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Seniors who are considering looking for
employment may find that they are in somewhat of a different situation than they
were many years ago when they found their last job.
Aside from the fact that it may have been many
years since the last employment interview, the world may look at you differently
as a senior. Unfortunately, many people see seniors as slower, more
fragile, less flexible, and without the endurance that it takes to keep up with
a hectic job pace. While these tips are critical for anyone to follow,
doing so will help to show that you have all your stuff
together and will make a great hire.
When looking for employment, seniors should:
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Be sure to develop all the materials
that you will need in filling out an employment application in advance.
Even if you are supplying a resume, it is possible that you will also need to
complete a standard application for the human resources department. If you
have not seen an application in a long time, some of the standard questions may
have changed. You can stop at almost any store and request an employment
application for review. |
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Write down all of your standard
information on a separate sheet of paper, and take it with you when you apply for a
position. Such things would include past job contact information, dates of
hire, personal references, etc. If you are required to fill out the application in the
employer's office, you will then have all of the information that you need, and can
complete it quickly and completely. |
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Before you apply
for any job, be sure to contact
all of your references that you want to list and ask permission to do so. It's always good taste to do so but it can also prepare the
individual for when it happens. In most cases, you will end up with a far
better recommendation because the person isn't taken off guard, and they will have
a chance to think of what they will say about you. |
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Find
out about potential job opportunities through multiple
avenues. No job board will carry even a small portion of the possibilities
that are out there, and some of your best alternatives may come through
networking with friends and past co-workers. Touch base with those that you haven't talked to in some
time. If it is a very casual or distant acquaintance, you may not be able
to ask them for many favors. But it won't hurt to ask and see if they've
recently heard of something. Old co-workers and people at church are some
of your best contact possibilities. |
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Before you apply
(but especially before you interview), be sure to find out as much as you can about your prospective
employer. Be sure to understand what it is that they do, who their market
is, their competition, and hopefully things that they feel are important or
exciting about their business.
This may sound a bit basic, but in the rush
to hand out hundreds of resumes, people will often ignore some of the most
fundamental tasks. An employer isn't going to give much credit to your
statements about what you can do for them if you don't know what they do. |
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Understand that one of the biggest issues that
prospective employers are concerned about with hiring seniors is that their
qualifications are far higher than what they are looking for. They are
concerned that overly-qualified individuals will be unchallenged and hate their
jobs as well concerned that you will not be happy for long with less money than
you made in the last job.
If you are willing to and will be happy earning
less but just cannot get employers to understand this, consider reinventing
yourself or applying for a job that is quite different than anything that you
have had before. While you can still utilize many of your talents like
people management, the employer will be more
comfortable with your decision and understanding
that you are taking a lower wage position because
you are starting something new. |
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Check out the current fashions. You
shouldn't try to be a trend-setter but neither should you be pulling out what
you wore to your last interview 15 years ago. Be sure that what you have
fits properly, has been cleaned and is well-pressed. Do this before you
even fill out your first application or send in your
first resume. You may not think
that you have gained an inch, but this is the ultimate of being safe instead of
being sorry. |
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If you are reading this, you have access to a
computer and the Internet. Therefore, you also have access to the many map
sites out there like MapQuest or
Yahoo!
Maps. If you are not sure where you are
going, be sure to get directions a day in advance and check them out with
another site. If in doubt, call the switchboard operator of the company
where you are going and ask directions. |
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Understand that it is likely that you
will be interviewing with someone who is far younger than you are. This
may not have been the case the last time that you applied for work, especially
if it has been a few years. It may be a bit annoying to feel like you are explaining
yourself to someone who is young enough to be your granddaughter, but get over
it in advance. If you don't, you may come across as someone who is
condescending, arrogant, or unfriendly. |
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Practice a job interview with
someone who you know, preferably someone younger than you and who is in
business, and someone who is a manager or employer of some kind.
Tell them to be honest and critique your performance. It's not just the
fact that they are younger than can throw you, it is often your lack of recent
history in a job interview that can make you feel uncomfortable. |
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Understand that your experience can
help you but it can also hinder you. Seniors sometimes walk a fine line
because they are expected to have tons of experience and know-how but this can
also bite you back. Someone may feel that you could outshine them or that
you may come in and try to run the place. Nobody wants to risk hiring
their replacement. Yet you certainly need to give the employer a flavor of
your abilities.
Be honest about
what you can and cannot do and most importantly, be
honest about what you want out of job. If you
aren't looking for a management career, tell them so
and tell them why. For the most part though,
simply talk about your credentials and how you can
benefit the company. Be sure to talk up how
well you fit into a team environment and you may
quell any fears that you are looking to come in and
take over. |
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Concentrate on your recent history. In addition to not boring the
person, you can run into problems if you talk a
lot about your accomplishments from many years ago. Even though those
experiences may seem relevant to you, the listener may think that you are
focused on the past or that you have to go back that far to find anything that
is relevant. If they want you to expand on your accomplishments from 15
years ago, by all means do so, but don't hold your breath waiting. |
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Avoid sounding like you
want to come
in and whip things into shape unless you are applying for a position as CEO or
President. Nobody wants a busy-body
know-it-all working with them who will tell them how
it is or was. Coming across too strong with
well-placed intentions can be tempting, especially
when you see that there are problems. If you
think things need changing, first get the job and
then lead by example.
Instead of talking
about how you are going to change things, concentrate on recent accomplishments,
only mention your long history of
accomplishments in general terms for the purpose of pointing out a consistency
in job performance, and remember that your best leadership skills are found in
example, not in developing the right set of orders. |
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Record your interview for your own
playback later. New digital recorders can hold up to 5 hours or more of
conversation, do not have a tape and they are smaller than a cell phone.
The recording quality on most is superb and you can go back time after time to
find out where you did good and where you messed up. They are also
tremendously handy for reviewing information that was given to you in the
interview. If you were given a number of company names and positions,
technical information, or series of instructions and can play them back later,
you will then have this information for follow-up interviews.
Warning:
You can probably do this and get away with it every
time as long as you are using a digital
recorder. Even mini tape recorders can work
but they are much harder to hide and make noise when
they shut down, a problem if your interview goes
longer than the tape. If you decide to record
the interview, you should also know how you are
going to respond if you are asked about
it.
The best is the
truth... tell the person that you are once again new
at the interview process and it's part of your goal
to improve your overall skills by seeing how well
you come across. In fact, use that to your
advantage and ask the person if (s)he would be
willing to give you some constructive criticism
afterwards. This is a great tool to pull the
interviewer on your side. |
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Remember that until you land your next job,
finding one is your current job. Looking for a new job can be frustrating
at best, and it can make you tired and feel worthless.
In its raw form, it
is the ultimate sales job because it is selling... YOU! Some people take
their rejections personally. You cannot afford to do so. This
interviewer doesn't know you, and they don't know a thing more than what you tell them.
Interviewers don't consider the interview to be personal. They are merely
trying to find the right set of skills for what they perceive to be the
job requirements to be. |
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