New Zealander Gail Wilson enjoyed a long career as a Government writer and advisor but, after an extended trip to the US for a break, she returned to find herself unemployed and struggling to find work.
She retrained as a barista so she could earn some income but like many over 50s found the process of trying to get a job surprising and difficult.
One recruiter even told her that she was not going to be recommended for a job because the client wanted someone younger.
Many jobs she applied for went acknowledged - the same experience as a single mother of three in Melbourne who contacted me. She had a PhD, had applied for more than 70 jobs and had not heard back from one of them.
Maybe Gail Wilson has the right idea - retrain and learn something new completely different from your usual skill set. Not ideal but better than no work at all.
The original story below is from stuff.co.nz and the image by Rosa Woods.