After two months and no interviews I’m losing hope fast and have resigned myself to keeping my current job. I’m happy I took my own advice that I give corporate clients and that is to float your resume to see how marketable you are. What I’ve learned in this process are the following do’s and don’ts:

 

Do’s:

1. Be careful to limit your resume to your most recent experiences; if you’re over fifty you don’t run the risk of dating yourself.
2. Be sure to network with your colleagues; let them know you’re in the job market and give them your business card; if necessary, make up new cards stating your objective and why you would be a good fit for jobs you’re looking for.
3. Be specific: don’t use CEO if you’re not willing to specify type of industry. Most industries hire from within and senior management experience in one industry (e.g. hospital administration) does not necessarily transfer to B2B business development.
4. Prepare specific cover letters for each job you’re applying for to let recruiters know you’ve read their job specs and can address each point in the job description.
5. Check on jobs every day if you’re using one of the Internet search engines like Monster or CareerBuilder. Specify “last 24 hours” to eliminate redundancies. Many jobs are pulled off the board and placed back on later. Keep a job file of the jobs you’ve applied for.
6. Be prepared to relocate and pay moving expenses because most senior jobs want to hire locally to eliminate this expense.
7. Remain optimistic in light of the fact that your chances of hitting a senior position over 100k to be quite slim unless you have an “inside edge.” Many companies post publicly to meet EEO requirements.
8. Stay away from recruiters who will waste your time with phone interviews; also stay away from marketing and investment schemes.
9. List critical success factors in your resume that relates to “bottom line” results—e.g. emerging new markets, increased market share, cost savings, etc.
10. Use milestones or benchmarks to describe complex job assignments in the past; be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-limited (SMART).

 

Don’ts:

1. Don’t list dates when you received degrees if you’re over fifty.
2. Don’t pay recruiters upfront fees to look for you.
3. Don’t reply by email unless specifically requested to do so; many emails are deleted immediately and not entered into a job bank and kept for six months if you apply via a menu-driven job board.
4. Don’t list references unless specifically requested to do so. This limits your options depending on job you’re seeking.
5. Never give out your social security number over the Internet. Call or email the recruiting authority and explain your reasons for security.
6. Don’t list job titles on your resume; instead use benchmarks and SMART goals.
7. Don’t list any personal information on your resume; this can be used against you; wait for a phone or personal interview.
8. Don’t expect a job within six months; the rule of thumb is one month for each 10k increase in salary—e.g. a 100k position typically takes 10 months to fill.
9. Don’t be swayed by slick bonuses; stay with base salary and benefits to compare job offers.
10. Don’t oversell yourself; you’re setting yourself up for a quick exit if you find yourself in a job that you can’t handle. After the “honeymoon” you’re looking at additional relocation expenses, no job, no contacts, and burned bridges.

 

In summary, I advise clients to update their resumes and “put yourself out there” to see what skills you need to improve. This gives you a growth plan for future coursework and self-study. This process also humbles you and makes one appreciate your present circumstances and why you’ve stayed in your current job. Unless you hate your job, you probably already receive adequate compensation and job satisfaction. It’s difficult to switch jobs after age fifty. This becomes the glass ceiling in corporate America and unless you’re willing to “go it alone” you might stick it out another 12-15 years until retirement. I’ve learned that if you’re basically an entrepreneur and value your time and control over your hours, then working for someone else becomes problematic for both. You will most likely find yourself competing with your CEO for running the company and your “maverick” style will be viewed as counterproductive to “consensus management” and loyalty to the company. There’s truth in the adage that people work for themselves because either: no one else would hire them, or they wouldn’t work for anyone else.

 

Next month we’ll look at cognitive learning styles as applies to working with teams within your organization.

 

 

1. Dust up your resume and apply for a job in your field and ask for 25% more money.

 

2. Network with your local Chamber of Commerce about possible job leads. Be specific about what you're looking for.

 

3. If you didn't get an interview try to find out why. Many companies will not reply to you, but those that do might offer you some helpful tips--e.g. asking too much salary, resume format, too experienced, not enough experience.