Job Interview Tips for Older Job Seekers

Job Interview Tips for Older Job SeekersJob Interview Tips for Older Job SeekersIts leid legal (or ethical) for employers to discriminate against job candidates based on age.However, that doesnt mean it doesnt happen. Employer perceptions about age do often influence hiring decisions. When there is a large applicant pool, as there is for many jobs, it can be hard to prove your age was held against you because there are many candidates who apply for every job. However, if you are an older job seeker, there are steps that you can take to help minimize the impact your age might have on your interviewing success. First Impressions Matter Your appearance is an issue, especially for jobs where candidates are often younger than you.Make sure your interview attire is in a current style.Pay attention to skirt length, tie width, lapel width, color, and fit. Keep in mind that appropriate interview attire may bedrngnis be what you wore in the past.If youre not sure what to wear, take a look at these fashion tips for older job seekers, speak with a stylist or knowledgeable sales person and consult friends and family who are younger than you. Fix Your Hair What you look like shouldnt matter, but it does. Your hairstyle is another factor to consider when cultivating a more youthful appearance.Talk to a stylist about a more youthful cut that is still age appropriate.Consider coloring your hair to get the gray out and take years off your appearance. Consider Your Experience an Asset One way to capitalize on this asset is to bring a portfolio of relevant projects to your meeting and turn the interview into a show and tell experience.Older workers might also showcase their experience by thinking of the interview as a consulting engagement.Be ready to discuss some of the problems and challenges which such an organization might face and some of the solutions you envision. Get the Right Tech Skills Most jobs have taken on a heightened technological profile in the di gital age. Employers looking for candidates who have the latest skills may fear that older workers will not keep up with technology trends.Make sure you know what technology is most valued in your target field, take steps to master it and be ready to share how you have applied this technology to your work. Get References Ready Securing written recommendations from past supervisors and offering them as evidence during or after the interview can be a useful mechanism to prove that you respond well to supervision of all kinds. Talk to prospective references to discuss some of the age-related perceptions you are trying to combat and discuss ways that they may be able to support those efforts in their recommendations. Focus on the Future Older candidates who are forward-looking about their professional life will have an advantage over those who appear to have already achieved their goals.Be prepared to speak enthusiastically about what you hope to accomplish in the next phase of your career within the context of your target job and employer. Youre Not Ready to Retire Employers often fear that older workers are biding their time until retirement and will be less aggressive about learning what they need to know to excel on the job.You can counteract this possible perception by designing, carrying out and communicating a professional development plan during the interview.Be prepared to discuss seminars, workshops, professional meetings and online tutorials which you have completed recently and what you have learned. Refresh Your Interviewing Skills If you havent interviewed in a while, you may be surprised that interviewing has changed. Many interviewers now employ behavioral interviewing techniques.You will need to provide examples of how you have applied sought-after skills in various projects and roles.Employers are also now more focused on evaluating how candidates have produced results and impacted outcomes. So you will need to review each of your past jobs and be prepared to describe situations where you applied relevant skills and the results which you generated. How to Address Being Overqualified If you are downshifting your career, as many older workers do, employers may view you as being overqualified for the job youre applying for. You can combat this perception by clearly describing your enthusiasm for the specific duties associated with the work.It will help if you can reference how satisfying it was for you to carry out similar functions in the recent past. How to Address Being Unemployed Unfortunately, being unemployed can impact your chances of getting hired. So, if you have been out of work and are an older applicant, you have two strikes against you. Be sure to review interview questions about being unemployed, so you are prepared. Show Your Willingness to Work for a Younger Manager Employers may have concerns about the willingness of older workers to take direction from younger supervisors.You can r eassure employers by sharing examples of how you have thrived under the direction of younger managers.Your opening may come when asked about your ideal supervisor. Keep It Positive It can be discouraging when it seems like what youre doing isnt working. Consider each interview another chance to get hired and do your best to be upbeat. Your posture and body language provide an opportunity to exude energy and vitality.Stand up straight, practice having a spring in your step and reach out to all the people you meet with enthusiasm. Make sure your voice is vibrant and not monotone. Think about projecting an energetic aura at all times.

Take Risks to Avoid Getting Laid Off

Take Risks to Avoid Getting Laid OffTake Risks to Avoid Getting Laid OffThe best way to avoid a pink slip is to take risks that other colleagues wont.Ive said many times that to get the job you want, you have to protect the job you have. This is truer today than its ever been. In unterstellung difficult times, your job is a key asset, and its your Number One priority to protect it.Does this mean you should be laying low, staying under the radar and hiding out of sight when the pink slips are flying? On the contrary These are the times when you should be laying it all on the line and showing your board of directors what youre really made of. Thats why I say that to protect your job - truly to bulletproof your position - you need to take risks. Lots of them.For many people, it seems risky just to take a different route to work or to change their daily routine. Anything outside their behavioral comfort zone makes them nervous, and they avoid sudden moves at all costs. Well, I have new s for these folks Your company doesnt care if youre comfortable. It cares whether youre helping it protect its vitality by improving the bottom line or otherwise adding tangible, measurable value. And to make that kind of difference, you have to take risks.Introduce yourself to colleagues who dont know you.What kind of risks can you take that will help you protect your job, especially when layoffs are in the air? For starters, instead of hiding, go out of your way to make sure your colleagues both higher ups and mid-level managers know who you are. Look for your next chance to introduce yourself and have a positive, personal interaction.You should also look for opportunities to show that you are flexible, that you can roll with whatever is happening and help the company make the best of it.Share credit with others.Never, ever miss a chance to share credit. Your instinct in perilous times may be to hoard credit, but trust me, the goodwill you display when spreading credit around ha s high bulletproof value to you.Now is also the time to take on more responsibility. Be prepared to lend a kralle at all times. And make it your business to take initiative every single day. Sure, every time you raise your hand or take on more, you risk making a mistake. But the bigger risk is in not raising your hand. Dont think of it as putting your neck out think of it as making sure your boss sees you as an enthusiastic, valuable member of the team.Put money in my pocket.Finally, no matter what your job description says you do for a living, spend a part of every day thinking about ways you can improve your companys bottom line. First, make a big effort to keep your current accounts and client relationships healthy and happy theyre your bread and butter, and if they go away, you go away. Also look for ways to cut costs or share expenses. Think of how you can reconfigure existing products or services to expand your current market prospects. Or revisit old opportunities to see if t heres any life left in them. I always say, I would never fire someone whos putting money in my pocket. So be someone whos putting money in the companys pocket.It used to be only the CEO who was expected to take the risks, and thats why they got the big bucks. No more. Risk is the only path to bulletproof reward.

5 Helpful Resume and Job Search Tips from a Headhunter

5 Helpful Resume and Job Search Tips from a Headhunter5 Helpful Resume and Job Search Tips from a HeadhunterJob searching, knowing where to search for jobs online, or finding the best resume advice, can be a confusing and daunting task. Especially, if you havent done it for a long time. Youre changing industries and functions, or are getting to a point where your options are limited.A lot of people ask me to look at their resume to help them understand why they arent getting callbacks. They ask me to talk with them and figure out why interviews arent panning out. A poorly written resume speaks for itself, as does an unpolished interview style.However, many people I speak with have a great demeanor and a great resume. So, why are they (at best) getting very little interview traffic and no offers? Overwhelmingly its because theyre either over or under applying.1. Be honest with yourself about your career trajectorySome candidates feel like theyre underemployed and that they should be i n a bigger role, which in and of itself isnt the problem. Sometimes that feeling is right, they are ready for the next step. The problem is when someone applies for a role much, much bigger than what their experience can justify.When you over-apply youre making bold assumptions about your career trajectory and ultimate worth to a client. Many people think, for example, that a Director role is what they must have despite not having the strategic and leadership hintergrund to support it. They strictly apply to Director level roles and get frustrated when they get no response.Now, I have no issue with you makingbold career assumptions, but they must be grounded in reality. You need to be able to strongly show why the company should take a risk onyou.2. Do not misinterpret the lateral title movesEven lateral title moves are often misunderstood. A Director of HR with a 500 person family-owned retail business isnt the saatkorn level as a Director of HR running a $500M division of a Fortun e 500 manufacturer. Same job title, yet drastically different duties.The flip side of this issue is when a candidate thinks that since they have so much experience, applying to a lower level role would make them a shoo-in. I often see this with people making career changes and/or industry moves.Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring managerYou get a resume from someone asking you to hire them for a lage level theyve already surpassed.Why? you ask yourself. Is the candidate not confident in themselves and their potential?Are they only looking for lower level roles so they can cruise a little instead of putting in the work in a harder, more strategic role?Maybe they are only looking at this role as a bridge to something better?Now, Im by no means agreeing with the average hiring manager here. I write these typical responses because Ive literally heard them 1000 times from my clients who all happen to be senior HR and Talent Acquisition leaders.3. Consider a lower-level job with a tailo red resumeCan you apply and get a lower level job? Yes. Is it a decent method for transitioning fields/functions/industries? Yes. But your resume must be specifically tailored for this (thats another article altogether) which most people do not. Instead, they highlight too much experience thinking that by overdoing it theyll for sure get hired.Regardless of level, the best way to look at your resume and give interview answers is to assume that every other applicant has the exact same experience as you same jobs at the same companies etc.If thats truly the case, how do you set yourself apart?4. Mention quantifiable achievementsQuantifiable achievements, or the unique things that you did while in each of those roles.Example Saved the company $1M by decreasing turnover by 35% within my first 6 months at the plant. A bullet like that shows results. It shows that you didnt just maintain the status quo, but worked to improve your situation.5. Perform a self-evaluationYou must take the tim e to self-evaluate and truly understand what you offer professionally (not your potential, but what you can justify today), and how that fits into the current job market.Titles and scopes are vastly different from one company to another. Being a Manager today doesnt guarantee you that same title at another company. Focus on the duties and the scope when you read a posting.Make sure you understand how the size of your current role/company compare to the one youre trying to move into. Have you done most if not all of the duties listed under the preferred qualifications heading in the posting? And most importantly, can you give very specific examples?