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I’m 32 and Have Never Had a Job. How Do I Start?  

If you are 32 and never had a job, you have a long road ahead of you. However, it’s not impossible to find work at 32 or even years beyond that. Knowing the right processes will help you gain employment and start your career. Here’s some information about starting in the workforce a little later in life.

Is it bad if you never had a job?

You might be thinking, “Is it bad if I’ve never had a job?” That depends on what you consider bad and whether you care what other people think. Not working or being unfamiliar with doing work duties for pay can hinder your growth as a responsible person.

Thus, it can be detrimental for you if you’re used to having your parents, spouse, or inheritance pay all of your bills. It might be challenging to adjust to living a life where you have to go out in the world, accept a job, deal with numerous challenges, and then try to pay your bills with what’s left after taxes.

It can also be hurtful for your job search if you’ve never worked. You’ll have to tell prospective employers you have no experience they can reference and no established skill set they can utilize.

However, that won’t necessarily bar you from gaining employment. You’ll just have to look for employers who advertise “no experience needed” or “willing to train” in their job descriptions. Therefore, the key is to find the right opportunities.

If you mean “bad” regarding what other people think, no. What other people think about your work history is irrelevant unless they’re paying your bills. Then they can have a say over whether you work or not. Even so, how you earn money to meet your obligations is up to you.

If you are self-employed, you do have a job, and you have a history you can share with skills you developed from the work you did. It’s true that the employer may not hold as much weight in self-employment endeavors as they do in traditional job experience, but you shouldn’t dismiss those experiences as if they don’t matter.

If you truly have never done any type of work in 32 years of life, then it’s time to learn how to get a job ASAP.

Read More: Starting a Career at 40 After Being a Stay-At-Home Mom: What You Need to Know

At what age do people stop hiring you?

There is no definitive age at which people stop hiring you. Each employer has its own culture, mission statement, and unspoken guidelines. The age of 40 is when discriminatory actions such as refusing to hire someone becomes a problem.

Ageism occurs when an employer refrains from hiring or promoting a person because of his or her age. It also occurs when such employers assign older workers different tasks because of preconceived notions that “old people” can’t do them.

These actions are against federal law, and you will have recourse if they happen to you once you reach that tricky age.

All that said, many workplaces have diverse workforces. They hire people as young as 16 and as old as 70-something. Your difficulty gaining employment will depend on your career goals and the companies you choose to apply to.

Tech is one of the most difficult fields to get into without having a brush with age discrimination. Companies such as Google, Facebook, HP, and IBM have spent some time in the legal system because of alleged ageism.

Every day blue-collar jobs generally don’t have the same issues, especially with the current decline in workers. More people over 40 are landing and keeping jobs because of their reliability, skill sets, and experiences.

How do you get a job if you have never had a job?

These are some steps you need to take if you have never had a job:

Decide what you want to do.

The first step to finding a job if you’ve never had one is to ask yourself what you want to be when you grow up. Not everyone knows what they want to do at an early age, and that’s okay.

However, you will need to consider aspects such as your hobbies and interests to decide which direction to go in. Ask yourself what you’re good at and what you like to do, and choose something that matches.

For example, you might want to work for a product manufacturer as an assembler if you enjoy building items or putting things together with your hands. You may not need experience to land one of these jobs, but you could probably stand to take a course in basic tool operation. Some assembly jobs require much more skill, and thus, you may need to take a course in soldering or something similar.

Get the training and education you need.

If your goals are set at a higher tier of employment, you’ll need to get relevant training and education. In some cases, an internship or volunteer job can take the place of some job experience.

Check out the requirements for the types of jobs you want, and then take steps to get your training and certification. Alternatively, you can search for a no-experience-needed, entry-level job in the field and start from the bottom to get to where you need to be.

Create an attractive resume.

Your resume won’t have much on it, but you still need one. This is the fun part of the process where hiring a professional resume creator might be a good idea. You will need to highlight information relevant to the job you desire.

Thus, you can put your educational degrees, volunteer jobs, and internships in the form. Going to school full-time is considered “work,” so you can even list your time spent in school as a two-year or four-year job. Be sure to list your specific degree major and accent the skills you learned from your other adventures.

Market yourself.

Once you have the education and resume, it’s time to market yourself. Visit the job boards and apply to all relevant job positions that match your preferences. Make your job search like a full-time job, putting up to 40 hours a week into finding the perfect opportunity.

What if you never get a job?

Your next thought may be, “What if I never get a job?”

The odds are in your favor regarding getting a job. So it’s in your best interest to think positively. One Reddit user claimed to be 32 and out of work for four years, but that generally isn’t the case. However, you need to put a lot of effort into sending resumes and applications that attract employers.

Then you need to develop your interviewing skills to land a job when an employer contacts you. Focus on delivering the best cover letters, resumes, applications, and interviews. 

Do not focus on your age, because you will psych yourself out before giving your venture a chance. Since you don’t have much work experience, it will be difficult for employers to tell your age until you’re in the hiring process anyway.

Apply for a job religiously for 12 months before you worry about it. If you find that you can’t find a job by then, you might want to consider studying how to start your own business. Perhaps there are resources available to someone of your ethnicity, upbringing, or career interest.

Now you can clearly see that there’s still hope, even if you’re 32 and never had a job. Use the information you read in this text and start putting your all into obtaining gainful employment. Something is out there for you. Try not to focus on your age and let your personality and professionalism do the talking.

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About Author

Founder of Eggcellentwork.com. With over 20 years of experience in HR and various roles in corporate world, Jenny shares tips and advice to help professionals advance in their careers. Her blog is a go-to resource for anyone looking to improve their skills, land their dream job, or make a career change.

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