some good news on the work front....
nsw...@gmail.com
but am still here and am really looking forward to completing my
degree at the end of this semester. I can't believe it - the past 2.5
years seem to have flown by.
I've attached a copy of an article (see below) that was in todays SMH
- this is really good news given that we are all either in the process
of up-skilling or have recently done so.
Would love to hear from you all...
Felicia
Age not a barrier but an advantage to some bosses
Paul Bibby
August 25, 2010 - 3:00AM
THE common assumption that employers do not like hiring older people
is wrong and many would prefer someone
older than 55 to a younger worker from overseas, research shows.
A government-funded study by Monash University researchers of 600 big
organisations suggests that after decades of
discrimination, attitudes towards older workers are changing.
Philip Taylor, the director of research and graduate studies, and his
team found that during labour shortages 50 per
cent of public sector employers put the recruitment of mature workers
at the top of their agendas.
About 40 per cent of private sector bosses said they too would look to
the over-55s.
By contrast, less than a quarter of the employers surveyed - public
and private sector - said they would recruit migrant
labour to fill workforce gaps.
The research deviates sharply from studies which have found a strong
current of institutionalised ageism in workplaces
is responsible for the disproportionately high level of mature-age
unemployment.
''I've been involved in surveying employer attitudes since 1991 and
this is the first time I've seen such a willingness to
employ older workers,'' said Professor Taylor. ''We had expected that,
on the back of the economic downturn,
employers would be less favourable towards older workers. This is a
significant and surprising shift.''
Professor Taylor said that rather than discrimination, a lack of
relevant skills might be keeping mature workers out of
a job.
''There is a tendency for people to say, 'it's my gender, my
ethnicity, my age, that's the problem'. Well, hang on,
maybe it's not,'' he said.
The comments drew a strong response from organisations representing
older Australians.
Charmaine Crowe from the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants
Association of NSW said her organisation
encountered many mature workers who struggled to find work regardless
of their skills. ''I'm hopeful that attitudes are
changing but I think we've got a long way to go.''
Matt Higgins from olderworkers.com.au, an online recruitment company,
said some industries were far better than
others. ''Retail employers are much better. They realise that a lot of
their clientele are mature age and so mature
workers will relate to them better,'' he said.
''But the fact is that Australia is behind much of the developed world
when it comes to mature-aged people
participating in the workforce. That can't simply be attributed to a
lack of skills.''
He said there was a handful of business types, such as hardware
stores, where the knowledge and experience of older
workers were consistently seen as an advantage.
The manager of the Mitre 10 at Matraville, Ross Salter, said he looked
out for older workers. ''People like old-style
customer service, and they like people who know the tools,'' he said.
''They've worked as tradesmen at some point or
another and bring a lot to the business.''
This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/age-not-a-barrier-but-an-advantage-to-some-bosses-20100824-13qfs.html
Hassana Sandler
Thanks for that. Interesting article.
And congratulations so close to the finish line. Think of you guys
from time to time.
I'm looking forward to returning to complete my degree next semester
but for now am thoroughly enjoying being a mum to my little boy!
Which electives did you end up taking? And which did you enjoy?
All the best,
Hassana
Sent from my iPhone
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Fred Samuel
while and always enjoy the discussions/articles sent.
Regards
Fred Samuel
02 6966 8222
eric raymond
I appreciate the camaraderie offered by this group, even if I haven't attended events.
It's encouraging to hear things might be changing.
It's certainly been a hard slog trying to find work as a mature aged (42yo) student.
The plethora of rejections can take some getting used to - not easy for the sensitive types. particularly when putting in so much study.
In fact it's downright depressing.
I applied for well over 50 clerkship, student and graduate positions before I started getting interviews.
(Even though I have 2 masters degrees in other things and good marks in law).
I needed to tweak my resume a lot and work out what would alienate employers, and then delete that from the CV.
I found the Careers Centre at Sydney Uni helpful - went back several times for advice to their resume sessions.
And just kept applying.
Even though I'm not going to be working in tax law, I found it a helpful subject -
it increases the range of jobs one can apply for and it's interesting.
I got a couple of graduate offers in tax law with government.
I'd recommend it for job prospects, even though it's difficult (I have no money background educationally).
In the end I've generally found government quite responsive to a bit of experience - more so than the private sector.
Surprised that retail liked older people - so many salespeople are younger.
[Hi Hassana, congratulations on the baby boy. No doubt he's keeping you busy.
If you're looking for subjects that aren't so intensive (in order to fit in mum duties),
I'd recommend criminology, environmental law and advanced constitutional.
Labour law and tax have lots of challenging black letter law, but they're useful.
I've enjoyed them all and yes, it's great to have only 14 days of classes to go!]
thanks again, Felicia,
Eric
> Subject: RE: some good news on the work front....
> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:24:54 +1000
> From: Fr...@macvar.com.au
> To: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com
Monica Kelly
From: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com [mailto:nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of eric raymond
Sent: Wednesday, 25 August 2010 7:00 PM
To: NSW Later lawyers
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Robyne
I found a job and it ate my soul.
Partners don’t like to employ mature aged law grads because we have life experience and aren’t so easy to exploit. Your average 25 year old grad will work till late into the night with dreams of becoming a partner. I had to get home to see my children before they went to bed and got fired for it. In my opinion law, as a profession, is far from balanced. There are exceptions, but those opportunities are unlikely to be available to someone with little experience.
From: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com [mailto:nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of eric raymond
Sent: Wednesday, 25 August 2010
7:00 PM
To: NSW Later lawyers
peter hutchison
Peter :)
From: rob...@bigpond.net.au
To: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: some good news on the work front....
Lyn Francis
HI Peter I am now 51 and finished my law degree in 2003 and LLM (Master in Legal Practice) in 2006. I worked in a community legal centre for about two years and loved it however I could not afford the Sydney rents on the wage so came back up the Hunter and took two jobs – one in the government (health) sector in law on a contract which lasted only 13 months and then with a private firm on a commission basis which lasted only two months. I applied for a casual job teaching at Uni in my original career (nursing) and was given a part time position – I was only teaching for 3 weeks when also asked to teach law. I am now full time and teach both in nursing and law and half way through a PhD (on domestic violence and overlaps health and law) and extremely happy. I had to go through this convoluted path to end up where I am but would not have ended up here without having my prior careers plus doing law as a mature aged student – I have several mature aged friends working in law who earn a lot less than I do by the way. There appear to be more options for us with our prior careers however I did find it extremely difficult starting from the bottom of the heap so to speak to work my way back up – doubt I would have lasted working any longer in a private law firm though as I hated the fees and 6 minute interval budget issues. Government law positions are great if you can find one that is ongoing and not just a contract???
Cheers Lyn
peter hutchison
Kind regards
Peter
From: jl.fr...@bigpond.com
Nancy Campisi
Firstly - good luck felicity for the home stretch.
I'm pretty sure most of you have met up in the past and probably exchanged stories but I haven't had a chance to meet you. I actaully finished my degree at the end of 2007 so have been out in the legal workforce for almost 3 years (actaully slightly more than that if you count PLT and 6 months paralegal). My experiences ranged from absolutely soul destroying (in a big firm) to fantastic (in a university legal department). I found that it's certainly a competition with younger graduates, for many reasons which i'd love to share with you sometime. I think there are also perceptions (unfounded) about women with very young children. But I have had some great experiecnes and have a job that i love. You need perseverance and confidence in your ability.
Would love to meet some of you if there is ever the opportunity.
Nancy Campisi
0414304 119
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From: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com [mailto:nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Robyne
Sent: Thursday, 26 August 2010 8:37 PM
To: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com
Felicia Nevins
From: Monica...@maddocks.com.au
To: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com
Felicia Nevins
> From: sanis...@gmail.com
> To: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: some good news on the work front....
Monica Kelly
From: nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com [mailto:nsw-later-la...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Felicia Nevins
Sent: Tuesday, 31 August 2010 2:22 PM
To: NSW LLN
Monica Kelly
Sent: Tuesday, 31 August 2010 2:22 PM
To: NSW LLN
Hassana Sandler
I'm sorry I don't think I replied to your message. Thanks for the tips
on electives. Sounds like a hard slog all those job applications! Wish
you all the best for the home stretch, and for your impending career
in law. It was a pleasure getting to know you at Usyd.
All the best,
Hassana
Sent from my iPhone
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