Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

Is it ageism?  or my attitude?

Is this your plight or is it an excuse? “I am over 50 and fear I am overlooked because the hiring authorities want someone younger.”

Challenge: “I read about ageism and feel certain the reason I am not getting job offers is because of my age. I am a of the boomer generation and I wonder how others find work?”

Solution: With any luck, every one you approach will be fifty years old some day.  Six figure executives and technology leaders with vast experience often take themselves out of consideration by their own hand.  Look around.  There are many ‘gray hairs’ working in all manner of positions and companies.  Why not you?

Often the reason older professionals are passed over has nothing to do with age.  They simply jump to that conclusion.  If you are invited to interview, chances are the employer already knows you are not fresh out of college.  They saw something of value in your resume and invited you to interview so you could prove why they should hire you. That is what interviews are for.

It behooves older candidates to review every aspect of their job search including their interview style, to assess areas that can be made more compelling.  Ultimately people are hired because of what they can contribute to the bottom line.  Refine your message.

Invite a younger, trusted friend to interview you using a video recorder for later review.  Dissect every part of the interview including attire and body language.  It is my experience that older candidates often create their own ageism issues by being patronizing, impatient, and dismissive or even conciliatory or apologetic.  Be very critical of your interview style.  Be self confident but not arrogant.  As an example: Never, ever say, “Oh, that’s easy, I solved that problem,” or similar responses that dismiss the importance and difficulty the interviewer tries to convey.

If you can vet companies prior to presenting your credentials, research the diversity of the team.  If you see many ethnicities, both genders, people of various sexual identities and a variety of ages, you are likely to be considered for what you do and not excluded because of age.

The most effective means by which to overcome the age issue is to be introduced to the hiring authority by someone whom they value.  Focus your networking on these people.

A long-time colleague contated me this week.  He is 62 (and looks it) and has three six figure+ job opportunities from which to choose.  How did this happen?  Because he is highly visible in his niche and has maintained connections with key players.  When he decided to leave his employer of ten years, his phone just started ringing. No ageism issues in his job search.

Continuing your career after 50+ is a career development issue, not just something you can pay attention to the instant you need a new job.  Sure, there are many techniques you can use to help in your current search, but to be on the safe side think about career, not just job.

Often the over 50 professional is greatly advantaged by employing a job search coach.  There are so many aspects of the job search that can use a tune up and refinement.  It is often a case of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ and a coach can enlighten you and offer course corrections.

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Read, “Job Search Debugged” for advice on creating a compelling job search.

Listen to my podcast on overcoming the age issue.

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