Crabby is crabby about age issues in job-searches

November 11, 10:30 AMJob Search ExaminerCurt MacRae

Dear Worth:

Thankfully Crabby is not as old as you (58+).  But seriously, Worth, you are as valuable as ever, but the hiring managers just haven't figured it out yet.  Crabby is getting so many of these types of letters, that it's very apparent that older workers are becoming the most frustrated.  We need to address these concerns, and they are difficult concerns to address.  Monday Crabby responded to a 62-year-old who was going through some of the same frustrations. 

Crabby will re-state a portion of Monday's column here, because it's important: 

 "If you're a hiring manager, let me state this one more time:  THERE ARE SOME STRONG CANDIDATES OUT THERE OVER 30, 40, 50, 60.  THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE, CAN MENTOR YOUNGER PEOPLE, AND HAVE A WORK ETHIC, AND A LOYALTY THAT YOU MAY NOT FIND IN A YOUNGER WORKER.  TAKE ADVANTAGE."

Worth, the one piece of advice that Crabby will ask you to heed, is that of staying positive.  Keep your morale up; you're right that becoming negative, scared, frustrated, or ticked-off can impact your chances for success.  Look at every day as a new opportunity to succeed.       

 

I spoke recently with a client who had sent out over 750 resumes in a year and received only 4 responses.   Her resiliency was inspiring.

"That’s better than some other people my age that I know, so I must be doing something right!"

We discussed her progress, and her frustrations.  Then, we laid out some ideas on paper, and Crabby is sharing them here. 

1. Utilize non-traditional search tools.  Our GET TO WORKshop group will begin undertaking the "guerrilla" approaches over the next few weeks, as recommended by David Perry and Kevin Donlin.  In fact, we will be using them as our sounding boards during our workshops. 
2.  Use aggregated job boards, such as Indeed, SimplyHired, Workforce50, Linkup, jobshouts, etc.
3. Be flexible to other opportunities, such as contract work, teaching, or consulting.  Stop pigeon-holing yourself into a certain business sector.   Consider non-profit, municipal work, or other
4. Visit HR blogs for job advice, such as HR Alltop and HRM Today.
5. Network in non-traditional groups
6. Check other geographies.  Michigan is tough; maybe North Dakota has more opportunities.  
7. Work on your brand, your street cred.  Increase your voice wherever possible, with relevance. people will see it.  It might help, and certainly can’t hurt!
8. Do something for you; spend time on new things just for you and your loved ones.  Be assertive about your job search, but don’t let it consume you.  While you're doing something for you, do something for others:  Volunteer.  It can place you in a position that requires your skills and broadens your network.
9. Join (or start) an “accountability” group, where the group of folks meets once a week to hold each other accountable for job-search commitments.
10. Go outside your comfort zone.  It'll make you stronger, more flexible, more confident.  Crabby sang a solo at church last week (waaaay, outside Crabby's comfort zone), and it felt good to conquer that (at least to Crabby; the jury is still out from the congregation).  

Good luck on your job search. 

 -- Crabby -- 

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Crabby's  office is always open – email your issues/questions/rants/vents to  crabby@humantransitions.com.  Other Crabby columns can be found by clicking on the crab to the left..

 

Thank you for reading, and now writing.

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