Alert! An Over-50 Jobseeker Has Just Entered the Building

Interviewing Tips for the Older Job-seeking Population

A red alert is probably melodramatic, but I'm sure jobseekers in this age bracket probably feel there is one. The bulk of the job-seeking population is currently facing job-search woes that the elderly population has been experiencing for years.

In recent years, I've seen that over-50 jobseekers have wised up to the fact that age bias is still existent in America's workforce. Armed with this information, these jobseekers are redesigning their résumés so that obvious red flags are no longer present. Employers are finding it more difficult to "guesstimate" someone's age because these individuals are eliminating older positions, degree dates, and shaving information from the backend of their career; information that generally makes a résumé lengthy and less focused. With a targeted and lean résumé, an over-50 jobseeker is likely to obtain more interviews than with a heavy, all-telling version.

Other factors older jobseekers should consider are personal hygiene, attire, and language skills. A person who takes the time to adequately prepare a résumé should also take enough time to work on personal appearance and traits too.

Certainly I'm not recommending that an individual run out and get thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery, or spend an insane amount of money on a new wardrobe. I am, however, recommending that you take a good look at your appearance. Ask yourself, could a new hairstyle or an attractive new business suit provide an added edge? Willingness to change your appearance is solely up to you. Keep in mind that you'll likely be interviewed by someone younger, so trimming a mustache, wearing a new pair of shoes or shirt, and using ageless words during the interview, will likely make a substantial difference.

Interviewers will ask loaded questions if he or she wants to determine your age. Watch out for questions, covering age of grandchildren, possible retirement date, or health status. These questions are considered illegal; and although they're not jail-worthy, they will give him or her the ammunition to make a tainted employment selection. Contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), if you suspect a company of being age-biased.

Staying ahead of the technological curve, and representing this in the résumé and during the interview, will allow you to speak to the interviewer using acronyms and jargon that's familiar to that person. A knowledgeable individual, regardless of age, will impress an interviewer and leave a positive impression.

Keep a positive mindset and you'll appear young and lively. An optimistic outlook is not always easy, particularly when you've gone on several interviews that don't result to job offers. Support and golden age groups -- provided by county career centers and sponsored by colleges -- will provide support, a networking forum, and employment contacts that will make your job search flow smoothly.

An over 50 jobseeker can also benefit from the help of a career coach. A coach can help identify and resolve employment concerns, as well as, personal and life issues that may be hindering personal development. Filling a much-needed gap, career coaching is becoming a crucial tool for those seeking to career transition and advance -- even at the youthful age of 50 or more.

About The Author

Written by Teena Rose of Résumé to Referral http://www.resumebycprw.com


More Resources

Passing The Police Test Just Became Easier
You've taken the police officer selection test or law enforcement entrance exam, but just can't seem to get a high enough passing score. You know you would be a good police officer if you could overcome that first hurdle.
2 Job-Search Success Stories
Here are two success stories from my readers who found great new jobs last week. As you read each story, ask yourself, "How could I apply this to my job hunt?"1) Job-search goal cards workHere's a story sent in by Fred, from Chanhassen, Minn.
Petite Modeling: is There a Career for You?
PEtite modeling is a tough industry to break into. Especially since most modeling agencies won't represent models unless they're 5 feet and 9 inches tall or taller.
What Turns Potential Employers ON; What Turns Them OFF?
According to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, these are the most important qualities that employers are looking for in a job candidate, in priority order: (1) Communication skills; (2) Honesty/integrity; (3) Teamwork skills; (4) Interpersonal skills; (5) A strong work ethic. Be sure to highlight those skills in your resume, during your interview, and in your thank-you letter.
The Five Most Common - And Most Avoidable - Résumé Errors
Writing an effective résumé can certainly be challenging. There are numerous rules and none of them apply 100% of the time.
Skills Make Labor More Valuable
As you know by now, if you have been a long time subscriber to our weekly E-zine, I'm a very big proponent of activity, labor and discipline. In fact I devoted one of the five major pieces to the life puzzle (in my book under the same name) to the subject of activity and labor.
Recovering From a Career Crisis
If you have ever experienced any of the following, you have had a career crisis:? Losing your job? Being fired? Burning out? Not wanting to do your job for one more dayA career crisis can be caused either by someone else (being laid off) or by your own feelings (burning out).Common Causes of Career CrisesThere are many reasons why people experience career crises.
In a Rut? Ready for a Career Change?
Are you unhappy at work? Tired and lacking energy and drive? Don't worry, you are not alone! Studies in the US show that up to 70 percent of the workforce is unhappy with their job at any given time. We all feel dissatisfied and frustrated with our jobs at times.
Which Half Are You?
When more than half of Americans were identified as overweight, people took notice. Major news outlets began educating on how to stay out, or get out, of that statistic.
20 Questions That Helped Me Take A Leap Of Faith And Change Careers
When I was working more than 45 hours a week in a job with a two hour commute each day, the challenge of a new husband, new step children, two beagle dogs and maintaining a home was more than a stretch! Something had to give, and unfortunately I was the one starting to not be able to hold it together!It was a Catch 22 situation. We had an expensive home near the city center with large mortgage costs, which demanded feeding through joint incomes.
Why Culinary Education
If you are thinking about a career in culinary arts then studying in a culinary school is a must. You may be a great cook but you will never become expert learning culinary arts yourself.
Four Important Questions to Ask Your Interviewer; Do You Really Want to Work for This Person?
Many job seekers miss a golden opportunity when they are asked towards the end of an interview if they have any questions. If they feel the interviewer adequately explained the position, they make the mistake of answering "No" to this question.
Loving What You Do
Man is a social animal and survival is his major need. There are needs that he needs be fulfill.
Looking for a Qualified Medical Billing Specialist
Families, mothers, employers, and medical practices all interact in one way or another with a medical billing specialist. When medical billing is required, a qualified medical billing specialist can help you process your claim quickly and thoroughly.
10 Ways to Speed-Up Your Job Search Effort
Today everyone knows at least one person who has lost their job to down-sizing, right-sizing, cut-backs, production reduction or a mean, vicious "bogus leader" who could care less about your family, your life or your existence at the company. This may sound a bit overboard, but everyone has probably experienced the manager, supervisor or company leader from hell, and if you haven't just stick around.
Create Your Plan B Before the Layoff Axe Falls
In one short week, the axe fell at a number of companies and thousands of employees were without jobs. Hewlett Packard, Kodak, Ford Motor Company of Canada, PNC Financial and Kimberley Clark each had to make critical business decisions and lay off large numbers of employees.
It is Still Possible to be Upwardly Mobile in America!
Yes, it's still possible to be upwardly mobile in America: it's called a career in sales.Sales jobs come in all shapes and sizes.
What Do Accountants And Doctors Have In Common?
Freshly qualified accounting graduates when asked by the interviewer "Are there any questions you want to ask?" usually respond with "What are my duties and responsibilities"Be careful. Some interviewers intentionally do not mention anything about duties and responsibilities to test the reaction of the candidates.
A Concept That Could Double Youre Income in Mystery Shopping
Do you want to double, or increase significantly you're income in mystery shopping? If yes, I'll be sharing to you an age old concept. Now you might have learned this already or you may consider this common sense.
Free Resume Template: What Makes a Good One?
You can drown in the "free resume examples," "free resume templates," and "free resume samples" on the web.In my opinion, a single thing makes one free resume template different from another: results.

More Careers & Employment Information:

Related Articles

Where Do I Go From Here?
Making Your Future Work Better For YouIt's the commonest concern people have about their careers. Where am I heading? Is this the right direction for me? How can I tell what will suit me best? Making good career decisions doesn't have to be agony if you clear away a few misconceptions.
College Labor is Available in Ohio
Ohio has always been big on education and that means a bright, energetic and reliable workforce for expanding businesses. A business which wants to expand its number of outlets should be looking strongly at the Ohio market place as there are many very strong and economically viable areas to do business.
Necessary Psychological Skills When Working in the Executive Protection Field
The "hard" skills necessary for an executive protection specialist (EPS) and/or personal protection specialist (PPS) are often perceived as being that of a policeman or (elite) soldier. Though there can be certain similarities i.
Top Ten Guidelines For Working With Executive Recruiters
1. Select the right type of recruitment partnerDetermine whether you would be best served by a retained, contingency, contract or research based partner at a global, national or local level.
Why Human Resources Are The Real Key To Success In This Information Age
The rapid changes that have mainly been brought about by the information age are numerous and irreversible. They have affected our way of life on virtually every front and have left many old companies in ruins while causing other new ones to swiftly emerge and grow to great unprecedented profitability, literally overnight.
What Did You Say?
My table-mates introduced themselves as the reciprocal protocol began. We chatted about what we did, where we did it and what we thought of the conference.
The Inevitable Job Interview Question: "Why Did You Leave (Are Planning To Leave) Your Last Position
This is a question that you can almost count on being asked at your next interview What the interviewer wants to know is, "Why are you available?"The answer you give could set the tone for the rest of the interview. For instance, if you were to indicate that you were bored or burned out at your last job, the interviewer would quickly become concerned about your performance at this company.
How to Answer The Most Difficult Interview Questions
The following 'difficult' questions are common to most tricky or adversarial interviews. In order to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job, you must prepare and rehearse your answers meticulously.
7 Tips to Deal With a Bad Performance Review
Q. "I wasn't happy with my last performance review.
Common Résumé Mistakes
Using a general résumé.DON'T DO IT! You cannot successfully use the same résumé to apply to several different jobs.
Employees, Get Used to Working under Surveillance
Let's face it. Monitoring employees' e-mail, tracking their Internet use, logging everything done at keyboards has become the norm in Corporate America.
Make Your Resume Keyword Rich and Scanner Friendly
If you haven't looked for a job recently, there are new tactics that hiring professionals are using that you should be aware of before updating your resume.Employers and recruiters increasingly rely on electronic resumes, resume posting boards and job banks to find job candidates.
Why Do Interviews Die: That Sinking Feeling and How to Prevent it!
Interviews die because a mistake occurred. Sometimes, you've made a mistake; sometimes they die because someone who screened a resume did.
Writing Great Cover Letters
Cover letters are an essential ingredient to your complete résumé package. This is the best opportunity for you to demonstrate your personal character, knowledge of the company and your business writing skills.
9 Tips on Creating a Professional Emailed Job Application
With the advent of the Internet, many of us have the opportunity to apply for work through email.However, just because this is the Internet and email is so fast and convenient, that does NOT mean you should give up professionalism and polish!FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT.
Make A Lasting Impression With Interview Etiquette
(Des Moines, Iowa - February 2, 2005) Behaving appropriately during every course of an interview is just one way to increase your success with finding a job. Here are some tips to consider before you're seated across from your interviewer.
Stepping Stone Jobs
What we name something matters.It sets a tone that alters our attitude.
Ask the Recruiter
We all have career goals, big or small. Here are some questions I have recieved over the last month from those actively seeking new employment.
You're Ready for a Career Change - Is Your Resume?
You finally did it. You made the decision to leave a career that makes you dread every Monday morning and pursue one that you feel is your true calling.
Searching for a Federal Job
Many years ago searching for a federal job was a long, complicated and drawn out process. Today, it has been become far less complex and is now just a three-step process.