Smyrna’s ‘Helping Experience Work @ 50+’ event includes resume-writing help, career counseling, AARP workshops on selling your personal brand
Nashville – If you’re over 50 and looking for a job, it can take much longer to find one, especially in Tennessee – where unemployment continues to hover at 10.7 percent.
That’s why AARP has teamed with Employment Guide to offer a “Helping Experience Work @ 50+” career fair on Wednesday, April 14, in Middle Tennessee to aid job seekers in polishing resume-writing and job hunting skills – and connect them with employers who are ready to hire.
AARP Tennessee Community Outreach Director Tara Shaver will present a workshop several times throughout the day on “The Power of Promoting Yourself @ 50+,” which includes tips on creating a personal brand, a 30- to 60-second “elevator speech’’ to hook potential employers and tips for “dressing for success.” Times will be posted at the event.
AARP also is sponsoring booths at the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT at the Smyrna Town Center, and promoting free online resources that provide important tips and tools to help older workers succeed in their job search. Career counseling and an internet cafe for posting applications also will be available.
The Smyrna event is one of 48 sponsored this year by AARP in 19 states with unemployment rates of 10 percent or higher. Nashville’s LP Field will be the site of another career fair in September.
“AARP recognizes that thousands of older Tennesseans are trying to stay employed or get back on the job for a variety of reasons,” said AARP Tennessee State Director Rebecca Kelly. “Older workers continue to face difficult challenges in today’s economy. Many retirees have been forced back into the job market, due to decimated retirement nest eggs and skyrocketing health care costs.”
The AARP Public Policy Institute reports that older unemployed workers spend a longer time looking for work than younger job seekers, with an average of 35.6 weeks.
AARP is hosting the career fairs in collaboration with The Employment Guide, a leading national marketing services company that sponsors job fairs nationwide.
Pre-register for this free event online at http://www.wiserworker.com/job-fairs/view/3280. Job seekers can also register by calling 1-800 540 9745. Registration is not required to attend the event.
Participating employers, who must have job openings available at the time of the event, will include members of AARP’s National Employer Team, clients of the Employment Guide and other companies targeting boomers and older job seekers for job openings. Interested employers who mention AARP’s Tara Shaver to Debi Green at Employment Guide (debi.green@employmentguide.com) will receive a 20 percent discount.
AARP maintains a variety of programs to help workers 50+. In addition to career fairs, AARP conducts web-based seminars for job seekers; sponsors the National Employer Team, which connects job seekers with employers; honors Best Employers for Workers Over 50; and offers online job counseling. In addition, the AARP Foundation provides a variety of direct services to help mature workers at or below the median income through its WorkSearch website. For more information on the programs mentioned above, please visit www.aarp.org/realrelief.
About the AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For more information about AARP Tennessee, visit our web site at www.aarp.org/tn, “fan” us at www.facebook.com/aarptennessee or “follow” us at www.twitter.com/aarptn.
