How to Make Them Forget Your Age

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Here is a letter from one of our readers seeking advice on a common concern: How to avoid having age hurt your chances of getting the job you want.

I am in my 50s. I recently started a job hunt after moving because of family obligations. I have had several interviews, but after what I thought were good interviews, there was no further contact from the employer. I have contacted one employer several times to try to get a second interview but with no suc cess. Do you think it is my age? If so, what can I do for future interviews to downplay my age?

Without knowing more about your specific situation I cannot say whether or not age is affecting your job search. While it is illegal to consider age in determining whether or not to hire someone, age sometimes can be a factor in a job search.

Employers generally value experience, so age only is viewed negatively if you don't take steps to ensure that it is not seen that way. There are several things you can do to minimize the risk that age will hurt your chances of being hired.

Since you can't get hired unless you get an interview, start by making sure your résumé is "age neutral." Rewrite your résumé, so nothing indicates how old you are. For example, list your degrees, but do not include years of graduation. While you should list the dates of employment when you are describing your work history, only list your most recent job history going back approximately 10 to 15 years. If you have other important work experience, list it under a section titled "Other Relevant Experience," and do not include the dates relating to that experience.

Whether your age will actually play a role in the hiring decision, how you interview will be determinative. If you do a good job in the interview, age is unlikely to hurt your chances of being hired.

Appearance is important. If you look and act old, then that is how you will be perceived. Go out of your way during the interview to be energetic and positive. Make sure you are in good physical shape and be contemporary but appropriate in the way you dress.

Don't dress like you are 20 years old, but don't wear the same styles you wore 20 years ago. Join a gym, get a new hairstyle and buy some new clothes. Get the best clothes you can afford and make sure they are well tailored.

Most important, make sure you stay current with technology. That is the one aspect that concerns businesses when they are hiring older employees. Employers generally want to hire individuals who understand, and can adapt to, changing technology.

If you can demonstrate to a prospective employer that you are comfortable with technology, age will not likely be an issue. Take courses if you need to up date your familiarity with computers. Demonstrate that you are at home on the internet. Create a professional online presence. Understand terms like social networking. Have an online bio, write a blog and have your own web page or web résumé. Write professional articles and have them published online.

Here are some tips to help you eliminate age as a factor in your job interviews.

• Prepare: Find out everything you can about what the organization is currently doing, the challenges they face, the job and the interviewer.
  


• Make your experience a plus by focusing on what you have done that will be valuable to your prospective boss.
  


• Ask knowledgeable questions.



• Demonstrate that you are comfortable with technology.



• If you are asked about something that you don't know how to do, confidently express your willingness and ability to learn how to do it.



• Don't ever say anything negative about a prior employer, even if true.



• Smile.



• Pay careful attention to how you dress -- contemporary but appropriate to the industry.



• Always be positive and en thusiastic.



• Tell the interviewer that you want the job

Effective interviewing starts with having the right mindset. It requires an understanding that employers are seeking positive, enthusiastic employees who can adapt to changing conditions.
They want individuals who have relevant skills that can help them deal with the most pressing issues they are facing. They want employees who are comfortable with technology and are not afraid to learn and try new things. If you can demonstrate that you bring these attributes to the workplace, your age will be the last thing on the interviewer's mind.

A veteran human resources executive, Lee E. Miller is the author of "UP: Influence Power and the U Perspective -- The Art of Getting What You Want," and the co-founder of YourCareerDoctors.com, a Web site devoted to career success. Mail questions to Lee@YourCareerDoctor s.com.

Don't Let Age Hinder Your Job Search

Sunday, March 23, 2008

President John F. Kennedy once said of Walt Rostow, his former deputy special assistant for National Security Affairs, "Walt is a fountain of ideas; perhaps one in 10 of them is absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, six or seven are not merely unsound, but dangerously so."

In that statement, Kennedy reminds us good ideas are more important than new ones, highlighting the value of judgment honed through experience. Yet, in a society that seems obsessed with whatever is new, it can be hard to sell the value of hiring an older employee. But there are many things a seasoned worker can do to overcome society's stereotypes and a hiring manager's potential bias.

"There is experience and then there is diversity of experience," says Thomas Fuller, general managing partner of Epsen, Fuller IMD International Search Group, an executive search firm based in Morristown. The quality of the experience is what matters, he says.

If you're an older job candidate, focus on your accomplishments, so a prospective employer recognizes what you'll bring to the organization. Describe that experience in a way that matches the business needs of the organization.

Jack Miller, (no relation to me), author of "Simply Success: How to Start, Build and Grow a Multimillion Dollar Business the Old-Fashioned Way," started a new career at age 69. After selling a previous business to retailer Staples, he became Chairman of Successories, a business-to-business mail-order firm.

Miller suggests older employees show how their experience will have an immediate effect on a company. He says veterans bring much to the work force: They tend to have a strong work ethic, are less likely to job hop and will not have the challenges of balancing work and the obligations of raising young children, factors that can be pointed out to a prospective employer.

Here are some other factors that will help older workers land a job:

Push past stereotypes that hiring managers have about older workers. Stay energetic, work out regularly and demonstrate enthusiasm for your work. It will go a long way toward getting a prospective employer to view you as an attractive candidate.

Demonstrate that you are not only computer literate, but also comfortable with learning new technology.

Create a presence on the internet via a personal web page, blog, articles published online or a profile posted on a professional networking website. During an interview, discuss trends in technology that might be relevant to the job you are seeking. This will also eliminate any lingering doubts about your ability to adapt to rapidly changing technology.

Do your home work. Most job candidates don't prepare for job interviews and are not sufficiently knowledgeable about the organizations they seek to join, says Milburn resident Brian Drum, who is president of the executive recruiting firm Drum Associates. Displaying your knowledge of a company exhibits your interest and will often impress the hiring manager.

A good job candidate "should have at least one significant job accomplishment for each year of employment," Drum says. Concrete examples of how you have successfully made transitions to new situations and stories about how you achieved significant results should give you an edge in the hiring process.

Employers almost always seek a candidate with relevant experience -- just ask any student seeking his or her first job. Experience, however, does not preclude new ideas. Whether the candidate of experience triumphs over the candidate of new ideas, often has to do with how experience is presented.

Veteran candidates wishing to be selected ahead of talented younger prospects should demonstrate to a potential employer that they can apply their experience in a rapidly changing business environment.

A veteran human resources executive, Lee E. Miller is the author of "UP: Influence Power and the U Perspective -- The Art of Getting What You Want," and the co-founder of YourCareerDoctors.com, a website devoted to career success. Mail questions to Lee@YourCareerDoctors.com.