It’s so difficult to find a good job in middle-aged people.
Survey on reemployment of unemployed people
● The problem of reemployment of middle-aged people after unemployment is a long-standing problem, and it is a social problem that exists in many countries.
● It is difficult for middle-aged people to get a job again due to two factors: On the one hand, some companies blindly pursue the maximization of profits and lack a sense of social responsibility; on the other hand, some middle-aged job seekers have high expectations, high requirements, and poor management.
● To solve the problem of middle-aged people’s difficulty in finding a job, relevant departments need to issue targeted policies and strengthen training, enterprises need to enhance their sense of social responsibility, and employees need to be required to improve their own abilities and a calm mind, and promote the formation of synergy
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
□ The reporter's trainee reporter Zhang Shoukun
□ Intern Wang Yueyue
Two months ago, 45-year-old Zhang Kai (a pseudonym) posted the 87th resume this year on the recruitment website. After waiting for a few days, he still fell silent.
Disheartened, he eventually joined the food delivery industry as a food delivery rider, and now earns five to six thousand yuan a month.
Before that, Zhang Kai was an executive of a small and medium-sized enterprise in Beijing with a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan.
After leaving the job at the end of last year, I thought I could easily find a job comparable to the original one, or even a higher-paying job, but it was counterproductive.
"I thought I was young, and had rich work experience, and had advantages. The recruiting company felt that I was too old to manage, and it was all disadvantages." Zhang Kai said helplessly, facing the cruel reality and the pressure of life, he A compromise was chosen.
From the former "Mr. Zhang" to the takeaway brother, there is no end to the hardship of finding a job in middle age.
A number of labor law experts and corporate human resources executives recently said in an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that with the aging of the population, the re-employment of older people deserves great attention. To solve the problem of middle-aged people’s difficulty in finding a job, we need relevant information. The department has issued targeted policy guidance and strengthened training, which requires companies to enhance their sense of social responsibility, and also requires employees to improve their own abilities and calm their minds, so as to promote the formation of synergy in many aspects.
Difficulty in re-employment for older people
Very anxious physically and mentally exhausted
Not long ago, a piece of news made Zhang Kai empathize-Mr. Wang, 48 years old in Shanghai, wrote a letter of help to the local government.
Mr. Wang has a high degree of education and once worked as a senior executive in a foreign company. However, he had nowhere to find a job after being unemployed for 3 years.
When people reach middle age, there are old people and young people, and it is hard to find a job. A series of factors have hit the pain points and weaknesses of many people, and aroused strong attention from the society.
Later, Shanghai Songjiang District Employment Promotion Center replied: The situation is true; employment assistants and career instructors have been arranged to follow up and match up. By assisting in job registration, guiding and perfecting resumes, recommending positions, etc., he helped Mr. Wang find a deputy in the marketing department of private enterprises. Total work.
"In terms of age, the company's attention is still relatively high. We are also constantly communicating and coordinating, and hope that some positions can be given to people who are slightly older. If the ability of job applicants and other aspects can meet the requirements, it is also I hope that companies can relax a little bit of entry requirements. After our coordination, some companies will also relax in this area." The person in charge of the center said in an interview with the media.
Many people have encountered the situation of Zhang Kai and Mr. Wang.
According to public information, from February to September 2020, job seekers aged 35 and above who posted their resumes on the Zhilian platform increased by 14.9% year-on-year, and the growth rate was more than twice that of job seekers under the age of 35; among them, job seekers aged 35 to 49 years old The number of applicants increased by 13.5% year-on-year, and the number of job seekers aged 50 and above increased by 32.4% year-on-year.
In December 2020, the "China Human Capital Report 2020" released by the Central University of Finance and Economics Research Center for Human Capital and Labor Economics shows that between 1985 and 2018, the average age of the Chinese labor force (including students) rose from 32.2 to 38.4 years.
Previously, a third-party survey showed that age has far surpassed academic qualifications and gender, and has become the second largest factor affecting people's employment; 81.6% of the audience believes that the most affected by age is the laid-off re-employed.
The reporter recently conducted surveys and interviews in Beijing, Tianjin, Anhui and other places. Many middle-aged interviewees complained to reporters: Many recruitment notices will set an age line, and they will not accept job applicants over 40 or 45, sometimes even not. Accept job seekers over 35 years old.
"In the eyes of many people, they are still looking for a job when they are in their 40s. It means either downfall or tossing." said Mr. Chen, a 45-year-old Tianjin job seeker.
"At home, I was extremely anxious and exhausted physically and mentally." Mr. Liu, a 51-year-old from Anhui, recalled his nearly one-year job hunting experience to reporters, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Mr. Liu used to drive a car in an administrative agency. His wife brought children to his daughter at home. His daughter-in-law worked normally. After leaving the job in July last year, he bumped into a wall when applying for jobs. “I went to the job market. Some companies heard that I was 50 years old and didn’t even have a resume. Close".
After struggling for nearly a year, he was introduced by an acquaintance to find a job driving a company.
Zheng Shi (a pseudonym) from Beijing is engaged in IT work. Before he became unemployed, he became a senior engineer in the company with an annual salary of more than 300,000 yuan.
Over the past 10 years, he has switched jobs many times, and he has been very successful before. As a result, this time he fell into the growing age. "The resume was hung out and there was no response. I asked a friend for help. The company thinks that 40 is too old.
In the past few days, Zheng Shi is considering whether to switch.
From the perspective of the deputy dean of the School of Labor Economics of Capital University of Economics and Business, with the demographic dividend declining and aging, the problem of middle-aged job hunting should be paid attention to, and more equal re-employment opportunities should be obtained for middle-aged job-seekers.
"The problem of middle-aged people being reemployed after being unemployed is a long-standing social problem in many countries. As our country quickly enters an aging society, it is time to systematically solve this problem." China Institute of Labor Relations Said Zhang Liyun, associate professor of law school.
Companies need to pay attention to cost
Candidates should calm down
Zhang Kai still doesn't quite understand that he has been in the industry for 20 years and has rich experience in related fields. He is also relatively mature in his middle-aged life. The position he hires is not physical work. "How come no one wants it?"
In the company’s 8 years of personnel work, Zhang Fan has seen too many job applicants who have been turned away due to age issues, and too many employees who have been "optimized" due to age issues. "A company is not a charity. They need Pay attention to cost".
Zhao Qi, who has been working in human resources for 10 years in a well-known global management consulting company, was deeply impressed by a "duan" on the Internet: out of 10 job postings, 8 of them require applicants to be under the age of 35, and the remaining 2 requests only Recruit fresh graduates.
"This reflects the status quo to a certain extent. In their 40s, people with the ability and resources will basically not use social recruitment channels when they change jobs. On the contrary, there is a high probability that they are not the talents needed by enterprises. Corporate recruitment, especially for grassroots and junior positions, It must be mainly young people. Young people are malleable, have no family burden, and are easy to manage." Zhao Qi said bluntly.
In April of this year, a netizen who claimed to be a manager of a company posted on the "19th floor" (Internet community exchange platform) saying that he had rejected a 36-year-old job applicant who had applied for a java programmer, which triggered heated discussions.
The netizen said that although the job seeker was experienced and more than capable, and the conditions and position were relatively matched, he refused after careful consideration.
The netizen gave the reason: over 35 years old, there are no young people to work hard, the salary requirements are too high, and it is not easy to be "fudged" by having one's own opinions.
All in all, the price/performance ratio is not high.
Zhang Liyun has been concerned about the reemployment of middle-aged people for a long time. She summarized two factors that make it difficult for middle-aged people to find a job:
On the one hand, some companies blindly pursue the maximization of profits and lack a sense of social responsibility.
The company law stipulates that companies should fulfill their social responsibilities, but some companies only consider economic benefits, and set a red line for age when setting up positions and recruiting, which is suspected of age discrimination.
On the other hand, some middle-aged job-seekers do have high expectations, high demands, and are not well managed.
Some middle-aged job-seekers feel that they are fully qualified for this job, and even feel that they are overkill. After entering the company, they may be dissatisfied with the management of department leaders, especially the younger department leaders.
In this regard, the scope is quite agreed.
He further analyzed that for companies, economic costs must be considered. For the same job, young people generally have lower salary expectations than middle-aged people, and companies naturally hope to hire young people with higher efficiency and lower costs. .
In addition, middle-aged job seekers often do not have a high degree of matching with the company, and it is difficult to find the corresponding position and level within the company to match it.
A worker in Tianjin who is engaged in employment guidance told reporters that middle-aged people find it difficult to find a job. In addition to corporate reasons, some job seekers also have to look for their own reasons. Some job seekers are not suitable from within the system to outside the system. Some job seekers have average abilities and high expectations. They require that the salary and position cannot be lower than the original job. They are not satisfied after finding a few jobs and quit within a few days.
"Job applicants also have to calm their minds." He said.
Policy guidance to strengthen training
Legislation to protect equal employment
Where is the way out for middle-aged people to find employment after they are unemployed?
In fact, in order to solve this problem, all localities and departments have carried out active exploration and practice.
Many years ago, the state introduced the "4050 Policy", that is, flexible employment for women over 40 years old and men over 50 years old, without a unit to pay them social insurance, can apply for and participate in social insurance subsidies given by the state.
In recent years, Nanchang, Jiangxi, Panzhihua, Sichuan, Zhuzhou, Hunan, Chuxiong, Yunnan, and other places have launched a series of measures to help "4050" personnel reemployment, through the introduction of preferential policies to help "4050" personnel start their own businesses and encourage various enterprises to absorb "4050" personnel Employment, development of public welfare positions, employment of "4050" personnel, etc., effectively solved the employment problem of a group of older people.
Zhang Kai pointed out that middle-aged job seekers need more and more targeted employment guidance. Some people have worked in a unit for ten or twenty years, and their work style and rhythm are relatively solidified. They are also more responsive to the current employment situation and business needs. I don't know much, and need targeted training and guidance.
At the same time, many middle-aged job-seekers have certain advantages in experience and other aspects compared to young people who have just started. However, they have lost some opportunities due to poor information. It is hoped that relevant departments can establish platforms to break through information barriers and allow job-seekers and employers. Better connection and communication.
Equal employment is the most important and basic right of citizens to survive and should be protected by law.
Zhang Liyun pointed out that the labor law in a broad sense does not pay more attention or preferential protection to the employment of middle-aged people.
Although the labor law points out the issue of "employment discrimination," it only has principled clauses that protect workers' equal employment rights, and there are no specific provisions prohibiting age discrimination.
Therefore, we must first pay attention to the interests of this group in laws and policies, and give a certain degree of inclined protection.
"Relevant departments should strengthen the training of middle-aged employees. In addition to improving their business capabilities, they should also strengthen their guidance so that they can appropriately lower their expectations for salary and positions, put down their positions, strengthen learning, and integrate into the new collective and new corporate culture. Zhang Liyun said that at the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the promotion, training and guidance of enterprises. Enterprises should implement social responsibility into the system to solve the employment problem of a middle-aged person, which may solve the survival problem of a family.
"In some countries, the relevant legislation stipulates that if age is used as a screening condition in employment, it may constitute discrimination. my country can also consider putting the issue of age discrimination within the scope of legislative or judicial discussion." Range said.
The scope suggests that through strengthening policy guidance, such as the government providing corresponding financial support, granting some subsidies to employers hiring middle-aged and senior-age employees, and establishing unemployment insurance funds to solve and stabilize the employment of middle-aged and senior-age people.
At the same time, it is necessary to consider the issue of classification and stratification. For middle-aged and senior job-seekers who have difficulty in finding employment, it is necessary to distinguish educational background, ability, etc., and make different policy arrangements according to the characteristics of different groups of people.