6d • General discussion
The Job Market Doesn't Want You After 40. So What Are You Going to Do About It?
Let's stop pretending.
If you're over 40 and looking for work, you already know the truth.
The interviews dry up. The rejection emails pile up. Or worse, you just never hear back at all.
You've got decades of experience. You know your shit. You can run circles around half the people already working there.
And none of it matters.
Because the system isn't built for you anymore.
Here's the question nobody wants to ask.
Why are you still waiting for someone to hire you?
I'm serious.
After months of applications going nowhere. After being passed over for people half your age with half your skills. After realizing that HR algorithms are filtering you out before a human even sees your resume.
Why are you still playing a game that's rigged against you?
I'm not saying this to be cruel.
I'm saying it because I've been there.
I've sent out hundreds of applications. I've tailored resumes. I've networked. I've done everything you're supposed to do.
And I finally realized something.
The traditional job market doesn't give a damn about people like us.
So we have to stop depending on it.
What if you stopped looking for a job and started building something instead?
Not some massive empire. Not some Silicon Valley fantasy.
Just something that's yours.
Freelancing. Consulting. Coaching. A small service business. Hell, even a side hustle that could grow into something real.
Something where your age is an asset, not a liability. Where your experience actually matters. Where you control your income instead of waiting for some 28-year-old hiring manager to decide you're "not a culture fit."
I know what you're thinking.
"But I need steady income."
"But I don't know how to start a business."
"But what if I fail?"
I get it. Those fears are real.
But here's the thing.
You're already failing at the traditional job search. You're already not getting steady income from all those applications.
So what do you actually have to lose?
The people who make it after 40 aren't the ones who keep doing the same thing and hoping for different results.
They're the ones who pivot.
Who take what they know and figure out how to package it differently.
Who stop waiting for permission and just start.
It's messy. It's scary. It doesn't happen overnight.
But it's better than spending another six months sending resumes into the void.
So here's what I want to know.
If you couldn't get hired for the next year, what would you build instead?
What skill could you monetize? What problem could you solve? What service could you offer?
Drop it in the comments.
Let's talk about real options. Not fantasy businesses. Not get-rich-quick schemes.
Just honest ideas about how people like us can stop depending on a system that doesn't want us.
Because the truth is, we don't need their permission to earn a living.
We just need to stop acting like we do.
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The Job Market Doesn't Want You After 40. So What Are You Going to Do About It?
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