Am I too old at 59 years old,,, I hope not

No, of course it's not. Can only offer support as I've no experience myself although Mr C did have a complete change after his role became just too stressful at about your age and began to work for a National Charity at a fairly basic level but he loved it. I wonder if the recruiters for the voluntary sector paid roles could be more open minded? Others on the site have been in your position and will be able to be more help. Hang on in there.

I've been there!

Make the covering letter good and appropriate for the role (sometimes unless the letter hits the right notes, your CV wont even be read).

I revamped my CV and left out date of birth and many other dates too! I put "qualifications in eng, maths, etc etc" rather than O levels.

Basically, from my CV it was impossible to guess my age.

The jobs where they ask you to fill in application forms with DOB etc, before they have even interviewed you are bloody awful.

Sometimes I would be asked to interviews and when I turned up you could see the surprise on the interviewers face, but my response was "yes, I am on older candidate, but that means I have more life experience and am very unlikely to need to take maternity leave!

Tip: For some smaller companies, having staff off on maternity leaver is a real problem, so for those you start with a built in advantage!

I got a new job with a small business when I was 57. I had been working for one of the big banks and was very stressed by the targets.

The hourly rate was less but I was very happy and well treated by my new employers. It was heaven compared to the bank. I stayed until I was 64 and they didn't want me to leave but I felt ready to retire. I was lucky to get my state pension at 60 and also my bank pension.

I really understand where you're coming from Mumski.

I retired at 58 simply because I walk with a stick and that combined with my age was causing me huge problems. I even took to folding my stick in my bag before entering the building !!

It shouldn't matter but it does. I was interviewing for very senior roles that I was well qualified for but disability and age were the deciding factors despite all companies paying lip service to equality. I even got my CV revamped by a company that specialised in that sort of thing ( didn't recognise myself from it afterwards !)

The low point was when Tescos wouldn't interview me for a temp job on the tills because and I quote ( you'd be bored and leave). As I pointed it , it was 6 weeks , that's all. I could handle anything for 6 weeks !!

I did finally get a job with a Canadian company that interviewed me by phone !! A final redundancy a couple of years later put the end to my working life but I do wonder how working till 68 is going to work if you are unfortunate enough to be looking for a job aged over 60!

Good luck to you - it's hard work but hopefully something will come up !

Are you enjoying the voluntary work? If not, find some you like! I often find that from volunteering comes part-time or casual work, then something more permanent.
2 other suggestions :
Could you temp?
Do you have any skills that might be helpful to teach at your local Further Education college? They will often employ experienced workers on a casual basis if they are short of lecturers in the relevant fields. Just contact them, with your company, highlighting any mentoring type of experience.

Isn't the tory government advising us oldies to get an apprenticeship?? Now I wonder who would offer one to someone nearing the end of their working life ? Or theres the fruit picking also thought a good idea by our wise(?) leaders ,clearly we aren't thinking out of the box enough ...there are hundreds oof thousands of jobs and employers desperate to help us out....NOT !I s there a way you can do agency work or start a small business from home ,they seemed the only options my friend had when she was made redundant for the 3rd time at 57 .She now runs a small office work agency from her spare bedroom.Doesn't make her a fortune but she reckons every little helps

Thank you for your words of encouragement everyone. Nannarose do you need some sort of teaching qualification at FE colleges to teach? I have a great deal of management and social care experience.
Trying to keep my chin up but feeling increasingly worn down and the bills are mounting up.
I can'y get Universal Credit as my partner earns just over the level, so we don't qualify.

You could try having more than one CV - ie tailor them to the job advertised. Obviously you can't fib about qualifications you haven't got but you could tweak it and omit unnecessary information unless asked for it specifically.
DH did omit his DOB from his CV after 60 and obtained another short-term contract in his 60s and thereafter got other contracts by recommendation.

Some good advice here so don't get despondent. I just to volunteer jobs but I do keep getting offered permanent jobs through those. With your experience in social care I would have thought care homes which find it notoriously difficult to recruit staff especially good managers would be crying out for you -or perhaps you don't want that?

I thought you had to have a teaching qualification to teach in an FE college?

Could you take a TEFL or similar course? Despite what Juncker said, many people do want to learn English still!

Apparently formal qualifications for FE teaching were revoked in 2013 (who knew?) It might be worth looking to see what courses your local college offers and if there is anything you could contribute to-vocational training perhaps. Maths, English and languages are always short of teachers. You can get bursaries to train.
There are also sometimes opportunities to do things like invigilating in exams- not permanent and not well paid but something.
You might have to cobble together a mixture of occasional, supply and temporary work but hope you find something soon.

Mumski you do need teaching qualification to teach at FE but I think it is possible to train to teach in FE on the job. You would be given a mentor. A warning that teaching is stressful not so much because of passing on of knowledge but paperwork and targets are stressful. You have to teach in a formulaic way even if you know you could impart the information in a simpler way.

There are language schools in the UK (not sure what area you are in Mumski) which teach foreign students English and that would not be so formulaic and there would not be so much paperwork or targets.

From the get into teaching website
How to become an FE teacher

Formal qualification requirements for FE teachers were revoked in September 2013. However, the sector still recognises the need for good teaching qualifications – FE training providers are all independent organisations that recruit directly to their courses, so they may still specify particular requirements or eligibility criteria.
There are three training routes available to become an FE teacher, catering for people with and without teaching qualifications:
pre-service – this involves gaining a teaching qualification with a university, college or other training provider, with entry requirements decided by the specific institution
in-service – typically involves working within further education as a teacher while training part-time at a college of FE
transferring to FE – if you already have a teaching qualification, you can transfer to FE with a few additional steps and potential extra qualifications, all of which can be done in-service
For more information on the different types of training and how to apply, please visit the FE Advice website. A small number of FE teacher training providers can also be found on UCAS Teacher Training.

I was in same boat, applied for up to 50 jobs per month, always said over qualified, so I dumbed down my CV, Left off loads of qualifications, I did not want a job with responsabilities anymore, we want different things from employment when we get older. I am working on a checkout now, and happy as Larry spending my afternoons going beep, beep, beep, just chatting to people!

Sorry for the typos in my earlier post

Not sure about FE places, but I taught a course on horse care and stable management (many years ago) at our local Adult Education Institution.

My brother was redundant in his sixties and struggling to get a job. He signed up with a local agency that supplies temporary staff for the local authority. He has worked for the mental health team, tourist information, housing and a library. He loves the variety and can take a few weeks off when he wants a holiday. My friend volunteered for Age UK and was offered a part time paid role. Good luck with your search

It is illegal to ask for your birth date. So leave it out. There is no way to check up on years qualifications were obtained, so lie. I actually didn't have to, I failed at University when I was 20 and took an OU degree in my 40s. That date is what went on my CV

I agree with having several versions of your CV, read the job description and tailor your covering letter & CV to match yourself as close a match as possible.

I also sent letters & CV's on spec to local companies, one of which did result in a job.

Have you thought about registering with some agencies? they 'headhunt' for people with managerial experience, for permanent or short term contracts.

I'm a qualified teacher, but a while back when I needed some extra cash, I temped on the weekends and a few evenings, it was all admin office work and for one of the credit card companies....that was just data changes, very boring.....but paid remarkably well! I even had a stint at receptionist temping during the summer break, that was brilliant. work was very varied, including a fashion company, QVC, car showrooms, chemical company, 2 computer companies. I was even offered permanent jobs a couple of times at the places I temped at. You do need a car to get around, as often I would get called at short notice.

with office temping they often want a 'body' to do the work, so don't mind age or gender.

I was made redundant in July last year and finally got a permanent job in April. I started temping in January which helped me keep my skills up and I really enjoyed it, plus the agency kept my CV updated for me which was great. I used Reeds. It is worth temping - you get to do a variety of jobs and you get to see if you like them and they like you. A lot of jobs are temp - perm and it's an ideal way to find out if you are suited. I was actually approached my current employer as they had seen my CV and asked me to apply (if I wanted to). Please don't get despondent - I do know how hard it is to stay positive in the face of rejection but the job for you is out there somewhere. Good luck!

Forgot to say I was 54

I felt very much like you, and at the age of 58 started my own business which I still do.

It does not take much to work for oneself, and then the CV can be binned!!!

My hobby was genealogy, and I now work as a genealogist and have completed around 800 bespoke projects of all sizes. Presentation is everything, and people will pay for something that is bespoke.

To consider working in FE you must have subject that you are skilled in. Consider self employment as a home tutor or similar. If you are fit and reasonably well, offer your services as a dog walker/PA/Driver.

My recent life experience involves my partner becoming very ill, and needing help, and I discovered there are people who work as PA's not in the empire building sense. They are self employed and offer services as drivers/shoppers/ companions/enablers on a paid hourly rate of about £15-£20 plus petrol. They can pick and choose their jobs. Their overheads, apart from their vehicle, is simply advertising in appropriate places - they need an enhanced CRB, and public liability insurance ( which is not expensive in my experience).

If you want real interest in your life - something that does not pay, other than free board, how about holidays as a 'house sitter'. I have a cousin from Canada who wanted to see the UK and she spent 6 months last autumn/winter house sitting all over the UK and will be doing it again this year.

I am a terrible employee - I have tried it and I do not like the attitude employers have - so I work for myself. Give it a go, it's not as hard as you might think, and if you do make a mistake, you just have yourself to tell off, not someone else belittling you.

Working for yourself will build your self esteem and feeling of doing something worthwhile..... it's just a thought, but give it some thought. Good Luck

Try working for the agencies, I worked for them for over 10 years, was always in full time work. Suited me because of my disabled daughter. As for age, no you are not to old . The work industry will just have to put up with us so called oldies working as the government has moved the goal post with the retirement age. Don't give up, go to the interview with the attitude they need new! Good luck.