Welcome to Edition #20 of Ask Gorick Anything. This AMA is part of Gorick's Newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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→ Read time: 5 min
ASK GORICK ANYTHING
“How do I return to work?”
Have a career question? Ask me here.
Subscriber’s question:
“I'm in my 40s and thinking about getting back to work. I haven't worked in a while due to interviewing poorly and being treated poorly on the job. How is the job search process these days, especially for older people who were on a long career break? If I do get a job, how do I ensure I'm treated with respect, and not rudeness and dismissiveness that causes pain, suffering, and terrible emotional/physical health?”
— “Mina” from San Francisco, CA
Gorick's response:
Hi “Mina”,
Thanks for your questions, vulnerability, and trust.
You’re right: the hiring market has definitely seen better days.
According to the March 2025 jobs report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.6 million people have been looking for a job for at least 6 months, which is, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “roughly a month longer than… during the postpandemic hiring boom in early 2023.”
The number of job seekers looking for that long is also “up more than 50% since the end of 2022.” And these numbers don’t even account for the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who’ve been laid off and the fact that, just 2 days ago, this headline appeared on the front page of the WSJ, signaling that the private sector is likely to become increasingly timid with hiring:
Unfortunately, ageism and a resume gap only make the job search more challenging because employers will be looking at you with skepticism—and will be asking themselves 2 questions:
- “Will you be as adaptable, tech savvy, and cheap as a younger worker?”
- “Are you used to working anymore—and are you still on top of the latest trends—now that you’ve been out of the workforce for so long?”
Your job is to convince your future employer to answer “yes” to both of these questions. The problem is, this message isn’t easy to convey through a resume alone.
So, what can you do? Network—starting with your 1st and 2nd degree connections.
How to leverage your 1st degree connections
(AKA the people you already know)
- Google former coworkers you liked working with by typing in their name + LinkedIn + [company, city, or any other details you remember about them] to see if they have LinkedIn accounts.
- Assuming yes, look at where they’re working and what they’re doing and ask yourself, “Does this role and organization look interesting to me?”
- Assuming yes (or even if not), reach back out, share what you’ve been up to, and tell them that you’re looking to re-enter the workforce and would love their advice.
- Chat with them and, in the conversation, ask if their team/organization is hiring and if there’s anyone else they’d be open to introducing you to.
How to leverage your 2nd degree connections
(AKA the people you could get an intro to)
- Click here to see a list of your 2nd degree LinkedIn connections (and consider bookmarking the link for easy future reference).
- Make a list of people who (A) work at organizations you’re interested in, (B) work in roles/fields you’re interested in, and (C) have a mutual connection that you’re close to.
- Reach out to your mutual connection and ask if they are close enough to this person to make an intro for you.
- Chat with them, learn about their path, sell your background, and express interest in working there.
I realize networking can be time-consuming—and scary, especially if you’re a bit rusty—but it does come with 4 advantages:
- You’re letting people know that you exist
- You’re letting people know what you’re looking for
- You’re narrowing your search down to teams that hire people in your general age bracket
- You’re getting a chance to confirm if there’s an ageism problem at the organization
How to ask about a company’s culture
“But how do I know if there is an ageism problem?” you may be wondering.
The truth is, you won’t until you get there—but you can be on the lookout for things that might tip you off. The same goes for any unanswered question you might have about a company’s culture. So, when in doubt, ask!
Here are a few questions to consider asking in your next coffee chat to uncover an organization’s culture:
- “What has your experience been like as a [your shared background]?”
- “What was the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make this role work for you?”
- “Does / Is anyone else on your team also [your shared background]?”
- “What other opportunities were you considering? Why did you pick this one? Why did you stay?”
*Quick word of caution: A coffee chat is more than just an information-gathering exercise. It’s also a chance to demonstrate your Three C’s, so if you’re serious about the role, be sure to show interest and share how your background sets you up to do the job well.
Of course, you can’t always chat with someone at every organization you’re looking at. If you don’t have an existing connection, try searching for the organization on Reddit, Fishbowl, Blind, or Glassdoor and read about people’s experiences.
At the end of the day, you can’t control other people, so “ensuring” anything is hard, if not impossible, to do. The most you can do is use what’s available to make as informed a decision as you can.
Good luck!
—Gorick
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