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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had more mature clients ask me if their age would be a problem for them when searching for a new job.  The truth is, your attitude, energy level, and experience are more important than your age. 

How many times have you had to deal with someone with a bad attitude?  They can drain the life right out of the room.  And let’s face it, the less energy you have, the older you appear.  So be sure to stay upbeat and energetic—not just during face-to-face interviews, but during phone calls, as well.

The next thing to consider is how technologically savvy you are.  It’s not just about checking your e-mail and surfing the Internet anymore.  Nothing puts up red flags like someone who doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile or is resistant to using the latest technology.  If you haven’t maintained your skills, get some training!  There are tons of professional training centers like ExecuTrain and most state career centers provide basic training on the most commonly used software.

Another way to combat negative stereotypes associated with being older is to create a personal brand that focuses on your strengths, experience, and successful track record.  Position yourself as an expert.  Do your resume and online profiles identify the positive, lasting impact you’ve had on previous employers?  If you don’t tell people, how will they know? 

Keep in mind that a common misconception by some hiring managers is that they can’t afford you.  The trick is to get them to realize that they can’t afford to have you join the competition!  Ask what their biggest challenges are and show them how your vast skills and experience can be the solution.  Highlight how you can save money and improve profit margins so they don’t get hung up on trying to match your previous salary.

Finally, don’t let your age become a topic, or even joke about it!  Experienced hiring managers and HR professionals know not to ask how old you are, but don’t try to hide it by omitting dates on your employment history or education.

The important thing to remember is that your maturity and experience level are POSITIVE things.  Once you start to believe it, it won’t be difficult to convince others.

Do you really need a LinkedIn profile?  The short answer?  Absolutely.  In today’s world, there’s no excuse for not having an online presence.  And NOT having a LinkedIn profile is a giant red flag that you may not be as confident with technology as you claim.  Networking is still the #1 way people find jobs, so why wouldn’t you want to reap the benefits of the world’s largest professional network?

It’s Who You Know

With 300 million members in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, that’s a lot of potential.  So rather than applying for a position online and then sitting back and waiting to hear from them, be proactive and see if you have an “in” at the company.  If you’re lucky, you’ll have a 1^st connection who will be able to give you tons of insight into the corporate culture, hiring process, etc.  Or if you have a 2^nd connection (you know someone who knows someone), take advantage of the opportunity to ask for an introduction.  Since companies often receive hundreds—sometimes thousands—of applications for just one position, having a connection who will bring your resume to the top of the pile can make all the difference.

Sell Yourself

Think of your LinkedIn profile as your “commercial” to the world.  It’s basically free advertising and an opportunity to give the professional community a full view of your capabilities, including your volunteer causes, projects, publications, honors and awards, patents, etc.  Use it to showcase your personal brand (what other people think of when they think of you).  What is your reputation in the business community?  Are you known for your expertise in a particular area?  What do you represent?  When you’re in a job search, it’s more important than ever to consistently and clearly exhibiting your distinctive value to your target audience. 

Be Found

We recommend putting your LinkedIn profile URL on your resume to point employers to your online presence.  And let’s face it, even if you don’t, chances are they’ll find you anyway.  Whether they admit it or not, most people will do a Google search on a candidate before bringing them in for an interview.  The goal is to find the “bad stuff” like court cases, criminal records, etc.  If you have a LinkedIn profile, it will probably be the first thing that comes up—and they’ll learn about your vast skills and experience, as well as the positive, lasting impact you’ve had on previous employers.

Research, Research, Research

The Advanced search function in LinkedIn will let you pull up information by keyword, first name, last name, title, company, school, and location.  By searching for other profiles with your qualifications, you can find out what your competition has that you don’t and determine what you need to do to stay relevant.  You can also join LinkedIn Groups that match your interest to make more connections and stay current on industry trends.  And if you have an interview scheduled, be sure to prepare by learning as much as you can about the employer and the hiring manager.

So, in essence, there’s no real excuse for not jumping on the LinkedIn bandwagon.  With so many benefits, it should be an integral part of any job search.

Sitting in the office of their marriage counselor, Sam and Marlene appeared the ideal couple.   During most of their 14 year marriage, they had communicated openly and had a sense of unbounded optimism for the future.  Now, sitting slightly apart and refusing to look at each other, they were obviously in pain and confused about its source.

Sam reported frequent headaches, shortness of temper, and other vague physical discomforts, all of which were uncharacteristic.  Marlene complained that Sam was increasingly withdrawn and often snapped at her and their two daughters.  Sam countered that he was constantly being interrupted while doing "important work" at home and that he was often "just tired."

As the discussion continued, the doctor learned that Sam had recently lost his financial management job after 10 years at a local manufacturing company.  He was still angry at being a victim of downsizing, but held his feelings "in check" because he believed anger was unproductive and immature.

"I should have seen it coming," he said, "but I never thought it would happen to me."  To Marlene’s surprise, he said he often woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble getting back to sleep.  He was frustrated at his lack of progress in finding a new job but didn’t want to burden his family with details about his search, especially since he didn’t have much to report.  "Anyway, it’s my problem, not theirs," he said.

Sam and his family exhibit the common symptoms of stress.  Losing a job ranks with death, divorce, and being jailed in the toll it takes on mind and body.  Individuals and families alike will experience the stresses associated with a job loss and subsequent search.  The following are eight reasons why the stress of losing a job affects families, and nine steps to help you handle the loss more effectively.

1. Stress is a function of change.  Making any change in your life requires adjusting how you think and act.  Rapid, unexpected change is more stressful than alterations that come gradually or are anticipated.  Even changes that are considered pleasant are stressful.  Thus, beginning a new job that you’ve known about for weeks is just as stressful (though in a different way) as leaving your old job.  If a job loss is completely unexpected, the stress is greater.
2. Stress manifests itself physically and psychologically.  Symptoms may include restlessness, excessive sleep, a lack of motivation, a sense of foreboding, digestive upsets, decreased sexual interest or sexual response, moodiness, a short attention span, a short temper, obsessive thoughts, unusual or exaggerated fears, headaches, backaches or other physical symptoms.  Guilt and depression also often accompany high stress.  Many people attribute these symptoms to getting old or not feeling well.  It’s important, though, to take them seriously, since ignoring them can lead to more severe problems.  Your body and mind are a set of interacting systems that can break down if the stress isn’t dealt with.
3. Families experience stress in different ways.  Stress may show up as increased bickering, giving others "the silent treatment," or an increase in minor problems that may have existed before.  Stress in children is often disguised.  Young children who are not very verbal often manifest it through abrupt changes in their behavior at home or school.  For example, they may suddenly develop discipline or performance problems.  When children cling to you more or return to comfort objects (blankets or teddy bears) that were previously discarded, or if their behavior becomes excessively ritualized, search for the causes of stress and try to reduce them quickly.
4. One of the most common responses to job loss is grief.  Any loss triggers a normal grief response.  Job losses can cause as much grief as a death or divorce, but terminated employees often ignore their feelings or try to keep a "stiff upper lip."  Believing they should handle it well keeps them in denial, which usually is the first stage in the grief process.
5. Spouses often feel angry toward employers but blame their mates.  A job hunting mate is often the handiest target for displaced anger at an employer and often is blamed for the job loss.  Telltale remarks start with, "Why did you…?" or "Why didn’t you…?" or "If only you had…."  Sole breadwinners who lose jobs are sometimes accused of breaching an implicit marriage contract, which calls for them to be the primary wage earner and source of support for the family.  In dual career families, job seekers may be blamed for not carrying their fair share of the load, leading to resentments about the loss of family perks, such as dinners out, theater tickets, etc.
6. Fear of the consequences of income loss often causes irrational thinking.  Fear and anxiety are energy sapping feelings.  Rather than drive productive behavior, they cause us to "vibrate" unproductively.  This includes over generalizing, moralizing, disqualifying positive events and jumping to conclusions.  "You always…," "You never…," and "You should…" are typical responses to this kind of fear.
7. Both the job seeker and family experience shame.  This leads to keeping the job loss a secret from neighbors and friends and, in some cases, children and relatives.  Ironically, they’re the likeliest sources of emotional support and potential leads for job hunters.  Shame also keeps couples from talking to each other about the job search, since discussing the search means acknowledging the loss repeatedly.  Unaccustomed feelings of shame are confusing and embarrassing. If unaddressed, they can lead to more serious marital problems.
8. Anxiety is probably the strongest feeling that spouses experience due to the ambiguity of their position.  Job seekers know how the job search is going, but spouses have to wait for reports, which often are delayed or nonexistent.  The lack of information leads to increased anxiety and, eventually, nagging for information, suffering in silence or attempting to take control of the job search.  Job hunters will sense their spouse’s loss of confidence and feel resentful or lose self esteem.  This is another breach of the implicit marriage contract, which calls for complete trust under all circumstances.

Relieving the Tension

What follows is a "recipe" for restoring confidence in the family while providing mutual support.  These suggestions will help improve family communication, reduce negative feelings and relieve the stress associated with a job search.

1. Nothing reduces tension like acknowledging feelings.  Talk to members of your family, especially your spouse, about how you feel.  Recognize that your feelings are normal and that talking about them doesn’t make them worse.  In fact, the reverse is true.
2. Acknowledge the grief process.  Realize that grief is a process with a beginning, middle, and end.  If not interfered with, grief will run its course, leading to a feeling of acceptance and the ability to move ahead with life.  Don’t try to stifle or deny your feelings; that only delays working them through.
3. Share your feelings.  Describe your observations, thoughts, emotions, intentions and behaviors.  Distinguish carefully between what you see and what you believe, and between what you think and how you feel.  Try not to blame; there’s a difference between "I want" and "You should."
4. Monitor and control displaced anger.  Pent-up anger is caused by an inability to express feelings toward your former company.  Resist the temptation to call your old boss, though, since you don’t want to jeopardize future employment references, severance pay, health insurance or outplacement assistance.  The energy generated by your feelings is best discharged by positive, helpful behavior leading to a new job.
5. Create and nurture a support system within and outside of the family.  
6. Talk to friends and relatives about what you’re experiencing.  Allow them to offer emotional and moral support.  Give them the opportunity to provide potential job leads, but don’t hold it against them if they don’t.  Allow children to contribute to solving family problems as well.  This will help them avoid excessive anxiety and the consequent misbehavior associated with a lack of information and a feeling of powerlessness.
7. Reduce the potential for depression by taking control of your life wherever possible.  Take a financial inventory to determine how long you can survive without income.  Decide on a standard of living you’re comfortable with, beginning with a clear picture of your fixed expenses. Do you know how much money you need to make ends meet?  Make rational estimates about the length of time you’ll need to find a job and whether you’ll have to tap IRAs, pension or other funds in the interim.  Develop a realistic budget that includes all necessities and some luxuries. By budgeting time and money for "extras," you won’t feel so guilty or deprived.
8. Learn to recognize and avoid communication roadblocks. Open communication is the key to reducing anxiety.  Avoid "all or nothing" thinking and other forms of irrational reasoning.  (An excellent book on this topic is Feeling Good by David Burns, M.D.)  Create a structure for talking about your situation.  Schedule discussions with your spouse and children so you won’t "forget" to talk about important subjects.
9. Recognize that a successful job search is a full time endeavor.  Don’t let anyone in your family think that job seekers are available for child care, shopping or errands because they don’t go to "work" or have lots of "free time."
10. There are no perfect solutions.  No decision is always "right."  Even those that once seemed logical may now seem to be mistakes.  Yet, it doesn’t help to blame yourself or your spouse.  Remind yourself that you tried your best and have learned from your experiences, just like you’ll learn from this one.

Most companies have a social media policy for their employees that includes what they can and cannot post on company pages and when, as well as guidelines on harassment, posting confidential info, making disparaging comments, etc.—but we’ll leave that to the lawyers.  This is about encouraging your workforce to SUPPORT your company on social media whenever possible.  While it's critical to let them know what they shouldn't do, letting them know what they should do can be just as important.

It’s imperative for a company to have a social media presence, and giving your employees plenty of opportunities to support your efforts is key for building a strong following online.  Be sure your workforce knows that sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are actually good for business.  It might seem like common sense, but those who are less technologically savvy may not see the point.  Social media channels can be used to keep your company “on the customer’s mind” since regular updates will show up on news and activity feeds, boards, and e-mail notifications and increase brand identification.  Employees need to know that they can be an integral part in improving the bottom line by sharing, liking, pinning, and retweeting product and service launches, articles, events, photos, new employee announcements—basically anything you want the world to know about your organization.  

The truth is, most employees are probably willing to promote company information, but if they aren’t sure how or are confused about how it works, they probably won’t.  So keep your workforce informed.  Do they know how to access the company’s social media pages?  Do they know what to do when they get there?  You can help by clarifying the do’s and don’ts and asking for more questions until everyone feels comfortable.

Once your employees are aware of how simple it is to promote the company in a positive way, they’ll feel empowered to get the word out to as many people as possible.  

HRMC has been in business since 1982, so I thought it would be interesting to imagine conducting a job search…32 years ago!  Some of us can remember what it was like, while others only read about it.  Although much has changed, here is a review of a few core elements that remain part of an effective job search and how they must be executed today:

Job Postings

As much as job search candidates consider the electronic application process impersonal and oftentimes tedious, consider the process in 1982!

Then:  Newspapers were the single source of advertised job leads. 
Conducting a national job search required access to other major city newspapers and/or National Business Employment Weekly (a Wall Street Journal publication until 1999).  And the added bonus was after scouring the paper for jobs, you had to wash the print ink from your hands!

Now:  Utilization of online job boards has become the norm; however, few job seekers use them effectively.  Most people either get frustrated sifting through hundreds of jobs that don’t match, or their search results don’t reveal the great job postings that are advertised…but why?  Because their search parameters are either too basic or too restrictive.  When using job lead aggregators such as Indeed.com (which is the best, in my opinion), it’s essential to use the Advanced Job Search function.  It provides greater control of where your keywords must be found within the job posting (e.g., in the title or in the job description) and allows alternative words to be included (e.g., accountant or finance or accounting).

Job Market Research

Understanding the general job market is one thing, but gaining insight regarding your skills, experience, and interests is essential.

Then:  Nearly all available data was in print form—newspapers, magazines, periodicals—thus making the data outdated by the time you read it.  Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics published information on growing industries, it was still limited, dated, and very time consuming.

Now:  The web contains a plethora of job market information, yet most people overlook the “goldmine” of insight available from the sites they visit frequently!  By refining your search techniques and studying the data differently (on sites such as Indeed.com), you can:

• Gain insight on general salary ranges for your targeted positions.
• Assess what employers require from candidates for jobs you consider a perfect fit.
• Determine the best job boards for you (by industry, discipline, employee level, or geography).
• Identify primary keywords to attract recruiters to your LinkedIn profile/resume.

Know Your Audience

Just as important 32 years ago, preparing for a job interview includes learning as much as you can about the employer and the hiring manager.  This is where the playing field has really been leveled—to the advantage of the job seeker!

Then:  Company research was limited to archived news/magazine articles (which you could access at your public library on microfiche), research directories (printed annually), or a personal office visit.  Candidates oftentimes knew very little about the hiring manager.

Now:  Considering the availability of personal and corporate information through company websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, ZoomInfo, etc., candidates should be very knowledgeable about the organization and the hiring manager.  Beyond reviewing a hiring manager’s LinkedIn profile, you must do your homework in capturing personal insight about the “key players” in the hiring process.  Most importantly, you must know how and when (or if) to use it.

True story:  John, a client of mine, implemented these research techniques and during the “small talk” portion of an interview, the manager asked about traffic conditions getting to their office.  John replied, “Not a problem.  I actually got here early and had a chance to admire this classic 1967 Corvette Stingray in the parking lot.  This car is incredible…perfect interior, everything!  Have you seen it?”  John knew the hiring manager owned this car, having found a photo of him next to his Stingray since he was a member of the local Corvette club.  Although John knew he wouldn’t be hired because he admired the manager’s car, it immediately “broke the ice” and allowed for a very open discussion about many topics.

Sure, many things have changed in the job search process over the last 32 years.  Just as you should reinvent yourself (skills, experiences, and personal brand), you must incorporate these and many other core job searching skills using today’s technology.