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"The employer loved me on the phone, saying I had a great resume, good skillset. Everything was terrific until I walked into the interview and they saw I was a 53 year old lady, THEN their faces literally dropped," complained this new career counseling client.

Seems employers don't want to hire OLDER workers these days - a common complaint that I seem to hear a lot.

Age discrimination is rampant right now with hiring employers being extraordinarily picky about whom they offer a job to. Over 20 million Americans got unemployment in 2009, with over

7 million being over age 40, according to the US government.

Ok, so age discrimination is illegal but that sure doesn't stop employers from making decisions and not hiring you if they think you are "too old".  Employers are savvy enough to not come right out and say, ‘You're old; we don't want you,' but their actions reflect their attitude: high layoffs of older employees and more hiring of younger workers. Today's employers often believe that someone under 40 will work for a lower salary, may seem more eager, shows more initiative, has a ‘fire-in-their-belly' success attitude, will likely have better computer skills, and comes across more adaptable, less old fashion or struck in their ways. 

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My concern has turned to outrage over the America job market. I am shocked and dumbfounded by the fact that Congress, The White House, the media and the public is still standing by idly as our unemployment rates climbed to double digits!

I've been a job search expert helping people find new jobs for 20 years. This is hands-down the worst job market I've ever seen - 17 million people without a job! Millions! It's heartbreaking and we must scream and be heard so Congress will take actions to create jobs- millions of jobs!

Congress's bailouts, clunker deals, and stimulus programs to date have created few jobs, giving little help to real Americans. We need a REAL job creation campaign that will deliver NEW JOBS NOW!

I am astounded by the silence from Congress and our media who virtually ignored the seventeen million Americans who are suffering the daily heartbreak that is unemployment? Million feel powerless and these individuals have no rich, powerful lobbyists, no money for making campaign contributions to politicians...and no jobs or incomes.

What can you do? What Can I DO?

I have done THREE things:

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I became an author almost by accident. I was working at the University of Washington as a Director of Student Services when I wanted to leave and open my speaking business. I sat at a business development seminar listening to a speaker who had "made it" and his words of wisdom were, "If you want to succeed in this business you need to become an expert and that means writing a book and getting it published." I said to myself, I can do that.....

I turned my seminar into a book proposal (which is harder to write than the book sometimes!) and sent it to 24 publishers. I got 22 rejections. Only two editors even took my phone call and both said they were passing on my book idea but mentioned they did like one of the proposed chapters...on job interviewing. So back I went and wrote a NEW proposal and that is how 60 Seconds and You're Hired! became a book. It first came out in 1994, and it's been updated + revised a couple times - the latest version hit bookstores last year. This is THE book that got me on Oprah, and it's amazed me how long this book has been helping job hunters ace the interview and land a job.

Most writers of self-help and information books aren't writers when they start out. They are a subject expert. Becoming a writer never crossed my mind. My high school English teacher would assure you that I was an awful speller and not too hot in grammar either. I could tell a good story, communicate ideas, but I still can't dissect the sentence into its grammatical parts. I would never have thought of writing as a career for me

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Robin Ryan is our guest bloggers during the week of January 18th. If you have any questions for Robin Ryan, add a comment to any of her posts. Here is some more information about Over 40 & You're Hired!:

A vital new job search approach customized for people over forty- from the author of 60 Seconds & You're Hired!

With unemployment hitting all time highs, the over- forty crowd is struggling to land new jobs. America's top career counselor offers her market-tested program that shows readers how to effectively stand out and appeal to employers amid age discrimi­nation and floods of competition.

In Over 40 & You're Hired!, Robin Ryan will inspire readers to jump-start their careers and secure new, better-paying jobs. She encourages them to tap into the "hidden job market" (where 80 percent of all jobs are found), explains how to create targeted resumes and master the interview, and outlines how to overcome any age-related stereotypes they may encounter in their job hunt. Ryan has created a guide of valuable advice and detailed explanations culled from over twenty years of experience as a career counselor that people over forty will find indispensible as they look for work.

About Robin Ryan: