Q: I have 27 years of experience at one newspaper, and I am over 55. Is it possible to secure a job at a major metro at my age?
Ready to Move
A: Then things are a little better, as you appear to be GOOD.
Your basic question, though, has everything to do with years, and there is ground for concern there.
If a 55-year-old spends half of his or her life at one paper (and there are thousands of good reasons for doing that) it can reduce your marketability.
A person who makes steady improvements in the job or employer over 27 years is more marketable than one who does not. Paradoxically, one who makes TOO many changes is seen as a job-hopper and can be hurt by that, too. In your case, potential employers may wonder (though they might not ask) why you haven’t moved sooner, why you want to move now, can you handle a big change in editor, paper, city, etc., after a career with very little change). You’ll have to infer anticipate the questions, raise them yourself and answer them.
Length of service can be an issue. At age 55, you’ve got 10 years till the standard (and advancing) retirement age, but not as much as someone who is, say, 35. Still, although 10 years would be way short of your average tenure, it is likely comparable to the average tenure at a lot of metros.
The key determinant should not be the things you ask about — your age and your long tenure with your paper, but the quality and consistency of your work. A Google check on you shows that you have some good things going for you, journalistically. Lead with those.
Two more things I would think about. One is you newspaper’s circulation — a bit under 90,000. Where do people from you paper typically move? To metros? Or something more intermediate? If you don’t see others moving to the type of paper you’d like to move to, it may be impractical to think you’ll be the exception — even though you may have more experience than them. Still, it could happen.
Another consideration is the supply of talent for the position you’d like to get. If you want to be a GA reporter at a metro, you’ll be one in a crowd of applicants. If you want to continue in the specialty you’ve been working recently, you’ll have a better shot — but only when that specialty opens up. If they don’t need the thing you’ve spent years getting good at, you can’t play the advantage that expertise gives you.
So, that is the long answer to your yes-and-no question.
I hope it helps.
