If you're over 55 and looking for a job, you probably think...I’m too old! Of all the self-defeating statements heard from people in need of a job, this has to be the most common and saddest. You may well have reason to believe this is true. Maybe past experience taught you that a younger, more energetic person will get the job.
But, maybe it's just that you are "doing the same thing and expecting different results." It could well be that strategies that worked before — a dynamite resume, power networking — won't work now, especially in our current economic climate. Since, you can't change the environment or attitudes toward age, maybe it is you and me that have to change! Maybe we need to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and do something different! According to a new study from MetLife Mature Market Institute there are seven common mistakes older job seekers must correct if they are to be successful in finding work.
• “I’ll just do what I was doing before.”
• “I’ll just do what I was doing before.”
• “My experience speaks for itself.”
• “I don’t have time for this touchy-feely stuff about what work means to me.”
• “I know! I’ll become a consultant!”
• “Of course I’m good with computers.”
• “I’ll just use a recruiter for some career coaching.”
• “I’ve always been successful, so why should things be different now?”
If you are looking for work and any of these strategies ring a bell with you, take the time to download and read "Buddy, Can You Spare a Job? The MetLife Study of the New Realities of the Job Market for Aging Baby Boomers" (October ‘09).
It just might help you make the changes you need to make to find what you're looking for. As the study says, “Wishful thinking is not a job search method.” Resilience, a willingness to relocate and the motivation to learn new skills are absolute musts if you are seeking a job--at any age!
