My Over Qualified Aunt can鈥檛 find a job in HR in the US! Is it age discrimination? Any Ideas on how to help???

The US Schools that are the direct competitors of the one she worked for in France have had her in for 鈥淚nterviews鈥?to milk her for information on her x-employer鈥?Asking VERY direct questions & asking her to give up secrets as if she had left under bad circumstances鈥?(She left because her father (My Grandpa) died & she wanted to be closer to my Grandma so she wasn鈥檛 鈥淔ired鈥濃€?

She is 56 years old & EVERYONE I know thinks that she isn鈥檛 getting any serious bites because companies want younger candidates鈥?br>
Any ideas on if our theory is right?

Any ideas on a direction or industry for her to look at to boost her chances??

The US Schools that are the direct competitors of the one she worked for in France have had her in for 鈥淚nterviews鈥?to milk her for information on her x-employer鈥?Asking VERY direct questions & asking her to give up secrets as if she had left under bad circumstances鈥?(She left because her father (My Grandpa) died & she wanted to be closer to my Grandma so she wasn鈥檛 鈥淔ired鈥濃€?

She is 56 years old & EVERYONE I know thinks that she isn鈥檛 getting any serious bites because companies want younger candidates鈥?br>
Any ideas on if our theory is right?

Any ideas on a direction or industry for her to look at to boost her chances??

Maybe she should check her resume to see if there is anything in it that would be turning off prospective employers. Like maybe coming across as arrogant.( I have seen this in some highly educated people, it is not an attractive trait.)

Has she tried Federal jobs? What state is she in? Some are more in need of mulitlingual employees than others. She might also want to check with non-profit organizations who have federal grants.

Is she a US citizen?

she should move here to Australia, we have a real skills shortage, she could make over $100,000 a year here easy with all those quals.

1) Your aunt needs to start looking at companies directly and stop with all of the federal/state/local govt job searching exclusively and take a look at the private sector. Some people in business would KILL for her skill set.... There are many large companies in the Chicago area, and many little ones too...
2) Why can't she translate for the courts? She'd rather go hungry? That onto itself is a good springboard back into a federal /state/local job.
3) Recruiters can help.... but again... she needs to go DIRECTLY to the companies, do informational interviews, apply online, etc...
4) She may need to consider a pay cut... when you relocate, its a risk, and can be very upsetting, but a real possibility.

Bottom line... check business's and not just gov't, look at all opportunities, revise expectations, and be willing to be flexible. in thr end once she is settled, it will pay off. Also, be a good niece and do whatever you can (like you're doing now) to support her and let her know that the glass is half full!