Company Announces Top 10 Jobs for Mature Workers in Honor of National Employ Older Workers Week

MELVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 26, 2012)—Hiring managers are three times more likely to hire a mature worker (60 percent) than a Millennial (20 percent), according to a new survey from Adecco Staffing US, part of the world’s largest recruitment and workforce solutions provider. The survey, conducted by Braun Research, Inc on behalf of Adecco, polled hiring managers across a range of industries about their perceptions of mature workers versus Millennial job candidates. Findings revealed a positive perception of mature workers in today’s workplace, with 91 percent of respondents saying they view mature workers as reliable and 88 percent considering them professional.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Labor celebrates mature workers through National Employ Older Workers Week, held this year from September 24-28.  The survey, done in conjunction with this moment, classifies mature workers as those 50 years old and older—a fast-growing segment of job seekers. According to the Department of Labor, by 2014 those over the age of 55 will have an employment rate of 41 percent, comprising more than 21 percent of the U.S. workforce. Many mature workers today are in the second phase of their career, some of whom had to come out of retirement or were laid off during the most recent economic downturn.

“The rise of mature workers in today’s workforce is a direct result of economic and societal factors,” said Joyce Russell, President of Adecco Staffing US. “These are individuals who long ago paid their dues, and given their years of experience and work ethic, they make excellent job candidates and strong employees — and the results of this survey show how overwhelmingly appreciated and valued they are by hiring managers.  National Employ Older Workers Week is a wonderful time to recognize the contributions these employees make to any organization.”

In addition to the survey findings, Adecco has also identified a list of the top 10 jobs for mature workers to coincide with this week’s recognition of this demographic. The list, which is based on internal data and a general assessment of the overall economic environment, identifies a mix of both traditional and more niche positions that are currently hiring. These jobs offer a variety of common characteristics that mature workers desire in a job such as flexibility, social environments, and stability while also accounting for a number of job qualities that have historically been most highly desired by mature worker job seekers.

The top 10 jobs for mature workers include:

1.     Training / Learning Instructor

2.     Financial Consultant / Advisor

3.     Retail Sales Representative

4.     Local Tourism Guide

5.     Customer Service Representative

6.     Non-Profit Recruiter / Manager

7.     Accounts Payable / Receivable Clerk

8.     Administrative Assistant

9.     Technical Writer

10.  Quality Control Engineer

“Today’s economy has created a competitive employment landscape that can be difficult to navigate-- no matter what generation you’re from,” said Russell. “It’s important for mature workers to understand what they want out of a job and to seek out opportunities that allow them to combine their skill sets with their personal interests, while keeping in mind what hiring managers want to see during their interview.”

Additional survey findings include:

Hiring barriers exist for both age groups. Though 39 percent of hiring managers don’t see any challenges in hiring mature workers, compared to 27 percent for Millennials, others identified some for each of these employee groups. According to the survey, 39 percent said the greatest challenge to hiring mature workers is their difficulty in learning/adapting to new technology. When it comes to Millennials, 46 percent of hiring managers view their unknown long-term commitment to a company as the biggest possible liability.

Interview skills call for improvement. Both mature workers and Millennials make mistakes during the interview process, according to the survey. Specifically, 51 percent of hiring managers cited mature workers’ biggest interview mistake as “high salary/compensation demands,” followed by 48 percent that cited “overconfidence in their abilities and experience.” For Millennials, the biggest mistakes were “wearing inappropriate interview attire” (75 percent) and “posting potentially compromising content on social media channels” (70 percent).

Respect for leadership in question. The survey shows that 33 percent of hiring managers are also concerned about mature workers’ possible resistance to taking direction from younger management; conversely, 27 percent have concerns about Millennials’ unwillingness to taking direction from older management.

Methodology

Adecco conducted a survey of 501 hiring managers – those responsible for making hire decisions at their company, division, group, or job – across a variety of industries within the United States. This telephone survey was fielded by Braun Research, Inc from August 23-30, 2012 and the results have a margin of error +/- 4.4% for this sample size. Full survey results can be viewed upon request.

About Adecco Staffing US
Adecco Staffing US is the nation’s leading provider of recruitment and workforce solutions. It is the pre-eminent workforce management partner for Fortune 500 companies and career advisement expert for American workers, serving all of the key industries and professions that drive the US economy forward. Adecco has more than 900 career centers and, on any given day, connects 70,000 talented workers to the best job opportunities across the country, making them one of America’s largest employers. Visit adeccousa.com for more information.

About Adecco Group North America:
Every day we provide our clients with the talent they need, and help solve the business challenges they face today – and will encounter tomorrow. Our clients rely on us for a wide range of workforce solutions including:

·       Contingent staffing and direct hire recruitment for large enterprise organizations across all skill sets

·       Workforce solutions and consulting including Managed Services Programs (MSP) & Recruitment  Process Outsourcing (RPO)

·       Career transition and leadership consulting

·       Specialty staffing, project solutions and consulting services

Additional information is available through our websites at www.adeccogroupna.com and www.adeccousa.com.

About the Adecco Group:
The Adecco Group, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is the world’s leading provider of HR solutions. With more than 33,000 FTE employees and over 5,500 branches, in over 60 countries and territories around the world, Adecco Group offers a wide variety of services, connecting over 700,000 associates with over 100,000 clients every day. The services offered fall into the broad categories of temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition and talent development, as well as outsourcing and consulting. The Adecco Group is a Fortune Global 500 company.

Adecco S.A. is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN).

About Braun Research, Inc. (BRI)
BRI is a well-respected and internationally recognized firm that employs techniques and standards approved by leading survey research academic organizations in the world. BRI is an active member in a number of respected organizations throughout the industry, including The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), Council on Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) and Council on American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO).

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