Saturday, January 14, 2017

Make Room for Change: A Story for the Older Job Seeker

We bought a new car last week. It’s beautiful, sleek, and clean, smells good and has a great sound system. I love it but it scares the hell out of me. It has a back-up camera that makes it easier to see behind me when I put the car in reverse and I hate it. Every time I put the car in reverse to leave my driveway, I still look over my shoulder to the road. The car has a narrower back window so looking over my shoulder isn’t as safe and practical as it used to be. I'm supposed to look at a panel in my dashboard instead. It also has different temperature and radio settings that without my glasses, make it difficult to read. I can’t drive with my reading glasses so I need to figure that out too. I have to or I can't go anywhere.

My new car and my complaints of why couldn’t the manufacturers just leave things the way they were had me think of some older job seekers that I’ve worked with. Sometimes they get stuck in a cycle of “It’s too hard to change”, “Why should I change?”, “I’ve only got a few more years of work, why do I have to change” thinking. 

The other day I met with a very pleasant man who wasn’t comfortable with using any Microsoft Office tools. In his old job his assistant did that for him. When I explained that using MS Office is so expected and common now that companies assume that everyone uses it, he looked annoyed. When I asked him to check his local library, evening classes, community college or even YouTube for some instruction, it seemed like a chore. He also doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile. Today, that too is essential. 

Here are a couple of tips for the older job seeker or for anyone who doesn’t like change:
1.      Learn the skills needed to do the types of jobs that you want to pursue.
2.      Understand how your own computer works. Learn how to save files and pictures and learn how to download them into applications.
3.      Write a complete LinkedIn profile and include a photograph.
4.      Network. Use your contacts and make new ones.
5.      Update your look. Get honest feedback from a true friend or family member about your interviewing clothing and style.
6.      Update your resume to a newer format.

While these tips may seem bothersome they are essential for today’s marketplace. It’s easy to complain about a younger hiring manager or a complex hiring procedure when sometimes all it takes is a few changes to our own style and ways of thinking.

Here's another thing about my car's back up system.... when I told a friend about it she said that her in-laws feel the same way that I do. My friend is in her 50's and her in-laws are in their 80s. I'm not going to go there.

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