Hope for Unemployed

Job interviewing, to the extreme

beproverbs31woman — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:52:58 +0000

Some firms are using offbeat interview practices to get a real-time look at how prospects tackle problems, think on their feet and work as part of a team.

By Tiffany Hsu, www.latimes.com, February 19, 2012

Danielle Bemoras showed up for her job interview with a social networking company prepared for some tough questions. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a psychology experiment.

The company had invited a fellow job seeker to the dinner meeting in Chicago, looking to see how the rivals would handle the pressure of a joint interview.Awkward? No question. But Bemoras just rolled with it. She avoided alcohol to keep her head clear. She skipped the sushi to prevent chopsticks mishaps. And rather than try to upstage her competitor, she was respectful and collegial.

“I was in a sorority and had gone through that type of thing during rush,” said Bemoras, now 22. Her clutch performance won her a marketing internship followed by a full-time position with SceneTap, a digital night-life guide headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Welcome to “extreme interviewing.”

No longer satisfied with sorting through resumes and screening applicants the traditional way, some companies are using offbeat interview techniques to test the mettle of job seekers. Skills, education and good references are still important. But firms increasingly want a real-time look at how prospects tackle problems, gin up new ideas, handle change and work as part of a team.

To assess these amorphous qualities, interviewers at some firms have adopted aspects of reality shows, quiz programs or Broadway auditions.

Google Inc. is renowned for peppering candidates with brain twisters such as “You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. Your mass is reduced so that your density is the same as usual. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?” according to the book “Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?” Hewlett-Packard takes the same approach: “If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?” Tony Hsieh, chief executive of online shoe retailer Zappos.com, likes to ask potential hires, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how weird are you?”

Often, there’s no right answer, said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder, an online job board and career consulting company.

“They want to know how creative job seekers are, how they respond under pressure, whether they’re more right-brain or left-brain,” Haefner said.

Some just want to see how well applicants can think on their feet. According to career website Glassdoor, recruiters at one marketing firm told applicants last year to “just entertain me for five minutes; I’m not going to talk.”

Companies are running job seekers through a gantlet, in part because they can.

With about 12.8 million Americans still unemployed, employers are being deluged with resumes. That gives the screening process heightened importance — firms have loads of qualified people to choose from, but a bad hire could hang around for years. Two candidates who look identical on paper and handle traditional interviews well may perform quite differently when pushed out of their comfort zone with extreme interviewing tactics.

“Companies are being more innovative not just in finding people who fit the work but also those who fit the culture,” said Charles Purdy, a career analyst for the Monster job listing website. “As the workplace changes because of society norms and technology, the classic job interview is going to change as well.”

Enter Twitter. Minneapolis advertising agency Campbell Mithun asks candidates for its internship program to apply in a series of 13 Twitter messages. Limited to 140 characters with each tweet, candidates are challenged to show their stuff in a small space.

“We’re looking for digitally savvy, creative thought leaders, and the 13-tweet process gives applicants a real opportunity to demonstrate these capabilities,” said human resources director Debbie Fischer.

New York-based social media marketing agency Likeable Media recently conducted an interactive group interview on Twitter to fill a social media manager position. The interviewer tweeted questions and candidates answered using a common hash tag that allowed them to see one another’s messages.

Syracuse University graduate student Alyssa Henry, one of the participants, said the “free-form” style put her at ease. She didn’t get the job but said she’s grateful for the experience.

“I’m used to communicating using that platform, and it also took some of the pressure off since there wasn’t someone looking at you waiting for an answer,” said Henry, 23. “You’re getting to have that first conversation with a potential employer without that stressful crunch-time feeling. I got to be myself.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-extreme-interviewing-20120219,0,6029500.story

Deducting Job-Hunting Expenses

beproverbs31woman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:32:18 +0000

Written by Kay Bell, Published February 13, 2012, Bankrate.com/www.foxbusiness.com

These days a lot of Americans find themselves pounding the pavement in quest of a new job, whether they’ve gotten the pink slip or expect to get one soon. The good news: The search may help you cut your tax bill — under certain circumstances, job-hunting expenses are tax-deductible.

New job, same field

First, your hunt for new work must be in the same field in which you’re currently or were formerly employed. Uncle Sam won’t help out if you decide to totally switch career gears.

Second, you can’t decide to chill out for a while and then expect the Internal Revenue Service to help when you decide it’s time to get back on the career track. Deductions aren’t allowed for employment-search costs when there is a “substantial break” between your last job and when you begin looking for a new one.

Finally, recent graduates are out of luck. The costs you incur in getting your first job aren’t deductible, because the tax law only allows you to write off expenses incurred in searching for another position in your present occupation.

But if you’re on the lookout for a new position, start saving those job-search receipts.

What you can write off

*Employment and outplacement agency fees.
*Resume services.
*Printing and mailing costs of search letters.
*Want-ad placement fees.
*Telephone calls.
*Travel expenses, including out-of-town job-hunting trips.

Even self-employment efforts could count at tax-filing time. The costs associated with investigating or attempting to start your own business, as long as it’s in the same field as your current profession, may be tax-deductible.

Itemizing limits

Careful tracking of these expenses is critical because they are classified as miscellaneous itemized deductions. You itemize them on line 21 of Schedule A.

But you can’t automatically subtract your job-hunting costs from your income — just those that, when added to all your miscellaneous deductions, come to more than 2% of your adjusted gross income. So hang on to those job-hunt vouchers. They can help push that miscellaneous amount to the allowable level, even if you don’t get new work.

Employers finding reliability of older workers refreshing

beproverbs31woman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:25:49 +0000

By Anita Bruzzese, Gannett, www.usatoday.com

Gisela Ashley had been a real-estate agent for about 18 years when she decided to take inheritance money from her father and go back to school.

She earned her master’s degree just one month shy of her 50th birthday in 2008, entering what she knew was a very difficult job market.

Her age coupled with the recession and limited experience in her new field of recreation programming for seniors should have added up to tough times for Ashley.

STORY: More older Americans on the job than ever
COLUMN: Older employees’ skills can work in new job

Instead, she found success and a job as engage life director for Atria Senior Living in Newburyport, Mass. Atria is one employer actively seeking senior employees, finding them to be “committed, reliable workers,” says Anne Pinter, senior vice president for the New England-Upstate New York region for Atria Senior Living.

“We run 24/7 care for frail seniors,” Pinter says. “We’ve got to have committed, reliable workers, and we haven’t always been able to find that with younger workers who sometimes may not just show up for work. We need those who can grasp the purpose of what we’re trying to do.”

Ashley says she was aware that some older job seekers have complained about age discrimination. For that reason, she didn’t discuss her age and thinks her more youthful appearance helped.

She also nabbed a couple of internships in her field before graduation, which helped beef up her resume and make her more appealing to employers.

“I actually interned for someone who said she had two bad experiences with previous interns who were in their 20s. She said that I renewed her faith in interns and said she appreciated my maturity and felt she could trust me. With the younger interns, she said she felt she had to watch them all the time,” Ashley says.

Pinter says 36 percent of Atria’s 9,000 workers are older than 50, and of that number 11 percent are part-timers.

“We offer people the chance for full-time careers if they want, but we also have hours for those who don’t want to work all the time,” she says. “We have a lot of different work.”

While seniors may not be physically able to do some of the most demanding work such as heavy maintenance, most can handle duties from serving food to working at the receptionist desk, Pinter says.

“No matter what job they do, they give our seniors a great living experience,” she says. “Our seniors say that they love connecting with older workers because they’re often about the same age as their own children. They can find it a little difficult to initiate a conversation with a 20-year-old.”

For her part, Ashley says the senior residents give her an ego boost.

“They think I’m 20,” she says, laughing.

In addition, Ashley says she’s inspired by her senior staff, including one 75-year-old women “who puts me to shame she has so much energy.”

Atria has learned through assessments that employee energy isn’t related to age, and “has more to do with personality,” Pinter says. “We don’t see a lot of limitations to what they (senior staff) can do.”

“One of the things we’ve found is that our employees really drive the experience of our residents,” she says. “Happy employees really drive the satisfaction for our residents, and our senior workers just have a happy factor that is contagious.”

Ashley says her experience of going back to school was fun and she bonded with many of her younger classmates who referred to her as “Mama Gisela.”

“I would say that the key is just putting your best foot forward,” she says. “I really do believe the saying that 50 is the new 30. I just said, ‘what the heck’ and went for it.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/bruzzese/story/2012-02-08/older-workers-committed-reliable/53006562/1

Anita Bruzzese is author of “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy … and How to Avoid Them,” www.45things.com. Find an index of On the Job columns . Write to her in care of Gannett ContentOne, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22107. For a reply, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Age Differences in Job Loss, Job Search, and Reemployment

beproverbs31woman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:29:12 +0000

By Richard W. Johnson, Corina Mommaerts, Urban Institute

Abstract

Working longer is often hailed as the best way to increase retirement incomes, yet this strategy depends crucially on seniors’ ability to find work and hold on to their jobs. This study examines how the incidence and consequences of job displacement vary by age. Results show that older workers are less likely than younger workers to lose their jobs, but only because they generally have spent more time with their employers. When older workers lose their jobs, it takes them longer than their younger counterparts to become reemployed, and when they do find work they generally experience sharp wage declines.

The text below is an excerpt from the complete document. Read the entire paper in PDF format.

Introduction

As the population ages, the employability of older adults is becoming increasingly important. Adults age 50 and older made up 31 percent of the labor force in 2010, up from 20 percent in 1995. If labor force participation rates at older ages continue to grow at their 1999 to 2009 pace, by 2019 adults age 50 and older will account for 35 percent of the labor force. Working longer is often hailed as the best way to increase retirement incomes (Munnell and Sass 2008), yet the strategy depends crucially on seniors’ ability to find work and hold on to their jobs. Being out of work is especially serious for older workers who are too young to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, which provides an important lifeline for nonworking adults age 62 and older (Johnson and Mermin 2009). Questions about the employability of older adults are particularly relevant in the wake of the Great Recession of 2007â??09, when the demand for labor remains weak and unemployment rates are near record highs.

Job loss is an inevitable consequence of a dynamic economy. Employers must be able to shed jobs in response to changing market conditions, and their ability to do so at relatively low cost encourages them to hire more employees. Workers in declining industries often lose their jobs, but growing sectors provide new employment opportunities. Although job creation and destruction help distribute resources efficiently and promote economic growth, this dynamic process can impose significant costs on individual workers. Displaced workers forfeit wages, sometimes for extended periods, and the stress of being out of work takes financial, physical and emotional tolls on the unemployed. The consequences of job loss may be especially serious for older workers, who may encounter more difficulty finding jobs than their younger counterparts.

This study uses recent longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine how the incidence and consequences of job loss vary by age. Models measure the likelihood that workers lose their jobs through no fault of their own and the likelihood that displaced workers become reemployed. We also compare earnings and other job characteristics before and after job loss for displaced workers who become reemployed. Final tabulations compare job search activities by age for unemployed workers. Results show that older workers are less likely than younger workers to lose their jobs, but only because they generally have spent more time with their employers. Older workers who become displaced spend more time unemployed than their younger counterparts and experience greater wage losses when they become reemployed. These findings suggest that some employers are reluctant to hire older workers, and raise questions about the employability of older adults.

End of excerpt. The entire paper is available in PDF format.

http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412284-Age-Differences.pdf

IRS Tax Center to Assist Unemployed Taxpayers

beproverbs31woman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:39:50 +0000

From IRS website – http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=219269,00.html

The “What Ifs” of an Economic Downturn
The Internal Revenue Service recognizes that many people may be having difficult times financially. There can be a tax impact to events such as job loss, debt forgiveness or tapping a retirement fund. If your income decreased, you may be newly eligible for certain tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Publications to assist unemployed taxpayers

Publication 4128 , Tax Impact of Job Loss
Publication 4128(SP), Tax Impact of Job Loss (Spanish version)
Publication 4763, Job Related Questions During an Economic Downturn
Publication 4763(SP), Job Related Questions During an Economic Downturn (Spanish version)

Assistance with filing and paying taxes

If you have troubles paying your tax bill, contact the IRS immediately. There are steps we can take to help ease the burden. You should file a tax return even if you are unable to pay so you can avoid additional penalties.
Free Tax Help
Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service at the IRS – How to Get Help with Unresolved Tax Problems
Payment Plans, Installment Agreements
Offers in Compromise
IRS Help for Financially Distressed Taxpayers

Starting your own business

Some taxpayers may see unemployment as an opportunity to start their own businesses.
Starting a Business
Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center
Small Business Tax Workshops Learn the basics by taking a free Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop.

Health insurance

COBRA Health Insurance
Workers who lose their jobs may qualify for a 65% reduction in health insurance premiums for up to 15 months.
Health Coverage Tax Credit – Trade-affected workers and PBGC payees receive an 80% credit for health insurance premiums.

Other Resources

Publication 908, Bankruptcy Tax Guide
Canceled Debt – Is it Taxable or Not?
Publication 4705, Overview: Mortgage Debt Forgiveness
Publication 4705(SP), Overview: Mortgage Debt Forgiveness (Spanish version)
Bartering Income Bartering for goods or services? Know the rules.

Excellent resource for the unemployed: Career One-Stop

beproverbs31woman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:25:44 +0000

If you are currently unemployed and in need of assistance, Career One-Stop is an excellent place to go to for help.

Career One-Stop is sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and was established by law under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA, P.L. 105-220). The central component of all One-Stop centers is a labor exchange system that is universally accessible to job seekers and employers. This labor exchange system is undertaken by the U.S. Employment Service (ES) which was first established by the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933. There are offices located all over the country.

Career One-Stop provides national, state and local career, labor market, and workforce information using online tools, videos, and maps to a range of local services. They provide access to their career resource library, career planning and job search coaching and access to computers, copiers, fax machines for job seekers, students, businesses and career professionals.

Additionally, through the help of Arbor, One-Stop can provide you with a monthly $50 gas card (amount depends on local county budget), help with grocery bills, utility bills, help to renew your car registration and so much more!

For VETERANS seeking re-employment assistance, Career One-Stop has a special section. Please check – http://www.careeronestop.org/ReEmployment/Veterans/Default.aspx and http://www.mynextmove.org/vets/

For STUDENTS, please click on this link – http://www.careeronestop.org/StudentsandCareerAdvisors/StudentsandCareerAdvisors.aspx and click on www.bls.gov/k12 to explore career options from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide teens with assistance in making decision about education, training options, and future work lives. For the latest information about green careers, employment trends, explore more than 1,800 industries and discover which occupations are growing fastest and have the largest employment, visit www.CareerOneStop.org/ExploreCareersStudents.

For LAID OFF WORKERS – http://www.careeronestop.org/reemployment/ – Worker ReEmployment is your one-stop site for employment, training and financial help after a layoff.

If your unemployment benefits have ran out, explore your options here – http://www.careeronestop.org/ReEmployment/my-benefits-ran-out-now-what.aspx

Career One-Stop Employment Center – http://www.careeronestop.org/employmentcenter/EmploymentCenterPgTwo.asp

If you wish to learn more about Career One-Stop, please visit http://www.careeronestop.org/.

Career One-Stop – Build a bridge to your new career – PDF copy of Career One-Stop’s flyer

Build your programming skills for free – CodeAcademy.com

beproverbs31woman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:18:01 +0000

Code, De-coded (www.foxbusiness.com)

Speaking of resumes, add an educational element to your list of skills – for free. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to code, or already know how and want to teach others some tricks of the programming trade, CodeAcademy.com is the place to go. CodeAcademy.com offers instruction and mentoring resources for anyone who wants to learn how to build their own websites, games, and applications. And it just recently added a teaching platform for anyone who wants to create their own code courses and add them to the site. It’s free for students and teachers alike. Start building your programming skills, – or just learn what “JavaScript” actually means – by clicking here – http://www.CodeAcademy.com

Job Seeker as Video Star – GetHired.com

beproverbs31woman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:13:50 +0000

Job Seeker as Video Star (www.foxbusiness.com)

Those researching their next career move will want to check out the latest in online job search. It’s called GetHired.com and it features multimedia resumes, going beyond just one piece of paper listing past jobs and education. Job seekers can build a profile, add video and audio components, and connect with dream job recruiters. And, unlike other job search services that use video resumes, only employers can view candidate videos, meaning privacy among the competition. GetHired also makes it easy to schedule interviews with candidates and conduct those interviews online via video conferencing. The best part, of course, is that the service is FREE. Employers and potential employees can check it out here.

More Elderly Find They Can’t Afford Not to Work

beproverbs31woman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:03:28 +0000

By KELLY GREENE And ANNE TERGESEN, Wall Street Journal

Rose Marie Meece planned to retire from her job as a tour leader in Honolulu three years ago. The 78-year-old woman decided to stay after losing about half of the $300,000 in her retirement account during the downturn.

“I did some high-risk things,” she said of her investments. She has since moved her remaining savings into bonds and other safe but low-yield investments. Social Security and her late husband’s Navy pension barely cover her monthly rent of about $1,300, so she keeps working.

Ms. Meece is one of a growing number of elderly people working or seeking work, increasingly with the expectation they will stay on the job for as long as they can. Some failed to plan well or spent their working lives earning paychecks too small to amass much savings. Others suffered financial losses. Many lived longer than they imagined with their savings depleted by everyday bills or chronic illness.

The unemployment rate among Americans ages 75 and older—measuring the number of people seeking work—is relatively low but twice what it was five years ago. The rate was 5.6% last year, according to government data, compared with 2.5% in 2006. In contrast, the U.S. jobless rate for all ages fell to 8.5% in December, a 34-month low, compared with 4.4% in December 2006.

Joblessness among the oldest Americans could be even more widespread: Economist Steven Haider of Michigan State University said older people may be embarrassed to say they are looking for work.

As of December, 1.31 million people ages 75 and older were working, a 25% jump from 1.05 million in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, 7.3% of the oldest Americans have jobs, up from 5.3% a decade ago and the highest level since 1966, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The numbers offer a glimpse into the future for the 77 million baby boomers, Americans born between 1946 and 1964. This generation began turning 65 last year. By 2018, the government estimates, about 10% of people 75 or older—about two million Americans—will be working or seeking work.

Ms. Meece leads 10-day tours of Hawaii that include whale-watching expeditions in Maui and snorkeling trips in Kona. She sometimes oversees volunteers who maintain the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

Ms. Meece said she loves Hawaii, where she was married and lived for nearly two decades as a Navy wife. She has considered moving to the mainland, where it’s cheaper and closer to her children. Maybe West Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon or Las Vegas, she said.

But truth be told, “I don’t want to be in any of those places,” she said. “The bottom line is, ‘Why would I want to go freeze my butt off?’ “

Not everyone is working to stay afloat. One in four people on the job at age 75 or older has an annual household income greater than $100,000, according to Michael Busch, a graduate student in economics at Michigan State University, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many of these high-earners are professionals and business owners who “are working because they enjoy it,” said Mr. Haider.

Others aren’t so happy. They find their return to the workplace physically tiring. Some complain of aggravating young bosses. One 80-year-old telemarketer in New Jersey, with 30 years of experience, described frustration with a supervisor who hovers and tells her to “stick to the script.”

New technology can seem baffling. Office software has advanced dramatically, an eye-opening experience for a returning Tennessee secretary who first retired when fax machines ruled the office.

The pay of many returning workers is often not much higher than minimum wage, especially at the entry level jobs open to the elderly.

Walter Thompson, 79, is a cook for a meals-on-wheels program in Jewett, N.Y. He starts work at 7 a.m. on weekdays and uses a walker to ease arthritis-related back pain, steadying himself on kitchen counters during his five-hour shifts.

A retired waiter, bartender and chef at a convention center in Rensselaerville, N.Y., Mr. Thompson said years of carrying heavy trays took a toll.

“I don’t rush anymore,” he said, “and I don’t take sudden turns.” After work, Mr. Thompson sinks into his easy chair and naps. The oldest of 10 children, Mr. Thompson said his younger siblings think he’s crazy to continue working, especially after his bout with prostate cancer.

“They think I should be retired,” said Mr. Thompson, but he has no plans to quit. The job pays $10 an hour, 25 hours a week. His paychecks and Social Security support himself and his 70-year-old wife, Maria, a retired school-bus driver. They have been married for 42 years and have no children.

Mr. Thompson earned minimum wage, plus tips, during nearly 40 years as a waiter. The couple paid off the mortgage on their two-bedroom, one-bath house in Windham, N.Y., but they never could save much.

Mr. Thompson’s job helps pay for visits to family in Iowa and Kentucky, an annual cruise—this year they hope to tour the New England coast—and a monthly date with friends at the Bavarian Manor Inn and Restaurant in Purling, N.Y.

Mr. Thompson seeks to make the best of his life. “The job keeps me busy and gets me out of the house,” he said. “If I am at home, I sit here in an easy chair and watch TV and gain weight, which isn’t good.”

The financial crisis tightened the squeeze on many older Americans. Interest rates on bank accounts plummeted below the rate of inflation. The housing bust erased equity. Stocks fell.

From 2007 to 2009, the average net worth in U.S. households headed by someone at least 70 years old shrank 27% to $529,000, including home equity, said Dirk Krueger, a University of Pennsylvania economist. Average net worth for households of all age groups fell 32% to $378,000 in the same period. Following the stock market’s rebound, average net worth for age 70-and-older households climbed back to $590,000 by the end of 2010 and to $426,000 for all ages.

Some returning workers thought Social Security would shoulder more. In 1981, Social Security paid 52% of the average worker’s pre-retirement earnings, according to the Social Security Administration. The percentage shrank to 39% in 2001 and is expected to continue falling as the eligibility age gradually increases to age 67 for full benefits—a change that lowers monthly benefits for those who retire earlier.

Federal spending on Social Security and Medicare is rising, both in total dollars and percentage of the budget. Social Security made up 20% of the federal budget in the 2010 fiscal year, up from 13% in 1962. Combined spending on Social Security and Medicare represents 9% of GDP and is projected to grow to 12% by 2035.

Even so, Medicare doesn’t cover all health expenses. Unexpected medical costs derailed the retirement of Ralph Casado, a 76-year-old former advertising executive in New York City. He drained his $180,000 retirement account eight years ago for prostate cancer treatments, as well as kidney, knee and heart surgeries.

Mr. Casado closed his small ad agency in 2002 and now works as an adjunct professor at City University of New York. He makes $18,000 a year teaching two classes and meeting with students. Social Security pays him another $18,000.

“The part I like most is keeping the students motivated,” Mr. Casado said. Still, he added, “I think about retiring every day.”

To make ends meet, Mr. Casado borrows a few thousand dollars each year from his employer-sponsored retirement account. His monthly expenses include $700 in alimony from a divorce 35 years ago and $900 in maintenance fees on his apartment.

“I worry about losing my apartment or not having enough medical coverage. Those are the fears that keep me motivated,” he said. “Only health factors would force me to retire.”

Some older workers get paid only on commission. Wayne Polay, 77, of Roseland, N.J., returned to his job as a sales broker for a firm that seeks buyers for small businesses. He gets a commission only when he closes a deal.

At the top of his career, Mr. Polay, a lifelong salesman, was the No. 3 executive for what is now Arrow Shed LLC, based in Wayne, N.J. The closely held company says it has sold more than 12 million storage sheds over 50 years.

Mr. Polay left in the late 1980s with a small, lump-sum pension, he said, and bounced around sales jobs, while dipping into his savings of about $75,000.

A 2001 stroke left Mr. Polay unable to drive or speak well enough to work. He spent years in physical therapy. When he set out to relearn how to drive, he bought a $1,000 used Saturn so he wouldn’t worry about banging it up. In August, he applied for his former job at Executive Business Brokers, of Union, N.J. His boss rehired him.

Mr. Polay has no pension and his wife’s small business—maintaining plants in commercial offices—suffered in the downturn. He collects about $1,700 a month in Social Security benefits, he said, but needs an additional $2,000 to cover his share of the mortgage, utilities and car expenses.

He spends much of his day in a cubicle plastered with photos of his grandchildren. He is usually on the phone or on the road, trying to drum up listings and find buyers. Mr. Polay likes the thrill of sales and the camaraderie of a sales office, where, he said, brokers “back each other up.”

He is working on the sale of a coin-operated laundry for $320,000, which would bring home a $15,000 commission. “You don’t get a salary, but I like making the deal,” he said. “And where else am I going to get a job at my age that can pay what I need to make?”

After retiring in 2003, 87-year-old Erika Weidner recently landed a job collecting tickets at a movie theater in Maplewood, N.J., making $7.25 an hour, four hours a week. She wants a second job but worries about her stamina.

“I’m just going to see how it works out,” said Ms. Weidner, a former secretary, saleswoman and professional singer. “If I have to work in the daytime, as well as night, I don’t know what effect that will have on me physically.”

Ms. Weidner grew up in a “cold-water flat” in nearby Millburn before moving to Los Angeles to work for TV and movie writers. She later sold crypts for Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in Southern California and thought the $28,000 she set aside in the company’s retirement-savings plan would be enough, along with Social Security.

But the money went fast—to support a late sister and for medical expenses not covered by Medicare during a battle with colon cancer in 2010.

These days, Ms. Weidner’s rent devours all but $31 of her $1,566 monthly Social Security check. She said she “allows” herself $15 a month for gas.

In her youth, Ms. Weidner dreamed of being an opera singer and spent her spare money on singing lessons.

Her younger sister, a professional dancer who followed her to California, persuaded Ms. Weidner to move back to New Jersey in the early 1990s. She worked as a secretary for a decade until her last employer retired.

After her sister died in 2008, it got harder for Ms. Weidner to keep up with the bills without her sister’s $500-a-month contribution. The two women, who never married, had lived together for years.

Ms. Weidner recently started getting food stamps. Her brother, a retired teacher, buys food for her three cats. While walking in downtown Maplewood last month, she saw a “Help Wanted” sign at the theater and was hired several days later.

Ms. Weidner enjoys the job though she didn’t like having to pay for her own uniform: a black turtleneck, shoes and shirt. She said she would like to work longer hours but the theater has only one showing the nights she works.

Ms. Weidner reminisced about her years working in Hollywood and would prefer a typing job.

She recalled welcoming actor Robert Redford into a studio office. She asked Mr. Redford to remove his sunglasses so she could see his “beautiful eyes in person,” she recalled. He did.

For now, Ms. Weidner is brushing up her secretarial skills by helping type her brother’s memoirs. She said she was keeping her eye out for more “help wanted” signs.

“Even if it’s $5 an hour,” she said, “it will be good.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204331304577145002385012634.html#project%3DUnemplymentRate1201

Write to Kelly Greene at kelly.greene@wsj.com and Anne Tergesen at anne.tergesen@wsj.com