Attract attention, and focus on the bright side

There may be quite a few things in the résumé that were not so much impressive, so try to bury it deeper during your interview by focusing your interviewer’s attention on your strength. Do not just dodge the questions asked about your weak points. Tackle the question wisely and enroute take a turn and move towards your strength. Do it covertly.

Promote your work ethics

Tell your interviewer that because of your age, you do not feel like hopping from one job to another, and will settle if you get a satisfactory job like the one you are giving interview for. Well say this but not in so many words. It should look as if it is coming naturally from you. Do not fake it. Loyalty is a big asset and that too a rare one.

Tell your interviewer your monetary worth

You have accumulated a lot of knowledge and expertise (perhaps interdepartmental ones as well) in your long career before being unemployed. Tell the worth of those skills in dollar terms. The interviewer needs to know your real worth.

With this our discussion on this topic comes to an end. And as a parting though, I must say that this phase (unemployment) is temporary, and there is always a job for a person who deserves it, and works to get it.

You may want to bookmark this post, as I have provided links to all the posts that I have written in this series below this paragraph. I would like to know what you think about this series, so use the comment box and start sending your input.

Index

1. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – I
2. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – II
3. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – III
4. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – IV
5. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – V
6. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – VI
7. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – VII
8. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – VIII
9. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – IX
10. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – X
11. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XI
12. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XII
13. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XIII
14. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XIV
15. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XV
16. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XVI
17. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XVII
18. A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XVIII

Plan, Plan, and Plan

Planning is important. It takes the surprise factor and blind spot out of the equation. Review the list of common questions asked in an interview, and prepare an answer for each one of them. Do not mug up. Just make yourself comfortable with the questions. During the planning process also find a way out to blunt the ruthless edge of your negative characteristics. Do not make it look like your biggest asset, but soften its edge and make it look less damaging.

Look uber-cool

Well, I do not intend to suggest that you should take in all those garbage being consumed by teenagers in the name of fashion and “walking ahead of time”. All I want to suggest is to look up-to-date and in the know of things that matter to the job you are being interviewed for.

When I say up-to-date I also mean up-to-date in your appearance. I know it was not the first thing you expected to read when you wake up in the morning, but it important. You will not like to look like a black sheep among all the white clones. Dress as the way people younger to your dress, at least for the interview. It will convey the person on the other side of the table that you may be chronologically from different group, but your psychosocial make is same as his own.

Tell them you will learn

Do not flinch if you are faced with a question that you do not know answer of, or if you have asked about a technology which you have never heard of. Tell your interviewer that you are unaware of thing in question, but you will learn it sooner than expected, and if you are promised the job, you can start learning right from today. This will tell your interviewer, how much keen you are for the job, and how much time you are willing to devote for that. The interviewer will not pass unimpressed.

What else do you think is necessary to excel in an interview? Use the comment box and send in your suggestions.

Play your age and tell them it is an asset

You didn’t grow old sleeping. You acquired certain skills and a hell load of experience, which a young person can only imagine to have, but can never have until he or she reaches your age. Play this card well, and tell you interviewer that your age has given you the wisdom and maturity that comes only with age. Convince your interviewer that it will be an asset not a liability for the company.

Smack the stereotype on its head

Your young interviewer has many preconceived idea attached with your age, which you need to dispel. This is necessary, but do not do it violently. Be calm, composed, and in the best of your selves when breaking the stereotypes.

Handle illegal questions well

So what you have grown old now? So what you are 40 plus? It does not mean anyone can discriminate against you based on your age. It is a crime, and if you are given hint of this then either politely move to other question or ask the interviewer to not go in that direction. You can also consider legal action, if it does not stop on that.

You need to be careful when working on the above suggestions. A wrong step may land you in trouble. It is a fine line to walk.

Age should not matter

Neither yours nor your interview’s age should matter to you when you are on the interview table. The chances are quite realistic that your interviewer will be much younger than you. Do not get unnerved by that. Be calm and give him the respect you gave to your older interviewer when you were young. Treat anyone on the interviewer’s chair with respect.

Convey your desire to work with younger crowd

One of the main concerns of an employer hiring an older person is the new employee’s ability to mix with the young crowd. Make it clear to the interviewer that you do not have any problem in working with young people. Working with young people, particularly getting managed by them doesn’t go well with everyone. Many do not like to get managed by someone who is less experienced then him. You should make this clear to your employer that you do not belong from that group.

During your interview, you need to convey to your employer that you have the desire to keep up with younger crowd, and you are willing to learn new technologies and new way of doing things so that you could succeed. Do not forget to ask about the prospect of success in the organization you are being interviewed for.

Keep it short and simple

I will not add stupid to above because I know you are not that. You are quite smart, and in your 45 years you have also understood the power of simplicity. And believe me when I say that simplicity works in résumé as well. No one likes to read a CV-epic, so keep it short and simple. Mention only those things that really, really matters for the job you are applying for. Keeping it short will help you keep it focused. Focus is another important thing.

Use chronological not function résumé

A new trend of using functional résumé —the type in which skills are mentioned in a cluster— has caught the fancy of young job seekers. Yes with young job seekers, particularly those who are looking for a career change, so let it remain confined to young people only. You do not need to follow the trend because in mid-aged job seekers the use of functional in place of chronological résumé is seen as an attempt to hide age. Well, I understand you do not intend to do that, and I am equally certain that you will not get even a 10 seconds of personal time with employers to explain this to them, so why take chances? Go with a résumé that lists your experience in chronologically. If you are too much in love with functional résumé then use it in combination of chronological one.

Write emphatic cover letter

Although cover letter has come at the end of pour discussion on résumé, it does not take away the importance assigned to a cover letter by your employer. A cover letter is your elevator pitch, and the emphatic it is the greater is the chances of your being called for a personal interview. A great cover letter makes your résumé stand out from the crowd of hundreds of faceless curricula vitae.

With this our discussion on résumé comes to an end. I hope you will apply these principles in your own CV. From the next post in the series we shall discuss about interviews and about ways to handle tough questions. Till then keep applying the principles taught so far.

Wear your Employer’s Shoes

Well, not literally. What I meant was you need to have a fresh look at your résumé to see how a person on the other side of the table will look at it. Put yourself in your employer’s shoes and see if you would have called a person carrying this résumé for the interview? There is no point for being right, so do not lie to yourself. This exercise is done solely to find problem in your CV.

See what is the flavor of the market

Tight fitting, camel toe revealing outfit might be a huge fashion in yesteryears, but today if you wear it you will look funny—I am not a fashion person so I might be wrong here. But, I know I am not wrong when I say you need to use the format that looks modern. See what format is used these days, and follow that trend. You may be 45, but your résumé should not look that old. Dress it up like youth does!

What’s the new lingo

In your youth, hyperlink and HTML would have meant nothing, but today it does. There are many similar changes in terminology of almost every field. Find out what words got omitted and what got added to your field in last couple of years, or from the time you last checked. Embrace the change, at least in your résumé. It will tell your employer how much you are unlike your age, I meant up-to-date with current trend.

We all new to adapt and evolve with time, this is the only way we can sustain ourselves. Keep on working, and keep on evolving.

Show you can evolve

No one likes anything static, not even you and so does your employer. The main reason why he wants young people in his team lies in the fact that young people have up-to-date knowledge and they are ready to evolve. Show the same degree of commitment by taking extra classes to train yourself. Enroll to some vocational courses or training classes that will put you at par with youth in their 20s, in terms of technology and knowledge. Mention this on your CV, your prospective employer will take notice of it, and you will get duly rewarded for your hard work with a job and better salary.

Talk about experience

If you have not spent 40 years of life daydreaming or sleepwalking then you definitely have accumulated some kind of skill set that will make the job you are applying a piece of cake for you, well at least easy. In your résumé talk about your experience from the related fields, this along with your commitment to evolve with time (read above) will give you an edge which will be hard for your younger competitors to surpass.

Keep it Up-to-date

Do you know what the first company you worked with call itself these day? Or do you know who has taken the ownership? Are these details in your résumé? Contact the companies that you are mentioning in your CV under experience or past employer columns and ask about their names, locations, phone numbers, and people in charge. Finding it may or may not be difficult. It depends upon the kind of companies you worked in. If those were big corporate giants then you may be knowing their details already, but if they were small setups then you need to visit their office or call your old colleagues for the detail.

Always remember, nothing is impossible not even at this age. Well, I meant almost nothing. You cannot put toothpaste back inside the tube from which it has been squeezed. Try it, you cannot. But getting a job is far much easier than that. Talk to you in the next post, till then keep looking and stay calm!

Avoid dead metaphors and done-to-death cliché

Think like this: In a hiring season, an employer or HR manager has to go through hundreds of CVs every day before he could call any one person for the Interview. And the worst part is almost all the résumés he reads are written using same set of dead metaphors and done-to-death phrases. It is boring. If you want to make your résumé stand out from the similar-looking crowd of résumés then avoid using any clichés. Use your own language and make it appealing.

Update your resume

Now is the time to answer the question posed in the opening sentence. Have you or haven’t you? If your answer is no then go ahead and start constructing your résumé yet again. Add freshness to your dust-biting résumé.

Do not give complete work details

If you are 45 then chances are you have been part of workforce for close to 25 years, and it is but natural to have done many jobs in all those years. But do not put all of them in your résumé. No one is interested in reading 1000-page epic résumé, and no one cares about where you provide janitorial services during tough times. Only mention things relevant to the current job, and things that increase your chance of employability.

Even if heaven falls on earth, your résumé should not be longer than 2 pages. Not even and half pages.

Enough of reading for today, now it is time to start working on your résumé. Get going!

Explore options

Being in job is not always good, at times it is confining. It limits your thinking to paychecks and 6PM (when your office bells calls off the day). Now as you are out of job, you have an opportunity to explore many more options, at least until you again get into job. Thinking of things that you can do apart from the job that you have been doing till date. Who knows you end up finding something that makes your heart racing.

Title, what title?

Title means nothing. I know you find it hard to believe it, and especially if you had been in the habit of being referred as senior manager, or vice president direct sales, or whatever. But, the fact is title means a dime. Do not chase titles, rather chase your heart, and find something that you like to do. If work is of your liking then why do you care if you are called a manager or VP?

Start a business

We all have a self-starter within us; all we need to do is give a shout to call it out of the closet. If you are not getting a job then take it as a blessing and start doing something that you wanted to do all your life. Did you want to go knitting, gardening, etc.? Take up this opportunity and start your own small business.

You will be your own boss, and no one will fire you from there. Make a business plan, find an investor (if you need one), and get going.

This marks the end of this bite-size post of the series. I have kept each post small so that you can chew the information provided in its perfectly, assimilate it, and put each tip to use.

Widen your net

You are finding it hard to get a job in your industry because you are facing competition from younger crowd who is just out of college. To counter this you need to expand your list of target companies to include companies that do not operate in your industry. There is quite a fair chance that you will find some companies in other industries that need your expertise and as core of their business lie somewhere else, they do not need young employees; they need people with experience to take over their marginalized process. For example: A young software engineer will like to work in a company specialized in IT products, not in a publishing company that needs IT guy to smoothen its operation. These types of companies are gold mine for you.

Be part of a professional organization

Becoming a member of a professional organization not only helps you befriend with like-minded people, but it also helps you in a job search. Many professional organizations assist their members with job-search. You will also get many leads here.

Rent a help

If you are finding it hard to get a job on your own then give up, and hire some career coach or a recruiter. They will help you get the job you want to have.

Don’t give up

There is no point in giving up the search, as you will gain nothing from giving up. Giving up is for faint of heart, not for a fighter like you who has defeated all odds to remain afloat till now. So, do not give up and keep finding. There is bright sunlight at the end of this dark tunnel.

Employ these strategies in your job-search and you will see a significant improvement in the result. Best of luck for your search!

Act now, do not wait

Waiting is not the game you are in the position to play. Go out and take action. Make this “out of job”
a temporary thing. You indeed need some time to figure out what you want, but do it as quickly as you can. Waiting for long will delay the possibility of getting hired. Get out of home now, and start searching for the job that suits you.

Think and decide about career change

If you are tired of doing the same thing again and again, then this is the perfect time to consider a plan change. Make a list of things that you are interested in, and match them against the ability you have. Bingo! You have the list of alternative careers in your hand. It is time to act now, make a resume befitting the needs of new job and start shooting them off.

Go temping

Temping may not offer you permanent solution, but it can fill the gap. You can also use it to gain experience of a new job in which you want to shift. Temping can provide a viable stopgap solution that gives you experience which further can help you in securing a fulltime job.

You should start putting these things to use as soon as you are laid off. These will work wonder and save you from the agony of unemployment, and will help you pay your bills.

Yes, I am taking about connections. Personal connections. If you do not believe it works then come over and see what I have to show to you. In this article, you will see how connection plays a role in getting you the job you deserve, and almost the pay you deserve—well, almost because you may have to give in for pay cut. So, let’s get started.

Give everything

Are you wondering how this topic made it connection part of the series? Well, it shouldn’t but I am mentioning it near the top of this post because giving your 100% is required. It is not an option, not anymore; you have to do it. Give everything you got to convince employer of your eligibility, and your connections of your suitability for the job you are asking recommendation. Do not hold anything back.

Use your personal connection

Back in your youth when you were working, you worked with many individuals: you worked for some people, you worked with some people, and some people worked for you. If you are not D.B. Ross who intimidated everyone working with him, I am pretty darn sure that you got some connections that are still in the business. Ask them for help. They certainly will help you out. You can even ask people whom you knew but never worked with for leads and job interviews. It will go a long way.

Talk to your ex-employers

Ex-employers are the people whom you worked for in the heyday of your career. These people knew you will go places, and these people will understand that you have lost a job not because of your ability—because they have witnessed your work themselves—but because of something else. They will pop their hands out and pull you onboard. They will do it even if you were not such an extraordinary employee. They will do it just because they have known you for so many years, and they believe that you will not let them down.

These three tips will play a critical role in getting you the job you need.

Show what you are capable of

Not everyone out there is hunting for young employees; in other words, not everyone is concerned about employees’ in one’s company. These people are more concerned about their present productivity, which they believe can only be boosted if employees with certain experience join their team. For these employers, the more experienced the team is the better result they will get. Capitalize of this line of thinking, and strengthen your candidacy by showing your experience. Also tell them what you can do for them, if hired.

Find employer seeking older employees

Not everyone loves young workforce, some take it for inexperienced lot that cannot deliver. This group of employers is looking for people who have ground knowledge of their field and know how things take shape. This group of employees will be a good fit for you. Search for such companies and apply categorically mentioning your experience.

Legal action upon discrimination

I know this is not good, and I wish it never come to that, but in some situations it becomes absolute must. Under the law of our nation, no employer can discriminate on the basis of age, so when push comes to shove, you should take an employer to the court of law. But you must understand that proving it will not be easy, regardless, you should seek legal action if you are discriminated against. You should not suffer due to your age.

Although I will not recommend legal course of action, as it is nothing but waste of precious time, which can be used to find a job. I also do not support any kind of discrimination, so if your age is told to be the reason for not getting a job then go forward and prove it in the court.

It has been heavy stuff here. Let’s take a break with a promise to meet in the next installment. Till then stay fit and keep looking. And yes do not forget to comment.

Stay healthy, stay fit

The metabolism that you were once proud of has already left you, and so has the ability to regenerate energy; so the extra burden of frustration, anxiety and depression because the strenuous job-search routine may inflict malady upon you. You need to stay fit to fight it off. A fitter body will always help in having a more fulfilled life.

Do not lie about your age

Why will you even think of hiding your age? What is the benefit of doing so? If you hide your age, you are sending a message that you feel that you are too old for the job being offered, and no employer will like this kind of message. Your feeling reflects on your face, and the moment your contempt for being so old comes on your face, it is the end of your interview, at least for the interviewer.

Be yourself

If you are Mr. or Miss X then you are Mr. or Miss X; you cannot be a Y or a Z, even an A, B, or a C, so why even try to be that? The best thing you can do for youself is to be yourself. Just remember, it was you who has brought yourself so far, so why to be ashamed of it now? Act your age, so how much experience you have accumulated in the years that you have lived. This may not work for you, but not being yourself and pretending to be someone else will definitely not work in your favor.

Reflect on the things I have written above and assimilate them, make them your habit. I will catch you in the next part of the series. Use the comment box and let me know your view on the post in particular, and the series in general.

Enroll for some classes

If you feel that you are lagging in some subjects, which is critical for your professional success then you should consider enrolling for them. Alternatively, you can also take some refresher classes to brush up your skills. Is it the MS Excel that poses challenge, or is it the new sales forecasting and management software? Or do you feel left out because of the CAD software? Whatever it is, you can work on it. All you need is a bit of conviction.

Do not subscribe to useless lies

The world is full of people looking on the either side of the glass (half-full and half-empty types), and there are a few who looks at the rim and brim of the glass as well. You do not have to subscribe to any of such believes. The world is full of lies concerning 40+ not getting jobs; you should not concern yourself with any of these. Be prepared and get ahead in the line. You will get a job.

Use technology

Gone are the days when the newspaper and trade journals were major sources to find a job, now job-search has become digital. Web is common place now, and so are the devices to access it. You should embrace this technology and use various job portals to search and apply for jobs. There are some niche job portals that cater to the needs of mid-aged job searchers only; you can use them as well.

These tips, though look simple, are very useful. You should work on these and witness the positive results it brings.

Be positive

Believe it or not, it reflects. Your positivity oozes out of everything you do and so does negativity. What people will think about you depends upon what you give away (positive or negative vibes). Most of the people get frustrated after couple of failures to land in a job. They become hopeless, but you need to understand hopelessness is not the solution, nor is the frustration. One has to tread forward until it becomes easy to walk and then run in full throttle.

Do not wait for a perfect job

Perfection is an illusion, and that too a bad one. Nothing is perfect, neither you, nor me, nor this article, and nor the job you are seeking. You must realize that you are no longer young, and you have a family to support, so you do not have the luxury to leave jobs coming your way. You need to be realistic of the situation, and be ready to compromise on the quality of job, and slightly on the paycheck you are offered, at least till you get what you want.

Update yourself

The biggest reason behind unemployment of people over 40s is their inability to keep themselves abreast of changes in technology. You need to update yourself with the changes in technology. By becoming up-to-date, you place yourself on equal footing with the youth, which will blunt the edge of negativity concerning your age. A 40+ person with good knowledge of recent technology is an asset for any company.

Think over it, and make a list of things that you think you do not know but are hot favorite among young people. See if those things are raising their employability, if it does then consider learning them.

What with the age?

Well, it has less to do with the age, and more to do with the newness in technology and failure of mid-aged individuals to deal with them. As it often happens, people in their mid-to-late forties tend to become slow on learning.

Another thing that keeps people in mid-to-late forties away from job is the salary they seek. I am not saying that you should not be compensated fairly, or at least you should get the sum you need to pay your bills and put some amount in savings.

But, this is not how people running businesses think. They are less inclined towards humanitarian goals, and more towards raking moola and increasing profit. Young people, despite their inexperience, are considered more apt for this goal as teaching new tricks to new horse is comparatively easy and so is taming them.

Then how to get a job in 40s?

This is the question that keeps people in 40s and jobless awake at nights. These are the people who have family to support, and maybe kids to send to university. Unemployment in such time is very difficult to deal with.

But, fortunately there is a way out and in this series I will tell you what to do to get hired. The advices shared will be workable. Do not treat this series as a read-and-forget series. Work on the suggestions shared. If I were you, I would have subscribed to the RSS feed. Do it now and stay up-to-date with the series.