Job hunting in a diminishing market is difficult for everyone. For those over 50, the challenges are even greater. This is the time to perfect your job search and leave nothing to chance.
Rule number one: Relate your experiences and only those experiences, to the defined needs of the prospective employer. To do otherwise makes it difficult for them to see you as the solution to their very specific problem; why they are hiring.
As stated in part two, if they need to build a local sales team, for instance, it is irrelevant and distracting to include your experience building an International sales force. If you say you have architected and designed multi level software applications and release was only a part of your job, when they need someone specifically to manage the release of current products, they will not see you as a fit.
Do not be seduced by your own press. No company hires you because 'you can do it all.' They are not looking for that 'diverse' experience your years' of employment provide. They have a very specific task that needs doing and all your proclamations of broad based experience only take you out of the running.
Most certainly it is your 'vast experience' that will make you successful doing the job, but getting the job means you must absolutely focus on only those things the employer has listed as priorities in the job description. Any hiring authority understands you can do more and that is comforting; but they are hiring for a specific task and will not be dissuaded by your 'vast experience.'
The closer you can confine your comments and examples to what the employer (or recruiter) needs, using metrics and outcomes to prove your fit, the higher the probability you will be hired. Simple, but extremely hard to do. Get out of your own way and don't let your ego trip you up.
Subscribe to this column for the continuing saga of the job search for those over 50. For a comprehensive guide to revitalizing your job search, read "Job Search Debugged." If you have specific issues you would like to see addressed in this column, contact me at coach@jobsearchdebugged.com.
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