Is this now the new trend?

Anonymous

July 12,2023 at 2:48PM UTC

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Is this now the new trend? I’m in my mid 50’s, I don’t look my age and have done well in sales my entire career. I’ve been looking for a new job but it seems like most companies are either paying very low base + commission or straight commission nowadays. To top it off, they’re also demanding much more from employees for very little pay. I don’t have much technical sales experience so starting SAAS sales at my age is not very likely, as they usually want to hire much younger people.

I’m currently working for a company in real estate industry which has laid off at least 4X so needless to say, I feel either the company may be out of business in the near future or they may be additional layoffs in the near future. I know my managers value me but there’s a lot of uncertainties with the future of our company.

I’ve been sending out my resumes, just including the last 10-15 years of experience…getting very few interview requests. I’m also being fairly picky as I don’t want to jump ship just for any job as the old adage goes “grass isn’t always greener on the other side”.

I’m grateful that my husband has a good paying job and he’s part owner of the company so that takes a lot of stress off of me. However, I’ve always worked my butt off and I’m not one who can stay unemployed without going bonkers.

I’m not sure if I should just continue to stick it out until my company decides to lay me off or goes bankrupt. I figured if I get laid off, I’ll have a small severance and unemployment to hold me over for a bit and if I get desperate, I’ll take a job that may not be the best fit at that time. At least I’m not leaving the “known” for an “unknown situation”.

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AnonymousJuly 12,2023 at 3:38PM UTC
I think as we age we gain wisdom and embrace a more conservative approach to risk. I think your approach is a good one.
P.S. none of us looks our age. 50 is the new 40.
Coach Nancie Kay ShumanJuly 13,2023 at 9:40AM UTC
I am going to guess that the fault is in the Employers information. Much like a marriage license, back ground checks need to be incredibly accurate. If one small thing is wrong, it can invalidate the entire thing.
AnonymousJuly 14,2023 at 2:57PM UTC
I would show your full resume. What does your LinkedIn show? Continue to look for another postion while you are employed. its easier to get a new job while employed vs unemployed.
AnonymousJuly 14,2023 at 5:07PM UTC
I would keep your resume up to date. I would ride it out. You never know what’s going to happen and like you said the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
if you get laid off and you don’t need the money, you could spend more time volunteering. This would also allow more networking options.
EMILY KIKUE FRANKJuly 14,2023 at 5:07PM UTC
If you're not getting many interview requests, your resume may need a little attention. I really like this article on using ChatGPT for job applications.
https://www.tealhq.com/post/ai-chatgpt-for-job-applications
You can't have the system do everything (I think it generates terrible cover letters) but it can really help with the bullets on your resume. Chances are that you're not capturing some keywords from the job description.
EMILY KIKUE FRANKJuly 14,2023 at 5:09PM UTC
Not sure why it's not hyperlinking. Here:
https://www.tealhq.com/post/ai-chatgpt-for-job-applications
Elizabeth HicksJuly 15,2023 at 1:32PM UTC
yes more work, less pay is the new norm. it's not 1995. your story sounds legit for modern sales.