Five older job seekers tell us how they broke through a bruising job market

, 64, has been driving for Uber since losing his job as a financial adviser at a major asset-management firm two years ago. The money supplements his Social Security payments. He feels financially squeezed by the rising cost of living, and his Uber income is down, which he attributes to rising competition from self-driving Waymos.

He worries that driving for Uber will no longer be a decent source of income in a few years, and he is still looking for work in finance.Falls, who lives with his 10-year-old daughter in Scottsdale, Ariz., is pessimistic about finding a new finance job. He said his long search has proved fruitless, and he feels trapped between having experience that made him overqualified and passed over for entry-level jobs, but being too old to land a senior position. “I think it’s pretty clear at this point that I’m not going to get hired,” he said.Some job seekers cast a wide net. Michele Helfgott-Waters, 60, focused on her niche experience after being laid off in July from a program-manager role.

It was the second time in about two years the Huntsville, Ala., resident lost a job.This time she focused on her professional experience with veterans. She attended virtual career fairs for military spouses—her husband is a veteran—and researched companies in advance. If an employer of interest didn’t have a position that she qualified for, she asked whom else she should meet.On Dec.

30, her search paid off. She got an offer for a project-manager role that came up through a connection—a remote role helping military veterans find jobs. She said she expects to be making more than in her past role.“In this market, especially being over 45, it is totally about your network,” Helfgott-Waters said.Write to Konrad