I recently read a blog by Priscilla Claman who runs a career coaching firm in Boston.
In the article, she described her conversations with some recently laid off engineers who voiced their frustration about the job market and hearing the frequent comment from companies “Overqualified.”
She made some excellent points. If you are over 50 and looking for a job or a promotion consider these
Are you energized and excited about what you are doing?
It is easy to lose your excitement about your work when the company is constantly downsizing , when you have been recently downsized, or when you haven't had a raise in a while, or when you feel overworked. Not only is it easy to lose your excitement but it's easy to get negative. A negative attitude at work causes people to avoid you that often puts a target on your back during layoffs. People prefer to work with positive, upbeat colleagues.
During the interview process people are looking for energy and enthusiasm in your voice and in your step. In the interview process the last thing they want to hear is dull recitation about your past and complaints about your last boss.
Are you wearing to work what you wore fifteen years ago? Upgrade your clothing and appearance to perk up your presentation and your self-confidence. You may not have to wear your son or daughters cloths but you might want to get some advice from them. And The search process is completely different than 15 years ago. Get familiar with some new places such as Linked In.com or networking.
Are you fooling yourself about your skills and experience?
Take a peak at what skills and experiences they are looking for in the positions that interest you and take an honest assessment of where you are. Now might be a great time to pick up some skills and training you have avoided and polish up those skills that have gotten rusty. Just how good are those computer skills?
Even senior managers need to maintain some technical expertise to be viable professionally. You will find that there are plenty of online courses, seminars, and professional organizations who are willing to help keep you up to date. I have a number of friends working on their six sigma black belt while searching for a job.
How is age an advantage in your industry? Expert are needed in every industry and often those experts have been around the block a few times. But, every position you are applying for does not need “an expert” they need someone with a certain level of experience. I think one of the greatest resources you have is your wealth of contacts both social and professional. Get busy contacting them.
Priscilla Claman is President of Career Strategies, Inc., a Boston-based firm offering career coaching to individuals and career management services to organizations. Priscilla is a former corporate Human Resources executive and author of the book, ASK: How to Get What You Want and Need at Work
1 comment:
Great post! One of our candidates recently had similar frustrations, however he had been detailing ALL his experience in his many years in our industry, which we were sure overwhelmed many prospective employers, which they simply labelled as 'overqualified'. We advised him to cull his résumé to two pages and tailor with his most relevant and recent experience to every application. Applying our recommendations, he applied for 3 roles, got 3 interviews, was offered 2 positions and selected the role he wanted.
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