A number of years ago I had an idea that worked well with a few people and I can't see why it would not work even now. Especially for those seniors who have the expertise that most employers would desire in a younger person but cannot have. Say you used to be a Widget maker but cannot find a job making widgets because of an age factor. (or so you suppose). Instead of applying for a job, go down to the city hall and get a self employment (business) permit and then make up a flyer, newsletter, resume', whatever stating what your services would normally be as a widget maker. Present your paperwork to the widget company offering your services as a sub-contractor. The employer doesn't need to pay into your S.Security, nor unemployment, do the tax work (you're a 1099 contractor) and when your services are no longer needed there are no hard feelings. In essence, you have become your own temp service. Before I handed down the idea, I personally tested it out in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area. I found a neighborhood bar with a kitchen in it that wasn't doing well on its own. So badly in fact that the bartender had to make the sandwiches and tend bar at the same time. So, I offered to take the kitchen over for a small fee. After about a month I offered not only my services but canceled my fee in lieu of paying them 10% off the top relieving the bar owner of any expense for the kitchen other than the utilities. It worked and worked well enough that I was able to use it as an advertisement for other places in trouble and soon had 6 more places with a dozen elderly 1099 employees of my own working on commission. After about 8 months I realized a pretty substantial net profit but I had bigger fish to fry so I turned each business over to those people who wanted to continue the venture. It can be done and with very little effort or personal expense. It all depends on how much drive and desire we seniors have left in us. Trust me, Wally World does NOT have to be the last stop before we meet our maker.
@Carlota Clemens. I've been down that route too as I posted my experience in another thread I won't do it here. My mind after that interview changed my outlook as a senior in the workplace. Discouraging. You think of all the effort that goes into job searches... @Bobby Cole. This is encouraging to me as I have set my next venture as an entrepreneur at an open flea market this year. It's something that I really enjoy.
I think that @Bobby Cole has touched on something here that is important for us when looking for a job opportunity as a senior. That factor is "commission". If you are willing to work on commission, you can get just about any kind of a job that is offered with a commission pay, since the owner of the business only has to pay you if you are actually making them some income, as well as yourself. Because I got married young, and then was a housewife for the next 20+ years, I didn't have any job skills when my marriage fell apart and I had to try and support myself. The kind of jobs available for me were either the low-skilled (and low-paying) menial jobs, or commissioned sales jobs. I actually did a mix of both of those things, trying to make ends meet. Many jobs that are commission will actually let you set your own hours worked, and even the times of day that you do that work. You just have to look for one that will work for what your abilities are. The last one that I had was selling newspaper subscriptions at stores. They gave me a little portable kiosk that fit in the back of the car, and sent me off to different stores to work. When people came in, I signed them up for a free drawing for a $50 gift card at whatever store I was working at. As they filled out the entry, I asked them if they subscribed to the local paper. If they didn't, then we had a special offer for the subscription that I told them about. If they did already take the paper, then I could offer to renew the subscription for them. It was an interesting job, and you never knew how well you would do. Some days, there were lots of people that wanted the paper, some days, not so many. I am sure that there are many other similar type of jobs available, you just have to look for them, and be willing to work for commission.
One way seniors can overcome this age bias issue is to let the employer know your comfort and expertise in using technology during the interview process. Older people are sometimes perceived as not tech savvy or unable to use technology and will have a hard time working longer in front of the computer.