Too old to start anew?

As baby boomers reach retirement age, instead of dusting off the old golf clubs and deciding which Hawaiian shirts to take to Florida, some are dusting off their resumes and deciding which suit to wear to their job interview.

According to an AARP survey, 57% of people aged 45 and up who are working or looking for a job and have lost money in the stock market during the past year are planning to delay retirement.

Robert Dobkin, 67, a spokesman for a utility company in Maryland planned to retire on April 1, but has decided to delay his retirement indefinitely. He tells the AP:

"I felt that I was in a good position to retire until the market kept going down and down and the economy ground to a halt…I just figured there's no point in retiring in this time of uncertainty until I have a better feel for where the economy is going."

But while many older employees are opting to stay in the workforce, some older job seekers are having problems just getting in. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, claims of age discrimination are soaring. 

The New York Times reported this week that of those jobless, people 45 and older are staying unemployed for longer periods of time; and among those who do find new jobs, a great proportion of them earn less than they did at their previous jobs. The article begins:

"When Ben Sims, 57, showed up earlier this year for a job interview...he noticed the hiring manager — several decades his junior — falter upon spotting him in the lobby."

The interview lasted 10 minutes, and Simms, who has been looking for work since November 2007, was not offered the job. His explanation: "I knew very much then it was an age situation."

Competition is steep among the 13.2 million Americans currently unemployed, but older job seekers seem to be having an even harder time. And oftentimes, the jobs they do get offered are steep demotions.

ABC News recently told the story of Ken Karpman, a 45-year-old former equity sales trader who earned $750,000 a year. He now delivers pizza for $7.29 an hour.

Karpman says:

"This whole progression down, it's amazing how many things you say, 'I can't do' and a week later you say, 'Yeah, I could do that,'... I'm not going to make a career out of this but, until I get something that pays more, this is what I'll do to keep food on the table."

While some are opting to take the lower-paying jobs, others are fighting what some believe to be ageism with the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality, choosing to undergo plastic surgery in hopes that their younger-looking appearance will land them a job.

Jeff Grabow, a marketing executive in Los Angeles who recently spent $17,000 on a facelift, told Reuters:

"I'm 56 and I've been in the music business for 35 years. We're not having a good year and I know I'll soon have to interview...The surgery made sense for me. I look at least 10 to 15 years younger and I have more confidence.

However, some economists fervently tout the importance of the experienced workforce. William Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business and an economics professor at Temple University, told the AP:

"Experienced workers produce more per hour with less supervision than youngins'...The elderly may, in fact, be cheaper than teeny boppers because they require less training, seek part-time work and will accept lower wages."

As ageism becomes more of a hot topic, many sites are offering tips for the older workforce. Charles Schwab gives the lowdown for anyone who's retired but is thinking about going back to work, and Washington Post's columnist Lily Garcia recently addresses the issue of hiring older workers in her column, "How to deal."

In an article entitled "How old is too old to work?" Healthday suggests: "Pick up a new language, learn a new instrument...Give yourself a push to try something new."

Susan Boyle, an unemployed 47-year-old contestant on "Britain's Got Talent" did just that—and see how it worked out for her.

- Allison Louie-Garcia

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