• Health
• Money
• Leisure
• Make a Difference
• Family
• Online Community
• Membership

Regular visitors to AARP.org’s Work channel may be aware of my “Ask Bob about Jobs” column.  You can submit your work-related questions directly to me.  Several questions are selected each week to be answered in the column in the hope that the questions and answers are of value to the 50+ reader.  Occasionally, I will also answer questions here in my journal.

 Q:   I’m a 67-year-old man and still have a burning desire to compete.  My background is in real estate.  With the horrible slowdown in the real estate field, I would appreciate your suggestions at getting work in the sales management field. I feel especially capable at doing sales training and am able to work in several industries including real estate and the institutional food business.  Louis , NJ

 A: Louis, I could feel the energy in your question.  Your enthusiasm is a clear contradiction of the myth that older workers lack drive and ambition.  Your “burning desire to compete” should be a clear message to other older workers that we ourselves can sometimes be the cause of our own discouragement.  Now, what to do with all that energy?

 If you read the research, you would believe that sales professionals and sales managers are in short supply. But don’t conclude that you should have little difficulty landing a new and rewarding job.  Unfortunately, not every employer is excited about hiring a 67-year-old sales pro. To boot, real estate is predicted to stay slow for some time..  Here’s what I suggest.

Resume – Prepare a resume with the primary focus on your capabilities and achievements.  This needn’t be long and complex.  Ask a friend for help or contact a resume writing service.  RetirementJobs.com offers such a service for a fee  or can direct you to our writers.

 Online Job Search - Get familiar with using online job posting boards.  You can search available positions by Zip code, or keywords such as “sales”, sales professional”, or “sales manager.”  You can also search by industry.  There are also special or “niche” job sites such as SalesJobs.com that list sales job exclusively. 

 Also check RetirementJobs.com or AARP.org for Age Friendly Employers offering sales positions.  I just did a job search on the word “sales” and came up with 83 positions within 30 miles of your residence.  If you need help using an online job search site, contact their customer service e-mail or phone number.

 Local Employers – I’ll bet you’ve lived in your town for some time and are pretty familiar with the major employers, but have you given any thought to small businesses?  Take a drive around town or look in your local yellow pages. Start contacting local, smaller employers.  You may find them very interested in connecting with a real sales professional.

Best wishes on your search.  I suspect with your desire to contribute, it won’t be long before you discover several opportunities.