The company where Marc worked underwent a long period of restructuring. When his job moved to Paris in 2016 he left the company. Marc was forced to look for a new job. He hadn't applied for a job since 1985 and had never written a CV.
'Soms had ik de indruk dat mijn leeftijd een obstakel was. Mijn profiel sloot voor 90 procent aan bij een vacature en toch vonden sommige bedrijven mij geen geschikte kandidaat.' - Marc Poelman, telecomconsultant
returning to work: over 50.
'I sometimes had the impression that my age was an obstacle. My profile was a 90 per cent match with a vacancy yet some companies considered me to be an unsuitable candidate.' - Marc
'I began work at the age of twenty-one after my national service and armed with a degree in electricity. My first employer was Bell Telephone in Antwerp. I began work there as a technical draftsman and later worked for other telecom companies.'
He lost his job two years ago. His job disappeared abroad after a restructuring. Marc took a sabbatical of six months. He then began the search for a new job.
'It was an entirely new world for me. I hadn't applied for a job in thirty years and had never had a CV. Luckily I received good help from RiseSmart who offered an outplacement. That was a really positive experience. I also ended up in a discussion group with like-minded people. There was a real click there as well.'
In his last job Marc was a trainer. He hoped to do a similar job in another sector, but was unlucky. 'I sometimes had the impression that my age was an obstacle. My profile was a 90 per cent match with a vacancy yet some companies considered me to be an unsuitable candidate. That taught me to always ask for feedback. You may learn a thing or two and it is also valuable for future discussions.'
'We were looking for a consultant specialised in IP telephony/unified communications. Such profiles are hard to find.' - Tanja Somers, head of recruitment Xylos
