How To Fight Age Discrimination

By Donna Fuscaldo

Being out of work is hard, being unemployed and in your 50s can be impossible. While companies won't admit it, age discrimination does exist, particularly in a tight job market where there are many more candidates than job openings. Although the problem crosses both genders, older women reentering the job market can have an even tougher time. According to the September jobs report, women 55 and older who have been out of work for longer than 27 weeks increased from 50.9 percent in August to 54 percent in September.

Older workers looking for employment may think they have to act or dress younger to land a job in this economy, but career experts and headhunters say they should use what they have to their favor: knowledge and experience.