O
n a sunny morning, Al Maurer dons his favorite brown sport coat and takes a three-hour train ride from Long Island all the way to Philadelphia for a trade show. He figures the tech companies at the convention might be looking for a salesman or corporate trainer. And he’s armed with a smooth approach. At the first booth he visits, he cracks a few jokes and soon has four company reps chatting and laughing. Only then does he mention that he’s looking for new opportunities. As it turns out, the company might be hiring. Everyone trades cards. Maurer is pleased. “I’m pretty good, am I not?”
Within the hour, he collects three more leads. But the exercise wears on him—after all, he’s been hunting for four months. Not so long ago, when he was president of his own company, he stood on the other side of the booth, flanked by pretty models. His exhibit in Las Vegas was two stories tall, Maurer recalls: “It had a conference room on the second floor!” He looks around the thinly populated hall, taking in the puffy-faced reps, the lame signage, the sad bowls displaying free candy. “You’d think I’d have a job by now.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Looking for Work -- at Age 70 - Personal Finance - Employment - SmartMoney.com
Author: Evan Kafka
