How to Get a Job Past the Age of 50

How to Get a Job Past the Age of 50 Having recently gone through an employment change at 55, I battled my own demons as I thought about the possibility that somebody would actually hire me, versus the options a potential employer has to fill their openings with someone younger and cheaper. It wasn’t just about finding a job. It was about finding a job I wanted. It was about taking whatever steps necessary to “stand out” among the candidates being considered for the role I was interested in.  Preparing myself to compete in a tight job market required me to take stock of the factors that were motivating me to action. The first was reflecting on the question, “Why am I still looking to be gainfully employed at my age?”   My dad retired at 59, and he’s enjoyed his retirement to this very day (he turns 84 this year). In the generation of my parents, with life expectancy a decade less than it is today, retiring between 60 and 65 years of age was the norm.  Looking at my generation, many of us “Baby Boomers” lead healthier lives than our parents did. We eat better, exercise more, smoke less, and take better care of ourselves. We can expect to live longer. Given this, why not extend our professional careers at least a decade beyond that of our parents? Another factor influencing people to remain employed longer is a financial one. Not being children of the Depression Era, our spending and saving habits were not as rigorous as our parents, and many of us extended ourselves, having taken on bigger mortgages, and paid to put our children through private high schools and college. Additionally, we may have gone overboard with the wedding plans for our children. The list of financial commitments made over the years is staggering. Whether by choice or necessity, many of us who may have wanted to retire at the age our parents did could be facing another 10 years of employment, with retirement more likely closer to 70 years of age versus 60, particularly if we want to live comfortably in our “Golden Years”. There are many things you can do to strengthen your candidacy when you are faced with finding employment in your fifties or later.  Here are four areas to focus on: 1) Research the market rates for the positions that you plan to apply for You need to understand what the market is willing to pay for a person with your background and experience.   Know that your most recent total compensation package may not represent what the market is willing to pay. This is particularly true if you were released from a company that employed you for many years, providing you with annual increases that brought your total income to a level that is no longer “marked to market”.   This is important. While you may feel you deserve every dollar that you made, you need to understand that if your goal is to earn “not a penny less” in your next job, you may be searching for a job for a long time. Make an effort to understand what the market is willing to pay for a person with your experience, and prepare yourself to be willing to accept this level of compensation. 2) Maintain your professional networks It may be overstating the obvious to remind you that who you know is more important than what you know. Don’t confuse this point, because what you know is in fact important, it’s just that who you know is more important first. Today, the internet is an easy and effective way to identify employment opportunities (Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder, Indeed, etc). Research the companies offering the jobs by perusing their websites. Find out who is employed at those companies by scouring a source like LinkedIn and research what is being said about the quality of those firms as an employer (Glassdoor is a good site for gathering this intelligence.) Once you have done your research submit your resume and cover letter.  Sounds easy, right?  It is not. If everybody is looking for a job in this manner, you need to differentiate yourself from everyone else.  How can you do so?  Use your social networks! Do you know anybody who is employed at the company where you are a candidate? Would they recommend you? Have you worked with them in the past? Have you kept up with them, so they would be comfortable recommending you?  If you’re not great about keeping up with current and former work colleagues, professional acquaintances, fraternity or sorority brothers and sisters, etc., then make a renewed effort at this, as it will most likely pay off for you when you most need it. 3) Don’t become obsolete As you age, you must embrace technology and its rapid daily evolvement. I know you have no idea what makes a “smart phone” smart, and for the life of you, you don’t understand why your daughter keeps insisting on installing something called a “router” in your house. Here’s the best advice that I can give you: Don’t become your father.  Remember how after they stopped making vinyl records, he stopped having an interest in music? Think about how every time he comes to your house, he pushes every button on your remote controls, to the point it takes you an hour to get everything back to normal. It’s safe to say that at some point, he made a decision to stop embracing technological change, and now he’s become an outlier when it comes to understanding how the advances in technology enable and empower the world in which we live and work.  It is imperative you keep up with technological change and embrace it.  Don’t allow yourself to become the equivalent of a “technology dinosaur.” Today’s companies embrace technology and use it to their advantage when competing for business. Don’t allow yourself to be eliminated from consideration for a job you desire because you have lost touch with technology. 4) Preparation, preparation, preparation! The great basketball coach John Wooden said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. I couldn’t agree more, nor could I give better advice.  Here are several key components to being prepared: Have your resume professionally done for you There are dozens of companies willing to help you with this, many of whom will do it for free. Most employment companies have a “resume production” team or capability, and can work with you to create a resume that is germane to your experience and highlights your greatest competencies. Check your wardrobe Have you been working in a “business casual” environment for years? Does your suit or blouse no longer fit the way it did when you purchased it? Is the style of your clothing representative of a different time? Spend a little money to make certain the first impression you make is a quality one. Have you researched the company you will be interviewing with Do you know what their annual revenue is? Do you know what their primary product and service offerings are? Are they a public company? If so, what is their stock trading at? Do you know where their primary offices are? Do you know who their main competitors are? Have you read their website? Do you know who the members of the leadership team are? Take the time to learn this information, as it may distinguish you from your competitors during your interview. Interview your interviewer  This is a must! When the interviewer finally asks you if you have any questions, it is not ok to say, “No, not at this time.” Be prepared to ask your interviewer two or three questions. Asking questions expresses genuine interest on your part.  Here are a few you can ask: What are the strategic plans for growth for the company over the next three years? Who are your main competitors, and how do you go about beating them, in the markets where you compete with them directly? What is the company’s commitment to community service? Does your company have a Mission Statement or Core Values statement? How would you describe the culture of your organization? Conclusion While the “Baby Boomer generation” is more inclined to seek permanent employment, the workplace has evolved to a point where most companies now employ a mix of consultants and contractors as a strategic component to their workforce. Many staffing companies work with their clients to place both permanent and temporary workers with them, and can be a terrific resource in helping you find that next great job. These tips are equally useful should you desire to pursue contract work instead of permanent employment.  Hopefully I have given you enough information to encourage you to tackle the employment marketplace with confidence.  Great luck and success in landing your next big role, even though you’ve moved well through your 50s and your 60s are fast approaching! Author: Thomas Hart joined Eliassen Group as its Staffing Business Development Leader and CMO in October 2012. He also served as the senior executive for Fidelity’s HR Access Solutions in Paris, France, from 2004 through 2006.

10 Considerations Prior to Accepting a New Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

10 Considerations Prior to Accepting a New Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The job market seems much better lately, and more and more offers are being extended to applicants. Some move into the new positions from other jobs and others from being in transition. In both cases, those job seekers miss out if they don’t take a holistic approach to specific evaluation of the new opportunity. Often, the excitement associated with receiving the offer of a new job and accepting it, plus the flattery expressed by that job offer, may lead to a too-quick decision. It’s advisable to first do some meticulous due diligence in order to avoid a possibly costly mistake, because numerous questions need clear answers before you become able to make a final decision. Here are a few. How important to you are the content and the level of responsibility in the new job? Does the new job fit your personality? Does your new boss’s management style align with yours? Are there future opportunities for promotion? Will the new job satisfy your work/life balance? Are the commuting time and distance acceptable? Is the amount of business travel expected in the new job acceptable? Is the compensationin the form of salary and bonusesacceptable? How about employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans? This may not be a complete list, but it’s a good beginning. People make life decisions based on their logic and their emotions. The outcomes are typically an aggregate of the two. Someone who’s been in transition for a while is more prone to make emotional decisions, and yet accepting a new job should be judged on the job’s merit and on logical reasoning. In such a situation as the acceptance of a job offer, it’s sometimes helpful to discuss the issue with a friend or, better yet, with a professional such as a career coach who deals with such matters frequently. The following might be a rhetorical question, but if you had a serious medical condition, would you seek a consultation with a friend or with a physician?

Passion Is Rocket Fuel for Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Passion Is Rocket Fuel for Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is my guest post for the GTDtimes, which is a blog associated with David Allen, who is the best selling author of Getting Things Done. People need drive in order to accomplish goals. Salespeople need incentives in order to act. We all need a reason for being to feel compelled to get things done. Passion is an amazing vocabulary word. It means to have a strong feeling or emotion tied to something. Passion is the energy or rocket fuel we need in order to give us a reason for being or the ability to get from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds like a Ferrari. The one thing in common with most successful people is passion. Take Oprah, Trump or Tiger Woods for example. They all love what they do, which means that no matter what obstacles surface, they will push through because they believe in themselves and their cause. As a brand, you need to discover what you are passionate about. In the blogosphere, 60-80% of blogs are abandoned due to lack of passion. Without that mental drive, you lose focus and become lethargic; therefore you stop your current activity and jump to the next. When you make that leap, you are confused and unsure of yourself, which is detrimental to your personal and professional life. People switch jobs all the times and sometimes they shift careers altogether. When this happen, the skills that don’t carry over become lost and not exercised. Where does passion come from? The secret is that passion comes from within. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s like a drug for the soul that reactivates it every time it’s asleep. I always tell people that when you discover your passion, everything else comes together. It’s like you’re having an awakening and are going through enlightenment. Many people neglect their passion for financial reasons or because they feel they have to work a regular 9-5 job to survive. They may have multiple responsibilities that they have to juggle on a reoccurring basis or a family they need to provide for. The key with passion is to take time out of your day to reflect and to have a clear goal in life. What you do for work might not even define who you are. Sometimes it’s your work or hobbies outside of your current profession that become what you do full-time. Tips on how to find your passion: Take time out of your day and think about your situation, your skill set and goals. Ask others for feedback, as to what they think you would excel at. Take self-assessments from institutions such as Myers-Briggs. Read a book or two to get some new ideas and refresh your mind. Before you start a blog, a business or proceed in your career, please take time to find out more about yourself. You will waste a considerable amount of time second guessing yourself later if you don’t invest now. The more you pay attention to who you are in the inside, the more you can become that person on the outside. Passionate people are confident, energetic and above all, happy. Do you want all of that? If yes, then start working at it.