One!!!!!?????? I have extreme doubts that you can prove absolutely that there is not one agency anywhere that uses paper.Attacking the person instead of the problem serves no useful purpose.

Sarah in Owosso, Michigan said: No offense but why don't you leave it to someone who is younger and has a family to support? You are already retired. Get a hobby to fill your time, do something wild if your terribly bored.

Although I am young, I must agree with you. It seems as though looks over rule qualification these days. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

I can't believe you said that!!!

Vicki Hester in Dayton, Ohio said: There are supposed to be employers out there who like mature, experienced legal secretaries and assistants. However, I don't know where these people are hiding out. I am retired, not happy about being bored to death, not happy with the budget, and I am trying to get back into either legal assistant or legal secretarial work. There is no other work so challenging and exciting - also stressful - but I can and did take it for years.

What I am getting on interviews are questions about whether I am afraid of computers or technology. My resume lists multiple computer programs from the time they started using them in offices. Does that look like I'm afraid? I love computer work and really enjoy learning new software programs. If you have older employees who drag their feet on this, then fire them and hire me.

One other thing I will not tolerate with my experience is anyone's request that I take a typing test. It is an insult to me after reading my resume. Do you think I did all those pleadings by the hunt and peck system. Further, I happen to be so fast in my typing that people can't believe it. I took a five minute test years ago and finished the whole page single spaced, got up from my chair, went into the other room and asked them if I should just stop or turn over the sheet of paper. They were astounded and told me to go back and turn the page over and just keep typing. So I did, and got about one-fifth into that page before the bell went off. I have been clocked at 90-100 spm. Typing tests are for someone just out of school or who has never worked in an office before. Don't insult a highly professional person by degrading them that way.

At my age, you get skills, maturity, self-respect and professional dignity. You get honesty and hard work. I don't waste any of your time on my cell phone or checking my e-mails at home. What's wrong with that?

Thank you for listening.

I'm in the same boat!! Don't give up

It seems to escape those who consider themselves young that they too may get older. As you see how the older work force is treated you should be very afraid. I'm sure you thnk it won't happen to you but it will. There is no such thing as retirement now. Much of the retirement that people have relied on has been squandered by the fall of the banks by their risk investments at a time when the college loans are due, the reduction of credit cards is a fact of life, and good health starts to wane in addition to the loss of equity depended on and carefully accrued throughout a lifetime of working. It is this callousness that I find most offensive. Do the young think that they will disappear into the abyss when the debt becomes due and your resources have been depleted through no fault of your own but because you listened to the financial wizards you paid to guide you? I am at the end of the road and homelessness is a real fear without finding employment by today. One in fifty children in America are homeless and they belong to the same people who were let go because their salaries could be replaced by a newbie just starting out.Instead of focusing on age discrimination we should all band together and claim our inherent right to be able to continue to pursue the dream guaranteed us in the Bill of Rights and don't forget about the disabled worker or vet trying to fit into this quandry. It is the time to join voices not encourage discension and demand that all citizens are given the opportunity to fulfill their desperate needs or the young will be supporting them by raised taxes on the welfare roles.

sorry I misspelled dissension in my haste

Blanche, you said it all. Great answer. I sure wish you the best. I am up to about an average of 12 hours of work a week but still hope to get 30-40 hours a week. This through the kindness of an old friend who is giving me work for some of the rent. Otherwise, no savings, no car repairs, no shopping, no dinners out, no movies, et cetera. Several disasters took everything I had and you can't live on SS alone. As a side thought, after this economical mess, everyone should sure be grateful that SS was never privatized or we would have lost most or all of that thanks to AIG, Bernie Madoff, and other greedy vermin. Thanks for the good words. You sound like a thoughtful caring person who would be a great employee.

Great discussion. You put a lot of thought into that. Actually, there is no set age for all the good things you want in an employee. Plenty of people of all ages are goof-offs, lazy, waste everyone's time, and constantly complain about everything, and on the other hand people of all ages have everything you could want in an employee. It has to do with professionalism, class, personality, intelligence, and a willingness to learn everything you can. The insurance problem can be solved by simply hiring people under 30 hours a week, because I don't even need insurance with Medicare and a secondary policy, which is another big plus for an employer. Thanks for your comments. They were all valid and I know where you are coming from. I will admit that the older I get the less BS I will tolerate as you mentioned, because I have sure paid my dues on that one. Vicki

Once you have watched this video, click on Step 2 to learn how you may be able to profit from these exciting trends:

I went to the website. Wording above - spells BEWARE.

Do you know how to use spellcheck? I can smell that stuff you're smoking clear down here in Dayton, Ohio. vh

TR in Albany, New York said: What kind of an agency did you go to? No one tests typing speed with paper! I have extreme doubts about the "legitimacy" of your complaints. Instead, I sense a bitter person who feels a sense of entitlement.

Did you guess my age? This was before computers and on a manual typewriter. The timers either sat by the typewriter or in the personnel office. It was in the 1970's dear, even before electric typewriters. However, we did have indoor plumbing! vh

I agree that older women are having trouble getting a job in the legal field even though they have 20 plus years experience. When I could not find a legal position in this city after several interviews and answering numerous ads, I decided to do something different. This is a tourism oriented city; therefore, I applied for a position as a housekeeper in a large hotel and got the job. No age barriers to overcome but definitely hard work. With the economy as it is we sometimes have to lower our status in life and take a lesser paying job to survive. This extra income supplements my SS and I don't need health insurance even though it is offered. I am now meeting many people from all over the world and enjoying my work.

Viki, is your given name Vivian?

No.