'It's such a slap in the face': Job seekers in their 50s share the unique challenges they face

For our Still in the Game series, Business Insider has been interviewing and surveying people in their 50s who are navigating career changes. As we've shared their struggles and triumphs through unemployment and career pivots, we've heard from more than 100 readers via emails and comments, many expressing the same sentiment: "Thank you for showing me that I'm not alone."While looking for work or starting over at any age comes with challenges — especially after spending decades building a career and in the current difficult job market — some of those challenges may come as a surprise.

In Still in the Game, Business Insider is chronicling the realities of job hunting in your 50s — from overcoming age bias and navigating career transitions to rebuilding confidence, updating skills, and finding new opportunities in an increasingly competitive job market.

One surprise this age demographic seems to share is the sudden realization that their job experience doesn't hold as much weight as they expected. As these Gen X job seekers go through the growing pains of starting over at 50, they reflected on that reality, plus the other challenging headwinds they're experiencing.

When responding to our survey, one 55-year-old mentioned they're having trouble finding work because companies think people in their 50s are old now. "They forget that my generation is the one that, much like cockroaches, don't seem to age and are really hard to kill," they wrote.

Almost all of the Gen X workers and job seekers we spoke with feel that age discrimination is a major challenge in their current career journey. At the same time, they say it's difficult to prove. "It feels obvious to me that age is a factor in why I can't find a job," 56-year-old job seeker Kymm Dracup told BI.

Some of the people we spoke with also mentioned concerns about how AI might be keeping their applications from reaching recruiters.

They also have fears about how their limited AI knowledge is making them weaker candidates. "There's AI now, and having been out of the tech loop for almost five years, catching up at 52 is a minefield," Jodi Lynn Karpes said.

Thankfully, there are workarounds for the AI issue. For example, Karpes, similar to the other non-tech job seekers who responded to BI, is taking courses and educating herself about AI tools.

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It might be hard to believe, but there was a time when companies would inform candidates if they weren't selected.

Job seekers who have been gainfully employed for the last 25 years and have found themselves in today's tough job market said they are shocked by the lack of etiquette companies have shown.

Read more stories about job hunting, unemployment, and starting over after 50.