Upper age limit for most jobs

[FastLaner007]

Hey,

I have a quick question for my friend. He is about the same age as me (27) and went to Uni with me. He has been only a freelancer so far and I have indirectly introduced him to the principles of Fastlane and now wants to give real entrepreneurship a shot for a few years.

But he is worried that companies may not hire him for entry level jobs once he crosses 30 should his business efforts fail. Right now he is thinking about jobs (both private and government) as a safety net. So are there any age limit for applying to good jobs in general? He also wishes to do Masters or MBA only if he fails in business before applying for jobs either in America, Europe or Australia. (He is an Australian living in London)

Regards,

FastLaner007

 

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[NVaz]

There are so many variables to that question.

That is a cultural issue, and IMO he already have a safety net, he's a freelancer.

 

[GoGetter24]

If he lives in a culture that stupid, it just means he'd have to job hunt a little harder. Surely by freelancing he'd end up skilled at something marketable (actually far lower risk of being unmarketable than coming out from a school or another company).

"You're perfectly matched to this job role, and we're confident you'll make us more than we'll have to pay you, but we're not going to hire you because you're past 30" said no unretarded person ever.

 

[Jenifer Williams]

There are so many variables to that question.

That is a cultural issue, and IMO he already have a safety net, he's a freelancer.

Being a freelancer gives you independence, you don't have to depend on anyone else. It's a good thing that he already has the great source of income.

 

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[JAJT]

But he is worried that companies may not hire him for entry level jobs once he crosses 30 should his business efforts fail.

If his worry is whether or not he can get an entry level job at 30, then yes. That's cause for concern.

But not because he can't get an entry level job at 30, but because that's his line of thinking. If he has so little value and skill to offer the world that he doesn't know if he can get an entry level job, yeah, that's a real problem. Especially if he's hiding behind age as the excuse instead of his lack of skill and value.

Useful people get hired. That's all there is to it.

 

[Kak]

Assuming, you or your friend are actually working on something, hard, while partaking in "entrepreneurship" you should be building more experience than if you had a job.

Lets look at two scenarios-
Scenario 1:
Guy graduates college with a BBA at 22 years old> Gets an above average job @50k per year.> Gets a promotion at 25 to 60k per year> And another promotion to 75k at 28... Hopefully by age 35 he can break into 100-150k range where he will likely ride out the rest of his career unless he loves kissing a$$.

Scenario 2:
Same guy graduates college with a BBA at 22 years old> Immediately starts working on a business with a LEAN lifestyle finds a way to get by on less than a typical job, lets say it takes years> At 24 has enough experience to likely get a 75k job> At 26 150k> At 28, 2 job job offers pop up for over 300k per year...

Does that sound far fetched? It isn't. It happened to me. And I politely declined the job offers. How did this happen? Meeting the right people and working on the right things, thinking broadly and displaying high levels of competence at every possible instance.

HAD NOTHING worked out for me I would still be in better shape than someone who decided to hop on the ladder and do menial work all day. The difference being the sacrifice I was willing to make. Taking initiative builds resumes and grows your overall value to the marketplace even if that means a job.

 

[WJK]

Hey,

I have a quick question for my friend. He is about the same age as me (27) and went to Uni with me. He has been only a freelancer so far and I have indirectly introduced him to the principles of Fastlane and now wants to give real entrepreneurship a shot for a few years.

But he is worried that companies may not hire him for entry level jobs once he crosses 30 should his business efforts fail. Right now he is thinking about jobs (both private and government) as a safety net. So are there any age limit for applying to good jobs in general? He also wishes to do Masters or MBA only if he fails in business before applying for jobs either in America, Europe or Australia. (He is an Australian living in London)

Regards,

FastLaner007

Maybe he won't need an entry-level job. His experience as a freelancer may land him a position up the food chain. I've been self-employed for 42 years, and I've been offered many jobs over those years. If they need your skills and experience, they will make you an offer.

My problem with taking a job was that I was too successful as a freelancer and too educated. I had a bunch of cross qualifications. They couldn't afford me on a full-time basis. So, I had many gigs as a consultant or an independent contractor. I just made sure that I had the contractual right and the time to continue doing my own thing while I was working for them. I narrowed the scope of the different projects, so I didn't wear out my welcome. I turned down a lot more than accepted. Being hard to get also increases your value.
www.wjkbusinessbuzz.com

 

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[FastLaner007]

Thanks for the useful replies guys. I will make sure to forward him your inputs. A thing to mention is that he is not enjoying freelancing as there is a constant need for hunting for clients. He does get a few referrals, but he depends on customer acquisition to fill his sales pipeline. Hence, he is thinking of a secured slowlane job as a cover as it provides fixed monthly income without the need for tiring sales and marketing.

 

[Matt Dassel]

On these circunstances if that is really his worry I would say that you could look for jobs that businesses are dying to have someone good enough. Maybe it could be on Sales.

The key is to focus on their need and take the pressure off of yourself. Age is really a problem when businesses operate in countries where democratic government policies and regulatory practices make businessmen be a "father and mother" to employees taking care of them for their whole life. This tendency is worse when businessmen have an impression you are the wrong person to hire which is not the case of a well read man on his late 20s.

Trust your strategy on what to do once you get the job.