THE SAVINGS GAME

Older job seekers often have unrealistic expectations

Marta, 59, had hoped to be retired by now. But in a downsizing two years ago, she lost her job as a mental-health counselor. Since then, all she's found are "demoralizing" temporary jobs, leaving her with little income or savings.

Carla was laid off two years ago after more than 30 years in the mortgage industry. Now 62, she can't get potential employers in other industries to interview her because her experience is in one area.

Timothy, 56, found a position with an employment-training agency. But he lost scores of other jobs to younger, healthier applicants. Years ago, a back injury forced Timothy to give up his exterminating business. Now he expects to work until age 70 "or as long as I hold up."

These vignettes about real people are part of "Buddy, Can You Spare a Job? The New Realities of the Job Market for Aging Baby Boomers," a sobering study sponsored by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in collaboration with David DeLong & Associates, a research and consulting firm with expertise in work-force issues.

More than 60 percent of Americans 55 to 70 who are working or seeking work have less than $250,000 saved for retirement, the study found. Not surprisingly, half plan to retire later than they expected, while only 6 percent plan to retire earlier. But as the study demonstrates, the expectations many have of continued work "are often painfully unrealistic."

The study, at maturemarketinstitute.com under "What's New," includes in-depth interviews with 24 leading executive coaches and job counselors as well as 21 people 55 and older who went through a change in employment the last two years. It also includes a national online survey conducted by Harris Interactive of 1,242 adults age 55 to 70.

"The fact that so many job seekers over 55 have difficulty finding work means such individuals need new solutions to compete," said Sandra Timmermann, director of the institute. The study lists common mistakes older job seekers make based on seven faulty assumptions:

"I'll just do what I was doing before."

"My experience speaks for itself."

"I don't have time for this touchy-feely stuff about what work means to me."

"I know! I'll become a consultant!"

"Of course I'm good with computers."

"I'll just use a recruiter for some career coaching."

"I've always been successful, so why should things be different now?"

But aging baby boomers who assume they're going to continue on their career paths in new full-time roles are likely to be shocked.

"If you don't understand how to link your experience explicitly to the employer's current needs, then you get discounted even before the interview," said Carleen MacKay, a career coach who works with boomers.

Another reality: Wishful thinking is not a job-search method.

Only 36 percent of those surveyed had pursued additional skills or training, often computer-related, that might benefit them in a job search or new job. Possessing such skills is "an absolute necessity for job searches with any hope of success," the study concluded.

Humberto Cruz is a columnist for Tribune Media Services. E-mail him at yourmoney@tribune.com.