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Are you an older skilled worker who has been through a couple of decades of cyclical job expansion and contraction? Then you should be able to gain a few pearls of wisdom from this article. We sometimes forget the benefits that older works bring to a potential (or existing) employer. You do not have to be in sales to leverage you strengths. So how about selling yourself?(Editor's Note)
1. You understand recessions: Older workers have seen hard times before -- the bursting of the 1990s tech bubble, recession in the early 1980s, the oil crisis of the mid-1970s -- and they understand that businesses have to adjust. Knowing, too, that expansions always follow, older workers can bring a steady perspective to a jumpy workplace.
2. You have a healthy fear of slowdowns: Sure, you've seen them before. Older workers' steadiness can be accompanied by a fair dose of worry: You know that downturns can last for long periods of time, and you've witnessed the obliteration of job security, so you know that you need to be increasingly ready and willing to do what it takes to keep your job.
3. You're willing to work part time: Older workers most crave flexibility, according to a RetirementJobs.com survey. Many want to spend more of their time doing things they enjoy -- traveling, perhaps, or playing with their grandkids -- and they're often willing to accept a part-time schedule or reduced hours. As employers increasingly cut back on hours, a willingness to be flexible can make a job seeker more attractive to a greater variety of companies.
4. You have real-life experience: Today, employers need workers who can hit the ground running, and older workers have more real-world, less theoretical experience, says John Challenger of Challenger Gray & Christmas. "They've been there before and seen more situations," Challenger says.
5. You want to be challenged: Forget resting on your laurels -- a Penn State study found that challenging work is the thing that older workers want most.
Click here to read part 2 of this article
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I enjoyed all of your points--very informative...here is what i tell prospective clients..we have all heard of Picasso the painter..
ReplyDeleteOne day he was sitting in a restaurant eating lunch and a man saw him and approached him and asked him to scribble a little drawing on a napkin...Picasso said "Sure" and he stopped and drew a little picture on the napkin and handed it to the man and said that will be $50,000 --The man said "What?" Picasso said $50,000...the man said "that only took you a minute to draw" Picasso replied No, that took me 55 years to draw"
Ha Ha,
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one, Jack Barrett.
Yes....but did he get the $50,000? Good comment.
ReplyDeletethe problem that is faced by older workers is the bottom line. I just graduated college at the age of 43 and was basically told by one person at a firm (a friend of a friend) I was qualified to work at with my experience that my age worked against me. I had a professor tell our class that why should he pay for experience when training a younger person and paying them less is better for his company's bottom line? (he did tell the entire class we were going to have trouble getting a job no matter how old we were) It just concerns me that employers seem to want younger workers, even though it is generally thought that the work ethic of younger workers is not as good as those who have been around and seen what it takes to succeed. It is a terrible job market as it is, and unfortunately there is going to be age discrimination which is going to make it harder for over 40's to get a job
ReplyDeleteI took a college class a few years back and gave a real life example how they caught them in the act, they had two people apply one older and the other younger with the same skill sets, the younger worker got the job, then they sued the firm for age discrimination and now had proof using bait applicants applying for the same job.
ReplyDeleteRead the first page. Too bad rest of the article does not post. At least I got to read 5 out of 20.
ReplyDelete