In the careers section of the Wall Street Journal there is an interesting article Hearing ‘You’re Overqualified’ Again and Again. In response to this article I posted the following comment on the WSJ page, to share how to overcome and squelch the "too old" stigma many faces, which makes it more difficult for older baby boomers to get hired.

The direct approach is best in staying focused on what you bring to the table with both skills, experience and being an expert in your field. Submitting just a resume means the Interviewer only has one narrowly defined aspect of your kills. Overcome the age barrier by positioning yourself prior to the interview. Mental attitude is THE most important ingredient to overcoming age perception issues.

In this video Age Discrimination in Hiring & How to Overcome It

Linda Raynier, Career Strategist, provides awesome strategies. pas.

The jobscape in the 21st century is a new game. Freelance journalist, Kimberlee Morrison writes about an ADWeek survey which indicates 92% of Recruiters use social media to find high-quality candidates. So many human resource professionals, recruiters and hiring managers do use the Internet to identify talent that makes a better company match. The key is to develop a positive Internet presence, which highlights your skills beyond a resume.

Leverage the Internet to establish yourself as an expert in your field and pump up the volume of the skills presented in your resume. Make it your business to be exactly where Human Resources professionals and recruiters look. When they receive your resume, many jump on the Internet to Google your name. Type your name into Google right now. What shows up about you? Do you have a professional profile on LinkedIn.com?

Start a blog to write about how you have used your skills to contribute to the success of previous companies. Share success stories about projects you worked on and how you made a difference in the outcomes. If you don’t like to write, then comment [in a positive way] on articles others have written, related to your skill space. The goal is to make the Internet sell your skills, which increase your value above and beyond your resume. By the time you sit for an interview, the hiring manager is now more receptive to focusing on your skills, with age being a much more minor point.

Developing an Internet presence creates demand for you and your skills, because you increase the chances of more people finding you and identifying you as an expert in your field. Keith Ferrazzi says it best, in terms of networking; “It’s not who you know. It’s more important who knows you”

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" -Zig Ziglar

_______________________________

Carl E. Reid, CSI - USMC 79/80
"Deep Expertise at intersections of Business, Networking and Technology"
Click here to schedule a 15 minute call with Carl

Connect with Carl: www.CarlEReid.com |