I Have A Confession To Make.
I have a confession to make. Up to this point in time I have been very careful about revealing my age. For the purpose of this writing, however I will mention that I am over the age of 50, so I fall into the category of older job seekers. Recently, I read an excellent article in Newsday about mistakes that older job seekers make. As a result, I have decided to put together my own list of mistakes which I have tried to avoid:
1): Don’t try to bluff your way around technical issues. The Newsday article referenced an individual who told a screening interviewer that he was technically savvy. As it turned out, the candidate in question did not even know about LinkedIn. I could almost hear the buzzer going off in the screener’s head (BUZZ….wrong answer….next). If you feel that you need additional training, please take the time to upgrade your skills, especially if you feel you need more experience on Microsoft Office. During the past few months, HempsteadWorks made me aware of programs that they have, at little or no cost, to help those who are out of work upgrade their skills. Alvin Toffler wrote about the accelerated rate of change in our society in his book, Future Shock. Mr. Toffler was way ahead of his time as he wrote the book in 1970. My point is that it is a small time investment when you are between jobs, and the benefits are huge.
2): Unless you are an expert, stay away from the hair coloring…
This is a mistake I made, fortunately, while I was still employed. My hair was starting to gray and I thought that it was a great time to go to the drugstore and do something about it. Granted, if done correctly, it can be a morality booster, but if you decide to do this on the day before a big interview, and you make a mistake, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage before you even walk into the interview. When I colored my hair, I left the dye on for too long, and my gray/light brown hair turned black. When I went into work the next day, the only person to comment on the change was my boss (who was proud of his gray hair). This is not a mistake I wanted to make while I was interviewing.
3): Acting younger than you are. When I was younger, I made a promise to myself not to fall out of touch with contemporary music and fashion. I remember one of my parent’s friends being extremely upset with the way Elvis shook his hips in the 1950’s. Ten years later my parents were taken back by the long hair which was made popular by groups like the Beatles. I am not even going to bring up miniskirts here. In the 1970’s some of my older friends were taken back by Disco music, and in the 1980’s by punk music. As for me, my promise was tested by the introduction of rap in the 1980’s, Techno-pop in the 1990’s and Lady Gaga today. So I have modified my mantra to one of peaceful co-existence with contemporary music and styles, however when it comes to an interview, I have learned to put cultural issues aside and focus on my talents and how a prospective employer can best utilize them. I’d rather save my comments about Lady Gaga for another time.
4): Avoid issues such as politics and race. By now, I am sure this is common sense. You may wonder why I am bringing up this issue. In one of my interviews, I was questioned extensively about my feelings about ethnic groups other than my own. Even though I had clearly stated that I hold no biases and that employees and co-workers should only be judged by their performance, several of my interviewers repeated these questions. I was beginning to think that the individuals who were interviewing me were bordering on asking questions that should not be asked during in interview. As it turns out, the person who previously held the position I was applying for was let go because his views and treatment of some minority groups created problems for the company. I also found out that he was very vocal about some of his biases. The bottom line is that it is just better to stay away from any issues relating to politics and race.
5): Avoid thinking that a company will hire you based solely on you past achievements. This was a point that was also raised in the Newsday article. The article went on to suggest, instead, to find a way to show that you can use your past achievements as a cornerstone to help your prospective employer.
Now that I have covered some Don’t s, here are some Do’s.
1): If you are faced with questions that you feel may be “illegal” be polite, but firm in your answers. An employer is not allowed to ask you for your age, however you may run across a few interviewers that will try to push the envelope. It may even take the form of casual conversation. During the interview process, I always avoid taking about my wife, children, family and any other issues that could reveal my age. With that said, I have learned to replace terms such as “30 years experience in supply chain” with terms such as “extensive experience in supply chain.” If someone does cross the line and ask me how old I am, my first answer is that I am over 21 years of age, and if I am asked for an exact age, I deflect and redirect the question. One way is to say that if you have any questions about my specific experience, please do not hesitate to ask, however I do not understand why knowing my exact age is relevant. Going back to an earlier point, I felt that the questions posed about race in an earlier interview, were pretty close to crossing the line. In that particular case, I repeated the same answer that I had given earlier, making sure there were absolutely no variations in it. As this was an opportunity presented to me by a headhunter, I asked the headhunter why this question was repeated so many times.
2): Regardless of age, make sure that you always present a positive “can do” attitude. A career coach I knew pointed out that you should always go to an interview with quantifiable achievements from your previous positions, and look for clues as to how you can use those to benefit your prospective employer.
Good Hunting to all.
Howard K. Young
Read more from Howard here.
