At 72 It Doesn’t Take Much to Boost my Ego

I got a call yesterday that gave me a shot of self esteem

As most of you know because you’ve been reading my stories, I’ve been spending some time looking for a part time job and at 72 this hasn’t been easy. I’ve found companies who hire seniors, but I’ve now got reasons to believe their cut off age is 70. Well, to be honest I really can’t blame them. I think it’s true that most 70+ seniors have health issues; like memory impairment, vision problems, a lack of steadiness, and an overall lack of energy. The list could go on and on so I understand their hesitancy and the suspected deadline of age 70.

With all of this in mind, you can imagine my surprise when I got a call yesterday from the manager of a Ophthalmology practice wanting to set me up with a phone interview for an optician position they have. I’m on file with several employment services so I got flagged for the position because I was an optician on my last job. A side note here is they also knew my age. Every employment agency I’ve signed up with requires a birthdate which is a sneaky way to learn the age of their applicants.

I immediately guessed they’re looking for someone full time, so I quickly asked about this and she confirmed my suspicion. I thought that would be the end of the call, so you can imagine my surprise when she asked if I’d be willing to do the phone interview anyway right then.

As it turned out she told me I was exactly what they’re looking for, except their position is for full time. Before we ended the call she told me she’s going to refer me to the doctor anyway, just to see if he might want to go ahead and interview me. However, she went on to add that he’s in the process of bringing in a partner and until he does, he needs someone full time.

This was all more than fine with me as I was elated just to be considered! How pathetic am I? But this is the closest thing to a real job offer I’ve had so far so it really got my juices flowing. I have no idea what salary they’re offering, but at this point it doesn’t matter because I’m 95% sure I won’t hear back from them.

I will keep on looking while I continue to dodge the plethora of emails and phone calls I’m getting from employment agencies I haven’t registered with until some other job jumps out at me. I will also be quick to tell them I’m looking for part time as it’s obvious some agencies are so desperate to place applicants they’re ignoring this detail.

I recently found it amusing that my daughter, who’s the head of human relations for a company, told me she would hire me. She had added, “all biases aside, mom, you’re not the typical retiree in your 70's.” I appreciated that a lot, too.

You should probably know I don’t need a job. I’m not destitute or even financially hurting; I just want one. I want extra spending money, I want to get out of the house more, I also want to learn some new things by having new experiences, instead of merely reading about other writers experiences here on Medium. Living vicariously through other people doesn’t appeal to me.

I’m praying about my job hunt so I know however it goes it will end up being for the best. Since I can’t see tomorrow, but I trust the One who can, I’m prepared to accept the outcome. I’ve decided my cut off date for looking for a job is December 1st and I’m not considering temporary seasonal jobs wanting to hire just for the holidays either.

At the current time my state of Ks. unemployment rate is a mere 2.6% which is not nearly the rate of 5% plus many larger states are reporting. States with the highest unemployment rate include; Ca, Nv, DC, Ill, Md, Ct. Pa, Alaska and Puerto Rico.

I couldn’t find out whether these figures include part time jobs, but my guess is they don’t. What I have learned in the last few weeks is many businesses have gone to hiring part-time people. The main reason is they can’t afford to offer insurance benefits to their employees, although many do offer tuition reimbursement. Even my last Optician job was part time as the doctors said they couldn’t afford to pay our insurance. I worked 34 hours a week for 7 years for them and so did everyone else. It helped that they closed the office every Friday at noon.

If I want to work bad enough I could hire on right now at our local Dillon’s Marketplace. (Kroger to many off you). They boost about hiring retirees and I notice plenty of them when I shop. They’re working as cashiers, stockers, and baggers and most of them seem friendly and happy. I’m actually debating about going to work for them, although I suspect my experiences there wouldn’t be anything to write about, except for all the soreness I would experience.

Also many department stores are hiring retail workers and the positions are all part time. If you’ve ever worked retail and you include it on your job applications, you will get inundated with those openings. It doesn’t seem to matter if you did it 50 years ago either — Once you’ve worked retail, you’re considered qualified for life!

I feel for seniors who are seriously needing to work. I personally don’t know of any, but I’ve heard the sad stories of some who do. Unfortunately they are looking for professional positions, and not just a job. They’re desperate to re-enter a work force they left years ago that has moved on without them, and they’re finding it nearly impossible.

I count myself fortunate to have been contacted about a job I left 14 years ago. However, I have no doubt the technology on that job has advanced and I’d be expected to get up to speed on it. I realize I was much more proficient at learning new things in my late 50’s than I am now in my early 70’s. I’m sure returning to it would mean conquering a steep learning curve for at least a month while I’d fret over every move I made. Not a pleasant idea, and my own vision isn’t what it used to be. There are barely visible numbers on every prescription lens and I used to be able to read them bare eyed. I recently tried it and had to use a magnifying glass to see them — Not cool.

Yes getting a job that doesn’t require much training is where I’m at. I will count myself lucky if I can get and hold one down for at least 6 months before I’m dying to return to my status of retiree where I can relish writing, and bantering with Mr. Pam and our dog as I look forward to my wonderful afternoon naps. A pretty damn good life, huh?

For another look at trying to find a job when you’re 70, check out this story I enjoyed. I’m 70. How Can I Convince Someone to Hire Me? | by Gary Foster | Oct, 2022 | Medium