Why is it so hard to find a job right now? I am 46 years old, started working when I was 13 years old at an ice cream shop. I have nearly 30 years of manufacturing/industrial experience.
I have been a locomotive operator, mill cut off operator, inventory and forklift, machine operator, NDT Technician, quality control, railroad track laborer, chemical operator, and construction laborer. I have hundreds of hours of safety training, I have been a lead, I have been entry-level. I have never had a job where I had only 2-3 responsibilities. I have worked in offices, steels mills, as an industrial technician I have been to hundreds of companies, worked outside in all weather conditions. I still keep up or surpass the people who train me, even if much younger than me.
I have always been able to get a job within a month, have had that ability since I was 18 years old. Now, it has been since April, 2024 that I had my last position at a company. I am doing food delivery, which is a joke as far as time/money earned, while I have been job hunting.
I have put out hundreds of resumes, networked, tailored my resume towards jobs, wrote nice cover letters targeted to the position I am applying, made my resume ATS-friendly. Yet, it seems no matter what I do, I either get no response, or get the, "While your resume is impressive, we decided to go with another candidate". I have tried temp agencies, spoken to recruiters, and even they seem to kind of ghost me after a little bit. It makes me feel like all those years meant nothing, all my experience is not marketable. It sure has not helped me sleep, or feel good about myself.
Life is very expensive right now, I have two kids to provide for, and doing food delivery to get by is not always feasible and rarely worth it. I have literally leaped at any opportunity, but it's always the same result. I have tired to change it up, take more time to setup my job applications, but I am never given any opportunities.
What can I do?
Procurement Manager
4moIs there a minimum age for the general op?