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At 55, 300 applications and 14 months without a job offer
A 55-year-old communications professional has applied for more than 300 jobs since March 2025. She says ageism and overqualification are keeping her out.
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Leslie Sonnenklar was laid off in March 2025. She had spent the previous years as director of content and communications at a marketing agency. With 32 years in the communications industry – including 11 years running her own business – she expected to find a new role within a few months.
Fourteen months later, she has applied for more than 300 jobs. She has tailored her résumé, written cover letters, reached out to hiring managers, and met with recruiters. She has not received a single offer.
“The only conclusion I can come to is that I'm overqualified for a lot of these jobs, or they think that I'm too stuck in my ways because I've been doing this for 32 years,” Sonnenklar, 55, told Business Insider. Recruiters advised her to include only the last 10 years of her job history. “I believe ageism is at play in today's job market.”
Sonnenklar said companies can hire someone in their 20s or 30s and pay them less. “Maybe companies are looking to teach younger employees along the way and pay them less than what they'd pay someone with my experience.”