Yesterday, we discussed howhitting that milestone age of 50 may pose some challenges while job hunting. We’veraised our kids and life gets easier … Or does it? There have been too manypeople in this age group that have woken up one morning and found themselvesunemployed and looking for a job in recent years.
Unemployment is unsettlingat any age. But once you reach that milestone of 50, and the years after thatit is unsettling and scary. You’ve put money away for those golden years andall of the sudden you’re finding yourself using it to survive because youhaven’t found a new job yet.
As we discussed earlier, thechances are that the last time you were in the market for a job, it was beforethe internet explosion. And now you’re trying to get adapted to this ‘new’ wayof job seeking, but you have quickly found out that it isn’t so easy. The days of searching the help wanted ads inthe daily newspaper are gone. So are the days of just walking in and fillingout an application and starting to work tomorrow.
Today, there is a lot morewith involved in the job search. And when it comes to getting hired today, the rules havedefinitely changed! But, as we said before, it isn’t hopeless! We share someadvice and tips for the older unemployed person with you before and we have afew more things to share with you today that can get you past the gatekeepers:
Aim For Local Hot Jobs
A successful job search willstart by aiming for the local hot jobs. The hot jobs or the jobs that arein-demand are available right now and have a future of growth. Despite theeconomy right now, there are several thriving occupations that have a lowunemployment rate in this country.
Some segments that arehiring right now and have a visible long-term future are:
- Education
- Elderly Care
- Environmental Sustainability
- Healthcare
You can find better successby conducting your job search targeted in these areas. Once you have narroweddown the industry, the employer and the job positions that are the hot target,match your skills to them and determine which ones are best for you. You canfind several identification tools to do this. Two of the best ones that theU.S. Department of Labor as developed are:
The information you gatherfrom these assessments will help you in several ways:
- Determine if there is a good fit between a joband you
- Customize your cover letter and your résumé tofit a particular position
- Create a line of communication that expresses yourconfidence why you are the right candidate for a job
Create Your PersonalMarketing Campaign
When most of us here thewords “marketing campaign” businesses and commercials. What job seekers oftendon’t realize is that they need a marketing campaign for themselves. Create athirty-second commercial, or what many call it the “elevator speech” as well asyour customized résumé, a customized cover letter, and most important of all, apersonalized, follow-up thank you note. These are the 4 tools you need in yourmarketing campaign. These are the tools that are going to promote you, yourskills and your talents.
Your Thirty-SecondCommercial aka The Elevator Speech
This brief 30-seconds isyour personalize commercial or your elevator speed where you make a preparedpresentation of your experience, qualifications, and skills. This tellsprospective employers who you are what your accomplishments and skills are andwhat your future plans are. In those 30 seconds, you need to tell aboutyourself in very few words and quickly.
When is do you play thiscommercial? At an event, meeting or any other type of networking situationwhere there may be a prospective employer or somebody that knows others who arehiring. This video has some great tips for successful networking. And keepchecking back with us for more advice and tips for job seeking for those 50 andover!
