By Natalya Koshnitsky, Editor, Resource Partnership
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, one in five or 20% of the US population will be 55 or over by 2015. Statistics show older workers are increasingly willing to work beyond the traditional retirement age. Whether they look for work to supplement their retirement income or because of a personal interest, it is clear that the number of older workers is rapidly growing, but the amount of job opportunities to satisfy this growth is not yet in place. When looking for a new job or a new career, older workers often encounter discrimination because of their age. Finding employment that fits their work criteria and life style becomes increasingly challenging. So what are older workers to do to find a job that is right for them? What are the new trends of the US labor market?
Colin Moor, Senior Vice President at Keystone Associates, an industry leader in innovative solutions to corporate and employee career management challenges, shares his expertise on employment transition. Colin is a career consultant and coach with over 20 years of business expertise in career transition, career management and executive coaching. At Keystone Associates, Colin partners with senior-level clients to help them successfully transition into new career opportunities.
A: To successfully transition in your career, first commit to a thoughtful career assessment . The complexity of this assessment may vary with the individual job seeker but key components include: assessment testing (tools like the Myers-Briggs & Strong Interest Inventory), a personal inventory of your skills, interests, experience and education and conversations with people who know you such as family, friends, colleagues, professional mentors and/or trained career management consultants. The key of this phase is to make a decision about the professional role you want to pursue and identify the industry sectors and/or companies that are of most interest to you. Then develop or update your resume to reflect your new career goal.
Q: Once a job seeker decides upon his or her career goal, what should he or she do next?
A: Planning and Preparation is next. Research your target market and become familiar with key trends in your industry sectors of interest. Carefully identify key target companies that match your criteria for being employers of choice. Web sites, blogs, newspapers, professional associations, recruiters and professionals, employed in your areas of interest, are all valuable sources of information. Prepare your personal marketing/sales campaign by ensuring that your resume is focused on your history of achievement and service to your past employers. Develop a short sales pitch– a 30-second “commercial” – that explains who you are and identifies your professional goals.
Q: Once the planning and preparation stage is complete, how do you recommend jump-starting a job search?
A: First, launch your search effort through all available avenues: the Internet, recruiters and face-to-face networking. Most importantly, network aggressively with friends, colleagues, new acquaintances, networking groups and professional associations to raise your profile in the employment marketplace and learn more about your industries and companies of choice. Close to 80% of all job seekers find their new career opportunity through networking.
Post your resume on a variety of job search portals such as www.Monster.com and www.CareerBuilder.com . I would highly recommend you establish a profile on the professional networking site, www.LinkedIn.com as well. All of these web sites offer free services and they are a good way to advertise your availability and expand your professional network. Contact recruiters who specialize in your professional discipline and industries of interest
Second, interview at key target companies . Thoroughly prepare for interviews by researching the company and understanding industry trends that impact the company’s competitiveness. Before your interviews, try to network with current and past company employees to get the real story on an organization’s culture, values and reputation. Be prepared for a variety of interviewing formats and techniques including group interviews, behavioral approaches and even assessment tests.
Q: Even if a person is unemployed, do you still recommend negotiating best terms at an interview?
A: Don’t be afraid to negotiate! Most companies expect you to request revisions to their initial job offer. Even if you are unemployed, if you are the best person for the job, the company will approach you with a competitive offer. Good talent is in high demand, so don’t undervalue yourself. Be realistic and clear about what you want to achieve in the negotiations. Whether it is an increase in the base salary or an accommodation, such as a flexible work schedule, know what is possible by researching compensation trends and work/life balance considerations that are practical for the company to consider.
Q: What would you recommend a person with a disability do to launch a successful career transition?
A: The fundamental steps for preparing for and launching a successful career transition or job search are about the same for any individual. However, job seekers with a disability should devote some of their research time to identifying corporations and organizations with reputations for supporting real diversity in the employee population. Organizations such as the Resource Partnership, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and the State Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development may help you with your transition or refer you to other outplacement or career management companies. Here again, networking with other workers with disabilities is a good way to identify employers that will truly value your contribution. If you are unemployed because of a change at your company, your employer often provides outplacement services. If you are unsure about what benefits you are eligible to receive, speak with your Human Resources department. If you are not employed or wish to engage outside career transition services, contact the State Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Q: What should a job candidate do when they think they may have been discriminated against because of their age?
A: Unfortunately, many people can experience discrimination in the job search. Job seekers may be unsuccessful because they do not have the current skills that are in demand, may be perceived as too old, or have an obvious disability. If you consider legal recourse in these situations, the resolution could take years to materialize and cost a lot of time and money. The key is not to let the discrimination you experience stop you from pursuing your career goals. First and foremost, you need to believe in yourself and the value of the skills, experience and work ethic you can bring to an employer. All job seekers experience rejection as part of the process. You will also find advocates during your search. Those people will be instrumental in helping you achieve success. Additionally, if a company were demonstrating discriminatory behavior, would you really want to work for them? There are good companies out there who understand the value of diversity in their workforce. Devote your time to researching and finding them.
Q: Finally, do you think there will be more or less work opportunities for older workers in the next 10 years?
A: The demographics of the U.S. workforce are shifting and this is a hot topic right now. The employees aged 55 or over continue to grow due to three main reasons including f inancial need, longer life expectancy, and a desire to remain active. Many observers of employment trends are forecasting that as the 75,000,000 baby boomers either retire or pursue alternative career models, the employment sector will experience a range of shortages in key areas such as leadership, technology skills and operations management. There are maybe two main solutions to this problem: to retain older experienced staff or find other niches to fill the gap. Such niches may well be hiring people with disabilities, which is a very qualified but still underemployed pool of candidates. The issue of labor shortage challenges the Office of Disability Employment Policy to develop policies and programs that would empower employers to alter their strategies for employee recruitment, development, and transition to be able to retain highly qualified and high-contributing employees. A big part of this program and policy development becomes accommodation of those workers. Whether obtained at birth or acquired later in life, employees may be affected by various life restricting disabilities, including but not limited to vision, hearing, dexterity, memory, attention, standing, and/or sitting impairments that may make it difficult for them to work full time. To accommodate those workers, employers need to integrate part-time, consulting or job share models to provide a “win/win” scenario for both the company and the employee. I believe we will see a wide variety of these employment initiatives in the next 5-10 years and the result will be a diversity of employment opportunity for many older workers and people with disabilities who want to continue with some level of ongoing employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Moor, for sharing your expertise on successfully transitioning into new career opportunities for senior-level candidates.
[back to top] [back to articles]
Resource Partnership
251 West Central Street, Suite 31, Natick, MA 01760
P) 508.647.1722 Toll-Free) 1.877.YES.WORK F) 508.647.9622 TTY) 508.652.7284
info@resourcepartnership.org
[View Our Sitemap] [Home]
Email the webmaster if you have any accessibility problems with this web site.