Ep 105 Common Fears Shared by Job Seekers Over 50
Jan 14, 2025
You're listening to the remote work retirement show. I'm your host, Camille Attell. And this is the only show that helps semi retirees figure out the remote work options.
I believe the remote work is the new retirement plan and that many retirees have both the ability and desire to work how they want so they can live how they want. Let's dig into today's episode....
Welcome back to the show and thank you for listening! Thank you for listening. You know, I haven't really thanked people for listening in a long time. It's probably because I haven't been recording a lot of podcasts. And I just assume that people aren't listening, but I want to thank you for showing up today.
Today, I felt compelled to address a topic that might resonate with many of you—fears that job seekers over 50 often share with me. While I typically focus on offering solutions, this episode is more about acknowledging and exploring those fears to help you feel less alone. Sometimes, simply hearing that others share your concerns can be more valuable than receiving advice. But, since I always like to give solutions, I’ll certainly offer some ideas and solutions. But in a way, I almost feel like it's more important for you to hear the fears and concerns that people have, because I think you may be feeling some of these same fears and concerns. And I think in hearing what other people share, you can feel less alone.
They just come up over and repeatedly. And there's a lot of them. But I want to boil them down to the ones that are most prevalent. Like the ones I hear about the most. So, number one will be age. I mean, that's kind of an obvious one, but number two will be gap in employment that comes up a lot. Number three would be outdated skills. Number four kind of the opposite. And that would be people who feel overqualified when all they really want is kind of an easier job. And then the last one would be having to take a pay cut or having their pay impacted in some way
Many people feel their age is a barrier in the job market, often compounded by concerns about gaps in employment or outdated skills. On the flip side, some fear being overqualified and worry about how that might affect their chances of landing an easier or less demanding job. Lastly, there’s the fear of taking a pay cut or having their compensation impacted. These fears are deeply interconnected, and few people experience them in isolation. I aim to discuss them not as a list but as a web of overlapping challenges.
The inspiration for this episode came from a recent coaching circle in Remote Work School. These small group sessions, held twice a month, foster candid discussions among participants, usually about 10 to 12 people. In our latest session, one brave participant—let’s call her Betty—shared her frustrations with the job search process. She mentioned feeling self-conscious about her gray hair, which led to a shared moment of humor and solidarity among the group. Many of us could relate, as we’ve faced similar challenges ourselves.
Hearing Betty’s story reminded me of the power of sharing experiences. It’s easy to feel isolated when facing fears like these but connecting with others who understand can be incredibly reassuring. While I will offer some ideas and solutions later, my primary goal is to let you know you’re not alone. These shared struggles are real, valid, and, most importantly, surmountable. Let’s explore them together, keeping in mind that empathy and understanding are often the first steps toward progress.
And this happens a lot in remote work school where people will be, be vulnerable and share what's going on for them. And not just that they're frustrated, but even their hardcore fears. Like what's going to happen if I can't land a job, or I can't get this business off the ground. What if I never make a sale on this new course that I built or this new membership that I launched. What I notice when people are willing to share like that is almost like a collective sigh from the community. Because we all just get it. We all relate. We all have been there, even me and I'm the person running it.
Maybe you related to some of these, maybe you have your own. And if you do go ahead and just email us. There's a link here in the show notes. [email protected]
And you can just put in the title, My Fear. How about that? You can let us know what your fear is, and we'll address it; we'll talk about it. If it's similar to these or different or something specific, let us know. We're always really curious and we always have some really helpful tips and strategies and resources for you.
I want to leave you with one actual action item. If you have outdated skills or think you're under-qualified, or some of the skills you have need to be dusted off and pivoted into new things, it's a really good time to invest in yourself. Really start up-skilling and re-skilling. I can never hurt. So, if you're looking at specific job types or industries, and they're asking you to have certain technology skills or other skills, then go invest.
Most of the time you can find a lot of training for free at the University of YouTube or low cost Udemy or LinkedIn. And you can also consider joining Remote Work School. While we don't technically teach you hardcore tech skills, you end up learning some of them just as a by-product of being in the program. We can also help you figure out what you actually need to do if you want to fill some of those skill gaps.
But really the big takeaway today that I want you to have is you are not alone. If you share some of these fears, then I want you to know that literally every person inside of Remote Work School that I have met with and coached over the years, (and at this point it is thousands) have shared their fears, just like these, that you probably feel. And they get over those fears eventually.
I hope you enjoyed the episode. I can't wait for the next one. See you next time.
If you want to start something new but feel a bit overwhelmed, I invite you to take my free remote work training:
https://www.camilleattell.com/remote-training
Click here to join Remote Work School:
https://www.camilleattell.com/remoteworkschool
Click here to connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camille.attell/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-attell/
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