AARP and RetirementJobs.com Announce Partnership

For anyone over 50 years old seeking an encore career or any other kind of job, the task may have gotten a little easier.

AARP, the advocacy group for 50-plus Americans, and RetirementJobs.com, a job board specializing in the working needs of the same demographic, announced a new partnership August 14.

“RetirementJobs.com is our exclusive job search engine on the AARP.com Web site,” says Deborah Russell, AARP’s director of workforce programs. “The relationship came about because AARP’s mission is to keep 50-plus workers in jobs as long as they want, and RetirementJobs.com’s mission is to help [50-plus] workers find jobs.”

When AARP members access it, they get more than a listing of jobs from hundreds of employers. They also benefit from RetirementJobs.com’s efforts to identify employers with an express interest in hiring over-50 workers.

“We have an in-house research group that evaluates employers to see if they’re going out of their way to recruit, hire and retain over-50 employees,” says CEO Tim Driver.

To receive RetirementJobs.com’s Certified Age Friendly Employer designation, employers that apply are evaluated in 33 areas, including training opportunities, health care offerings, elder care and engagement by a company’s leadership. Approximately 50 companies have been certified since the program began in 2006, and Driver expects hundreds more to be certified by summer 2009.

Jobs from certified age-friendly employers are highlighted on the job board. The RetirementJobs.com certification program complements AARP’s Best Employers for Workers Over 50 awards, which recognizes 50 companies each year.

Although RetirementJobs.com doesn’t focus specifically on encore careers, such positions are available on the board.

“Web visitors tell us repeatedly about not only supplementing their income, but giving back to society,” Driver says. “They’re looking for flexibility and a job’s give-back quotient more than at any other time in their lives.”

Driver cites tutoring positions, especially those involving teaching English as a second language, as examples of encore jobs found on the board. The Peace Corps also recruits through RetirementJobs.com.

“We are the single largest source for the Peace Corps in recruiting people over 50,” Driver says. Government agencies and a number of large nonprofits are among current applicants for the age-friendly certification. By using the job board, AARP members and others looking for encore careers will know if nonprofits or other organizations really want over-50 workers.

Age-friendly certified employers that advertise positions on RetirementJobs.com stand to benefit from the new partnership as well.

“It gives them a competitive edge in tapping into a workforce with the skills to do the job and demonstrates that their policies and procedures are friendly to mature workers,” Russell says.

The partnership extends beyond the job board.

“RetirementJobs.com will work with AARP in influencing employer policies and practices to meet the needs of 50-plus workers,” Russell says. “Members say that sometimes age is a barrier. This relationship shows AARP is working to find jobs for mature workers and meeting the needs of our members. It’s also good for the general public because it demonstrates that there are employers who value mature workers.”