Or how not to brand yourself a dinosaur
There’s just no substitute for plain old experience, I grant you that. It’s safe to say we are all experienced. It’s when you drop the number qualifier — 25-plus years, or what have you — as I advised in a previous blog post, that you start straining for other adjectives. And that’s where you can get yourself in real trouble.
Do you seriously want to risk sabotaging your job-search campaign and all-important sales pitch by making yourself sound old and tired, or leathery like a well-done steak? No, of course not.
You want to sell the sizzle. You want to appear ripe for the picking. Not too ripe, mind you, but fresh with pluck, promise and enthusiasm. You’re bristling with it. Not only are you up to the task, you know how to present yourself in as flattering a light as possible, as the solution to an employer’s prayers.
Now let me rhyme off a few choice descriptors that can send your résumé straight to the circular file:
- Seasoned
- Well-seasoned
- Extensive track record
- Veteran
- Mature professional
- Long tenured
- A long and illustrious career
- Long-standing
- Long-time
Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative
What most job seekers of a certain age fail to understand, and I’ve certainly been guilty of this, is that your value to a prospective employer stems not from your years of experience but from your personality, attitude and the unique skill set you can bring to the job in the here and now. In a buyer’s market such as this, you can ill afford to misplace the emphasis.
Repeat after me: It’s your strengths, capabilities, qualifications, and achievements — not your previous job titles, duties and length of service — that you need to underscore.
What’s your wow factor?
As in, “Wow, we need to talk to this person!”
Choose language that is empowering, attention grabbing and persuasive. Good writers make it a point to use the active rather than the passive voice because it’s direct and in the moment. Think about applying that same rule when composing your cover letter and résumé.
To be able to articulate the many talents you can bring to an organization — to convince hiring managers that you’re a candidate worth meeting — consider using these or similar terms to better convey your can-do attitude and intrinsic worth:
- Dynamic
- Enthusiastic
- Energetic
- High energy
- Prodigious energy
- Excited
- Self-motivated
- Skilled
- A quick study
- Ready to hit the ground running
- Thoroughly schooled in
- Well-versed in
So start compiling a list of your positive attributes, business accomplishments and successes, all of which speak to your strong work ethic, and you can’t help but demonstrate your complete confidence in your own brand.
— Judy Margolis
Your New Year’s resolution Don’ts
When it comes to defending against ageism in the workplace—in particular, inviting unwanted attention to your possibly advanced years—here are some resolutions you can make and keep.
Resolution #1: Resolve to look forward, not back
The past is past. Most people, recruiters especially, want to know:
- What have you been up to lately?
- What can you do for me now?
- What do you want to accomplish in the future?
It’s time to break out of the habit of touting your 15, 20, 25-plus years of experience or more, as though it were a hard-won badge of honor you wish you could frame or take to the bank. Your time in the trenches is so First World War.
Do you really want to come across as an oldster in this competitive a job market where, as a Boomer, say, you’re vying with Gen Xers, Yers and Millennials? Drop any mention of this stuff in your cover letter and résumé. Do it now.
Resolution #2: Never let ‘em count your candles
Face it, there’s a good chance you’ll be working for a younger boss when you land your next job and with colleagues who are younger still. Or maybe you already find yourself in this position. Recognize that ageism is pervasive even though few will openly admit to its existence. Do you want to be subject to unfair stereotyping through your own careless missteps?
Resolution #3: Don’t do anything to stereotype yourself as an old fogey
No catnaps at your desk, either. Nor do you want to come off as the know-it-all eminence grise. Or the technophobe. Or the person who’s made fun of for tapping out messages on your BlackBerry using your index finger. Or, worse yet, checking your clunky old wristwatch when you want to know the time? Perish the thought.
Resolution #4: Don’t lead with your experience or patronize
Why risk threatening younger bosses or co-workers with your deep well of knowledge? You want to make friends, not enemies. Before you start mentoring or coaching them, make sure they have clearly expressed a sincere willingness to learn from you and see your offer of assistance as well-meaning, not merely an opportunity to show them up.
Resolution #5: Don’t be dismissive of new ideas because you think you know better
You may be senior in years and experience but not in seniority. Keep in mind that curmudgeonly phrases such as “I remember when” or “we used to do it this way” won’t endear you to your listeners or impress them with your forward thinking. More likely they’ll be perceived as a real turnoff, labeling you as even more of an outsider, and an unwelcome naysayer at that.
Now for some Do’s
Appear open to new ideas and enthusiatic about embracing them.
Stay current by seeking out professional development opportunities.
Keep up with industry, technology and social trends, as well as popular entertainment, even slang, by regularly combing the Internet.
Narrow the age gap by dressing in contemporary fashion. Don’t shop your closet if your wardrobe dates back to the 1980s.
Most important: remember that age is only a state of mind, so think young(er).
