Job Hunter's Tip of the Week #11 -

I am worried my age is going to keep me from finding a job. What should I do?

It is normal to be concerned that your age will keep you from being on the short list for employment, when you’re competing with a younger generation. And the reality is that the competition is fiercer than ever now. But that doesn’t mean that you’re out of the running. Many employers value the extra experience and loyalty that come with having been in the work force for a number of years. The one thing that you must adapt to is the idea of “selling yourself” to the employer. Today’s interviews are different from those of 10 years ago. Employers want you to give them the reasons why they should hire you. Be prepared to brag about yourself. If you don’t have formal training in the field, but tons of experience, get ready to tell them all about it. Make sure that you brush up on your dates and employers. Don’t tell a prospective employer that you worked “here for a few months, and then there for a while”. Cite dates and times, and be specific about what you were doing on the job. It also doesn’t hurt to do a little research on the employer you are interviewing with. It is common place for an employer to ask you why you want to work for their company, or what you know about the business. Doing research like that shows initiative and interest.
So if you have the experience and the knowledge, what else can you do to give yourself the edge over your younger competitors? By being four things: reliable, dependable, available, and capable*. These are the four essential things an employer is looking for in a candidate. And these are not really things they can train someone to have. You either have them (in relation to employment) or you don’t. Showing you do, and how you are going to use them in your new job, can make all the difference in the world!
* taken from the Reframing the Hiring Decision Manual, as created by employment management professionals.

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