Mature Age Strategies
We have worked with many mature age job seekers over a period of twenty years and have considerable depth of experience.
We are familiar with the obstacles that exist and have developed and refined strategies over many years to help overcome the artificial barriers and unfounded perceptions that can make this area of job search so difficult and frustrating.
It is so wasteful and inefficient to relegate such a wealth and depth of experience to the “inactive” list, particularly when mature age workers “want” to work rather than “have” to work, have all the experience, skills and ability to get the results, are able to work across a range of different area’s of responsibility and are reliable, punctual and very efficient. As a general rule, mature age workers will easily fit into the organisation and require little, if any, additional training to do so.
It is often the case that younger managers are threatened by the skills and knowledge of mature age workers. In many instances they are incapable of using the depth of skills and knowledge you have, because they “don’t know that they don’t know”. They simply don’t have the necessary experience. This can lead to intense frustration and even outright conflict between the relevant parties.
One of the primary techniques we use is to research the issues facing the employer and then have the mature age job seeker present themselves to the decision makers as a provider of solutions to those problems. Just think about this approach! If you have a problem and somebody approaches you with the answer and the price is right – are you going to say, “no thanks – go away”! I think not. You are likely to say, “let’s sit down and talk”. As a provider of “solutions”, your age has become irrelevant.
When you sit down you have six minutes to grab their attention and provided you do that, a further ten minutes to convince them that you know what you’re talking about. If you can do this, you have real and genuine value and that is what they’ll buy.
On the other hand, if you are trying to promote your history focussed, duty based resume, you’ll place yourself firmly amongst all the other job beggars.
While you can’t ignore the advertised market, most of your opportunities will exist in the “hidden market” and you must have the ability to operate in this area efficiently and effectively.
We have several programs complete with comprehensive manuals relevant to your needs. Your background, level of seniority and ambitions for the future will determine the best approach for your circumstances.
Contact us for full details.
