Find your passion. Build your career. Live fulfilled.^SM

Given the recent spate of horrible economic news, it’s easy to become discouraged in your job search.  While there is no magic bullet to fix the very weak economy, there are jobs out there and people are being hired.  It’s not easy, but it is happening. Let’s look at the negative and then the positive factors affecting job growth and thus your job search.

Let’s look at the negative news and how it might affect your job search:

• The US debt is skyrocketing and our usual creditors are becoming less interested in lending to us for fear (legitimately) of a default at some future point.  Without the ability to borrow, or the reality of borrowing at high cost, the federal government is unable to spend as much and must cut programs. Defense and social programs are likely the first areas to be cut. How does this affect you as a job seeker? Many highly paying jobs in the defense industry and many jobs that do not often pay as much, but that have a great work-life balance and that make a positive difference, and that were stable in the social services industries that are funded by block grants or other federal funding are in serious jeopardy.
• The bi-partisan commission that Congress has approved to study the future debt has a few months to make tax increase (revenue), spending reductions (cuts), or a combination of both recommendations to Congress. Barring an agreement in the new few months, and Congressional approval by the holidays, automatic, massive cuts are triggered across the board. This leaves the financial markets and employers with much uncertainty about the future of their operations if they derive any of their revenue from federal funds in any form.
• At some point in the near future, hard decisions will also have to be made by Congress about the future of Social Security and Medicare – outside of the interest payments on the debt, the next two largest expenditures in the federal budget.   Expect massive cuts to future beneficiaries.  The effect on employment of this expected change is employee demands for better retirement programs – perhaps even a return to the old-fashioned pension programs that rarely exist in the private sector any longer (commonly referred to as “defined benefit plans”); in fact, many new entrants to the workforce are using the existence of a defined benefit plan as a criteria when considering job offers. It’s an unexpected turn in the mindset of many younger job seekers.  If employers expect that they will need to fund some portion of and manage defined benefit plans, and/or increase matching contributions to defined contribution plans (e.g.: 401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.), that will hit their bottom lines, and thus employers may be less interested in making a large number of hires.
• At the same time, employers are gearing up for current and expected future costs related to healthcare reform.  There are huge costs in reporting requirements, caps on coverage, mandated “free” coverage (nothing is “free”; it has to be paid for somewhere), and a likely push to shift retiree health costs to employers and away from Medicare at some future point – either with cost-sharing, or with making the employer plan the primary plan and Medicare the secondary plan. Again, these costs affect employers significantly, and thus may make them less likely to hire.
• It is likely that payroll taxes on Social Security and Medicare will increase to help cover these costs.  As both the employee and the employer contribute to these payroll taxes, employers may find themselves having to pay more to attract and to retain top talent (cost) to offset the lower net pay of employees, as well as have to pay a higher payroll tax cost, which likely will discourage employers from hiring.
• Finally, corporate tax rates, already amongst the highest in the developed world, may be increased to generate more revenue for the federal budget. This affects the bottom line of employers, and thus there is less money to hire new employees.
• Both the federal government and highly regulated states continue to pass business-quashing regulations that force businesses to move to more business-friendly states and business-friendly countries.

These factors are in addition to the cash crunch that most states are now facing, and thus are reducing services that directly employ people.

Let us look at the positives of the situation:

• Technology companies are booming nationwide. There is a shortage of highly skilled technology employees and people with these skills are contending with multiple job offers. This is an industry that will continue to grow.
• Certain sectors in the defense industry will continue to grow – those who design and manufacture the newest generation in weapons systems that minimize human risk (think drones, electronic warfare systems, and the like).
• The healthcare industry will continue to grow, especially those organizations who are not solely and/or not heavily dependent on Medicare and Medi-Cal (Medic-Aid) payments.   While the Medicare-covered population will continue to grow, there is the ever-present risk of the federal government reducing reimbursements, which affects cash low. Medi-Cal/Medic-Aid is already being cut in many states and will be cut further if the federal government triggers kick in. This will also reduce cash flow to these organizations, and thus affect hiring except for all of the most urgently needed clinical positions.  Healthcare has historically always needed nursing and allied health professionals to keep providing a high level of service. This will continue to be a high growth industry. In addition, as more healthcare organizations consider moving to Accountable Care Organization models as part of healthcare reform and to cut costs, managers who have experience in this area will be in high demand.
• Public Safety positions are generally always in need (think police, fire, paramedic, EMT, emergency management, Homeland Security, etc.)
• There is a huge need in most parts of the United States for trasdespeople: plumbers, electricians, carpenters, masons, linespeople, roofers, etc. In our nation’s focus on higher education over the last few generations, we have neglected to train large groups of people for these types of positions. These positions generally pay well and the best part is that there will always be a need, and they can’t be outsourced.
• The federal government is pushing initiatives to train people in STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  Getting skills or advancing your skills in any of these areas is likely to pay off.  As the United States pushes to move more manufacturing onshore back to the United States, and pushes to continue innovation and development, and to push alternative energy (hot growth areas for people with STEM skills and trade skills), these particular areas should have high growth rates.]
• About 1,000,000 teachers will retire over the next few years nationwide. While right now, many teachers are being laid off or furloughed, that not likely to be the case in the future and there appears to be a strong need in the next few years for teachers.

So, while the economic outlook may be dreary, there are many bright spots that are not generally discussed with much fervor in the mainstream media.  For one to get the right skills may require more job training (many states offer grants for this) or relocation; however, education is usually never a bad thing; and, relocation, while possibly disruptive, may result in a much better set of opportunities.

Step back and think about your skill set, where you may need to improve or learn an entirely new skill set, and then go for it!!

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach™ and a Certified Executive Career Coach™, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to use in your job search. However, you have to use it strategically. In some quarters, there is a feeling that the site has become overexposed and that it has lost some of its luster. I tend to disagree with that opinion in part, but do agree that if used incorrectly, it can lose its impact for individual profiles.

The key to a good LinkedIn strategy is the effective use of your profile.  Sounds easy. It’s not. It’s an evolving art; more than a science. A LinkedIn profile needs constant refinement.

The key to an operative LinkedIn profile, notwithstanding legal issues that may arise, is posting a quality headshot.  LinkedIn’s anecdotal statistics show that profiles are more likely to be viewed if they have a legitimate photo.   For recruiting purposes, there is some argument as to whether viewing profile photos is legal or illegal as opposed to placing emphasis on the expertise of a potential job applicant and not on the physical appearance of an applicant.

So, one could argue that having a headshot is in itself a recruiting problem; however, the fact is that many recruiters use this as a search metric on the site and not having one will only hurt potential job opportunities for the applicant. Thus, there is no real downside (yes, it’s totally illegal to use any protected characteristic as a means to qualify or to disqualify someone, and a photo obviously tells a viewer if the person in the profile is in a protected class; however, that doesn’t meant that discrimination does or doesn’t happen).

So what is the downside to posting a photo on a LinkedIn profile? If your profile is not going to be viewed because a missing photo, then you will simple be disqualified in a recruiting search. If you do post a photo that a recruiter does not like, then you’re disqualified because of that photo. So there is no right or wrong answer. (I don’t condone disqualification due to photos and never will; it’s just the reality for many in the recruitment business). But the take-away is this: If you post a photo, then make it a quality business headshot. If you don’t post a photo then make the profile work even harder to stand out from the competition.

In addition, your Title in your profile is all telling – or it should be. Stating, “Accountant seeking next opportunity” is blah – so what? Why would I care? Write a compelling title. If you are looking for a job use a title that explains what solutions you provide such as, “Job-seeking accountant who saved his last firm $100k a year by keeping detailed records”.

A robust Summary section is vital in a LinkedIn profile as this is the place where you have the chance to really make your keywords shine. Write a coherent summary and not just a hodge-podge of keywords. Do make sure your keywords are in there.  These are the pieces of information a recruiter will view after noting your name, photo, and title, by default. Make the keywords count.  Google will index your keywords.

For the rest of your LinkedIn profile, you don’t need to cut and paste in your resume. Use key portions of this document and do it sparingly. There are various schools of thought on this: one school is as I’ve noted is a scaled-down version of key points from the resume; another is that you should make this look similar to your resume so that if you want to apply for positions that are only advertised on LinkedIn, the receiving party will have a good sense of your background. If you are going to copy in important features of the resume do so as sparsely as possible – in other words, be “hard to get”. Only you know the right answer for your particular situation.

If you’re employed and running a clandestine search, be mindful of who may be looking at your profile. Of course, “interested in career opportunities” is a default, so if you get challenged, you can always hang your hat on something that defaulted  in LinkedIn’s system.

One of the downsides to social media sites like LinkedIn is the apparent lack of privacy. Then again, you as the user can determine who can see what in totality or partially. Use these features when setting up the profile.  They will pay off.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach™ and a Certified Executive Career Coach™, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

Celebrate Your Independence

As our Nation’s independence day is upon us, enjoy all of the great things this wonderful country has given to us all, and to the world.  And, celebrate your independence. If you’re under-employer, unemployed, or seeking a new role, relish that you have the independence to make your own decisions on your own terms in what’s in your best interest.

Become independent by:

• Understanding what you need and work toward achieving that by any legal and ethical means necessary.
• Understand what you want – and understand that these are not “needs” and work to include them in your ultimate goal. But, don’t let them hold you back.
• Understand that it’s your life: you determine what you do and for whom you do it. Use your power. It’s uplifting and freeing.
• Settle if you must temporarily to put food on the table or the kids in school or to keep the house. Understand that taking a job that’s beneath your skills and experience is temporary and serves a purpose: to fulfill a “need”; be independent enough to realize that this doesn’t define you and be independent enough to let others think or say what they must; you are independent enough to do what you need to do.
• Show your independence by learning a new skill or trade; by doing continuing education; or by simply making a commitment to yourself to change something for the positive in your life – a relationship, a job, how you spend your time, etc.

Please reflect on these ideas as you watch the fireworks. Hopefully, the fireworks in your brain will be going off, too, and you’ll start the day after Independence Day with a who new mindset.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright© 2011 by Trustworthy Coaching®. All Rights Reserved.

If you aren’t on social media, and you’re looking for a job, you’re out in the cold. Literally.  As you probably know, most new jobs are found through networking – 80%+, whereas finding a job from a big job board has a success rate of around 3%-5%.  Social media is a great way to build and maintain your network, and thus is vital to your job search.

When I speak of social media, I include sites like Facebook™, Linkedin™, Twitter™, Plaxo™, Spoke™, FastPitch™, and the like. However, for purposes of this post, I will focus on Linkedin and Twitter.

A little background: I am a practicing career coach (www.trustworthycoaching.com) and a practicing human resources professional.  Recruitment and coaching have been a part of my career for over twenty years.  I wish social media had been around for that entire time. I certainly would have made my life as a coach and HR professional, and as a job seeker (when I’ve been one), much easier and more efficient.

Let’s start with Twitter. Yes, there is a lot of garbage on Twitter and no, I don’t care what you had for lunch today or that you’re driving down a nice street. But, if I post a new job opening or an article on careers, and you have interest, I’m interested in knowing that.  If I have an open job and I post it on Twitter, there’s a good chance you’ll see it before most others.  That gives you a distinct advantage in getting your materials to me. That cuts down my recruiting cost and time. It’s a win/win. If you read an article that I’ve posted and engage my coaching services, we both win.  If you post a tweet about your background and needs, and I have that need and contact you, we both win. What’s not to like?

Let me say upfront that I have no financial stake in Linkedin (unfortunately). I’m an evangelist for Linkedin. I love Linkedin.   Linkedin has taken, in my opinion, networking to a level not ever seen in the world of business.   With a few hours investment of time, you can build a compelling profile about your accomplishments, interests, and the like. This isn’t a rehash of your resume; it’s a separate branding tool (although some components may be similar or the same).   You can join groups of interest to you professionally and personally. You can solicit and give recommendations to your colleagues.  For an HR pro like me, I have the chance to essentially prescreen you before I ever reach out to you. I can check out who has recommended you, gauge their credibility, look at your accomplishments, see if we know anyone in common or are alumni from the same schools or organizations, and determine if you might be a good fit for a role. Given that roughly 45% of the members on Linkedin are headhunters, it’s the smartest move a job seeker can make. For an HR Pro, not to use Linkedin to help with recruiting is like shooting yourself in the foot.

In the world of HR, social media can provide a highly competitive ROI and value proposition for recruitment, and for sourcing vendors to provide HR services that you may not be able to provide on your own. For the job seeker – regular, contract, or service provider, social media gives you an immediate, fast edge in the highly competitive environment in which we now find ourselves (probably the most competitive in over 70 years).

In terms of job search specifically, you want to have a clean internet history – Google yourself and see what comes up. Get rid of anything that would leave a question in a hiring manager’s mind.  Linkedin, for example, will list you highly in most search engines fairly quickly.

There are potential legal issues and cases arising from the use and misuse of social media. This is still mostly uncharted territory and things like ownership rights to profiles, contacts, and such as they relate to non-compete, non-solicitation, and trade secrets are still being settled (although one court has ruled that contacts on Linkedin are not a trade secret).  In addition, disparaging comments about an employer may be grounds for a breach of confidentiality by the employee, or even defamation. On the other hand, employees have the right, by federal law, to engage in protected and concerted activities, so where is the line? It’s being litigated.   What happens if HR does a search of you and finds a photo of you and sees your race and doesn’t hire you? What if HR does a search of you and doesn’t like something non-work related and doesn’t hire you? Is that permissible? (in terms of race – absolutely not; in terms of social activities – probably not, but it’s still unsettled. At best, it’s a bad practice).

One of the downsides to social media for everyone is the apparent lack of privacy. Then again, you as the user can determine who can see what in totality or partially. Use the features.  They will pay off.

There is a feeling among some in HR and specifically in the search industry that professional social sites may make the big job boards, and recruiting agencies irrelevant. I don’t see that happening for some time, if at all, but I do think the nature of HR related to recruitment, employee and labor relations, and general policies will change due to the use of social media and that such change will be rapid and fundamentally shift how these functions get done.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

As we remember those who have fallen in our nation’s defense, support those who are currently providing our nation’s defense, and give respect to all who have served, and to our men and women in uniform today, please consider the special and unique challenges that our veterans and active duty personnel face when they return home from service.

Many have injuries, both visible and invisible to the naked eye that will require care. Many will be scarred for life, either physically, emotionally, or both. Many will have outstanding leadership and decision-making skills, honed in conditions many of us will never face and could never imagine. Many will have skills learned on the battlefield in combat, providing highly complex and technical support to those on the battlefield, or providing political, logistical, or other support in circumstances that we can only imagine.

Yet, many employers are reticent to higher veterans.  Many have ill-conceived notions of psychological or physical barriers that they deem to big to overcome in the workplace. Many see service members as too used to working in a field that favors rigid hierarchy and total obedience to command; or, a lack of creativity and flexibility.

Oftentimes, these are total myths. It’s no wonder that the unemployment rate for veterans is so high. What a disservice to our fellow citizens who have served our nation to help protect us – even more amazing is that our service members are volunteers who have chosen this path for any number of reasons, and who ask nothing in return, but our nation’s gratitude.

Let us ask employers across our nation to give our veterans a fair shot at jobs and not to hold onto myths about their abilities. It’s an honor that they have earned and most certainly deserve.

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

Over the last several years, we have seen a dramatic shift in the concept of a “career” as more and more people have been downsized, right sized, outsourced, and the like.   A career isn’t just vertical anymore; it’s how horizontal and in many cases, very much a zigzag.

What do you do if you’re a former real estate agent or broker, automaker in Detroit, a mortgage broker, a banker, someone in manufacturing, etc.? Most of these roles have a greatly decreased volume of jobs these days (although autoworker jobs are picking up in Detroit once again).

As many know, in the 21^st Century economy, it will not be uncommon for people to change jobs 10+ times during their “career” and to even change careers 3+ times.  How, you might ask, is that possible? The ever changing economy constantly demands new skills, new flexibility , and an application of best practices. In most organizations, gone are the days of a 30 year career at one or two or maybe three organizations, and a gold watch at the end (except in non-political government roles, where the norm is still a long, generally stable, horizontal career; but, that too may be changing as many states and municipalities struggle with vast revenue shortages and huge budget deficits).

So, given this new reality, what does one do about one’s resume?  How do you go about showcasing that you’re an ideal candidate for a position when it may not be apparent?

Here are some tips:

• Write a compelling and strong Summary Statement. Highlight your skills. Most jobs require a foundational set of skills that don’t change from job to job: customer service, sales, attention to detail, computer skills, teamwork, team building, project management, etc. This Summary must be highly compelling to the reader or they won’t read any further.
• Be sure to accentuate your accomplishments rather than you job duties. These two concepts are easily interwoven and employers care about results; not about reading a “tombstone” that just recites job duties.  Your accomplishments show your motivation to get things done no matter the circumstances and are a nice (and even more important in most cases)  complement to your skills. Many people have the skills. How many people can show that they’ve successfully used them? This makes you stand out.
• Don’t throw in every potential skill and experience that you have had. It may be tempting to do on the often used, and mistaken assumption that the reader will “figure out the connections”. Not so. It’s not the reader’s job. It’s your job.  Rather show the most salient skills and experience and how they easily transfer from one role to the next; the context may be different, but the skill is the same.

Changing career is a challenge even for the most skilled and accomplished people. However, by using the suggestions above to write a resume around the target job’s requirements and to show your value with accomplishments and with skills, you have a good chance of landing an interview.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

This is a guest post by my friend and colleague, Phil Marcus. It applies in HR, job seeking, and the like as much as it applies anywhere else in business. Enjoy, and feel free to comment.

Please Shut up and Listen

By Philip L. Marcus

The overwhelming TV live from Cairo with its confrontation and sometimes-frightening violence hid a more subtle negotiation process going on.  The Mubarak administration bargained for its own life with the nascent democratic movement, doing so on the public stage.  That process has a lesson for us that some of the parties ignored and that might have doomed the pro-democracy side, or may still lead to an Islamist state in Egypt.

The lesson is simple.  Instead of trumpeting your own demands incessantly, stop talking and listen to what the other side is saying, and even proposing.  Mubarak said he wanted to stay on until the September election, but in passing he made clear why.  He wants to die on Egyptian soil. He said so in an interview, thus being part of the civic conversation.

While for many the past 15 or 20 years have been of awful deprivation, in his own mind he was a great savior of Egypt after the Sadat assassination that prevented chaos, somewhat as LBJ prevented chaos when JFK was killed in 1963.  But LBJ’s one elected term brought him great hatred from some, and he decided not to stand fro re-election in 1968.  He retired then to Texas.  Surely that is where he wanted to live out his days.

The anti-Mubarak forces demanded he leave the country.  There was no chance he was going to do that.  He would rather have died in a presidential palace, stoned to death.  But Egypt is large.  There is a nice seaside town, Sharm el-Sheikh, to which he could be allowed to retire with dignity, go swimming or boating and write a memoir. (Reports are that is where he went in the end.)  The protesters should have listened to him near the beginning and begun a dialog.  It would have saved probably a week or more of stress, economic disruption, violence and hundreds of deaths.

Still, they were mostly screaming too loudly to hear that.  Except the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which is organized enough to have suggested a sit-down meting.  They are a minority, but their organization could give them an upper hand in the government that emerges.  Therefore, the rump group of well-meaning freedom protestors—whose revolution by the way I strongly support— lost an early opportunity to start a useful dialog.  Listen to your enemies instead of shouting them down.

Copyright 2011 Philip L. Marcus.  All rights reserved.

More information: www.NegotiationPro.com,

Toll free 877-934-4766

In today’s market, it’s all about your individual brand and what you can do to standout from the other applicants and candidates for the positions for which you’re applying and interviewing. No, you don’t have to be a marketer to know anything about branding. But, you do have to know yourself and how to leverage your unique talents to make yourself standout.

In Business School, one learns the 4P’s of Marketing – price, product, promotion, and place. The same applies to your job search. YOU are the product. That’s easy. Or is it?  Sure, you are the product and  you identify yourself with a  job title or some other set of labels. But, in reality, that doesn’t mean much to most people. What is it about YOU that makes you a special product? What unique skills, experiences, education, and the like do you bring to the table that makes you the unique product that you are? 

How do you promote yourself?   Shameless self-promotion does no one any good: it wastes the time of the people you’re promoting yourself to and it thus wastes your time. So, stop and think about how you promote yourself: do you attend mixers and networking events? Do you give to get? Do you “pay it forward”? Can you succinctly explain to others what you do and why you offer a good value without disparaging others and without being arrogant? Do you write a blog or industry publications?

Place or placement refers to being visible.  In this case, because the product is you, we aren’t as concerned about shelf placement or lot placement or other physical placement, with the exception that like promotion, you have to be in the places where connections are being made. Those connections in turn can help you land a job or make referrals, and in the best case, even introduce you to a hiring manager.   It can also refer, in this case, to your sense of being: your mental place. I’ve been unemployed and many people are unemployed today. It’s hard to always stay positive. I know. But, you have to be in a good mental place in order for your best traits to come out; if you’re not, and you are making connections in all of the right places, you’ve lost your chance to make a great first impression.

Finally, price. This of course is your remuneration in all aspects – salary, benefits, bonus, stock, and the like. Be sure you know what the market will bear; over the last few years, the market has shifted dramatically due to an abundant supply, in most fields, of people, and not a lot of demand.  One way to convince a prospective employer of your price is to show your value – think back to the top of this article – the product – you and what you bring to the table. Be prepared to be confident (not cocky) and to explain your value.

Good luck.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

As you may know, federal law protects job seekers and employees who are  40 years old and older. This protection falls under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  As a job seeker, it can be very hard to prove age discrimination. A savvy employer knows how to run a recruitment and selection process that will stand up to scrutiny.  Having said that, what are some tips that a job seeker over 40 can use to minimize discrimination taking place? Below are some ideas:

• Ensure that unless absolutely necessary, no work experience goes back more than 10 years. What does “absolutely necessary” mean? It means that if you had a role or job longer than 10 years ago that is germane to the position for which you’re applying, consider adding it to your resume. To do this without exposing dates (and thus your probable age), you might have to change the resume format that you’re using.
• Ensure that all dates of education are removed from your resume. If your educational institution has changed names, you can note that the name is now changed (e.g.: ABC University (know known as XYZ University).  A recruiter who has the time and inclination could search on the old name to discern when the name changed, and then extrapolate your age since you received your diploma, certificate, etc. prior to the name change. Most aren’t really going to bother.
• If you have changed careers or had significant shifts in your career, consider using a resume format that does not highlight by date (e.g.: chronological) these changes and/or shifts.
• Look at your online profile to see if you’re doing any of the above; if so, consider changing your profile(s).
• The debate about gray hair can go either way: as the famous men’s’ hair care product commercial expounds, “a little gray shows experience; too much gray shows age”.  This is probably sage advice. Use your judgment.
• Make sure that on your resume and in your vocabulary, you are using current technical business, information technology, marketing, etc. terms. Nothing screams “outdated” as much as using outdated terminology.
• Show enthusiasm. Many job seekers who are older have become set in their ways or used to doing things in a certain way. That’s not always a bad thing. However, if the potential employer wants a “go getter”, show yourself to be one. Be ready with work stories that demonstrate this.
• Make sure that your manner of dress is current, and that you are in reasonable shape. While many medical conditions can cause obesity or edema or other things that are less than attractive to an employer (rightly or wrongly), and are often protected by either state or federal laws(or both), why set yourself up to give the employer an easy way to say “no” if you don’t have to?  Most employers aren’t going to take the time to determine if there is a “protected” characteristic; they are just going to move on to the next candidate and the impression that you leave could be one of “if this person doesn’t care enough to take care of themselves, why should I believe that they’ll take care of their role in my organization?”.
• Make sure that you are totally up to date with current technologies and/or business methods in your field. It’s the first thing employers are likely to wonder about – make it easy for them to select you “in” rather than select you “out”.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but intended to give you an idea of challenges that older job seekers face (and yes, I’m in this over 40 group ).

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.

In today’s market, it’s not uncommon to find that people need to take a position well beneath their usual and customary occupation in order to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.  While it may seem counterintuitive, it’s really not: the key is to get the job without destroying your future career, nor burning your new employer.

If you’ve spent years in a cube and now need to work on a loading dock to make ends meet, that’s ok. Ideal?  Probably not.  Does it put food on the table? Yes.  So, how do you go about doing this?

Start with your current resume and determine what skills are appropriate for the new, lower level position.  No reputable resume writer, career coach, career counselor, etc. will ever tell  you to lie or to fabricate anything on your resume. The same holds true here. However, you can be accurate without being precise. Many of the foundational skills used in your higher level roles, without the higher level skills, will still be appropriate to list. For example, if you used to work as a project manager coordinating events, the same skills could be used to manage a loading dock – effective people management, a vision for the big picture, visualizing the end result, efficiently move pieces of the puzzle from point a to be, etc. You might downplay or even eliminate the higher level types of projects you worked on, while focusing solely on the easily recognized and transferable skills.  If you have worked as a marketing manager and now you just need to survive and you are willing and able to work as a marketing assistant, rather than highlight your creative talents, focus on what’s most important in the assistant role: good administrative skills, good organizational skills, a pleasant demeanor, the ability to take direction (rather than give it), etc.

In some cases, you may find that temporary agencies can be very valuable in finding a survival job – no one expects the job to go on forever, which works nicely for both parties, and the temp agency is able to provide a highly skilled person for often a fraction of the cost to the employer.

The trick is convince the prospective employer that you aren’t going to bolt at the first sign of a better opportunity. This has to be a two way street, and all parties have to be fair to one another. Again, don’t lie.  Determine what you can say that’s true while being true to yourself and fair to the employer. You never know – that “survival” job may turn into a great opportunity once the employer sees all of your skills and talents.

Don’t expect that it will be any easier to land a “survival” job: just like you, many others are also following the same approach, and so the competition is much stronger, just like in your idea target market. Employers have the pick of the cream of the crop, so to speak. These types of interviews require just as much preparation, and in many cases more preparation, than a position in your target market.

Most importantly, pride can’t stop you. If you have a family to feed and a roof to maintain, you do what you have to do.  I’ve been there. Many people I know have been there. There’s no shame in providing for your family by doing what you have to do. Just keep your eye on the ultimate target and quietly continue to pursue that, keep current with developments in your chosen field so that your skills do not deteriorate, and keep up your network. Find ways to do projects in your field so that you can demonstrate currency.

Last week, I heard from a recruiter who attended a job fair here in the Los Angeles area: her impression of the fair was that many, many employers are again hiring and that the Great Recession may be slowly coming to an end. She also noticed a huge number of highly qualified candidates vying for a still limited number of jobs (but more than in the recent past). The signs are pointing up. Hang in there.

Michael Trust, MPA, SPHR-CA, is a Certified Career Coach and a Certified Executive Career Coach, who helps people find their passion and fulfill their dreams as they relate to careers through his organization, Trustworthy Coaching®, www.TrustworthyCoaching.com.  Mr. Trust’s Coaching, Business, and Human Resources experience spans twenty years, and he has had major roles in staffing in all of his Human Resource positions. In addition, he has coached individuals at all career levels relative to their career paths, job search strategies, business strategies, and related areas. Mr. Trust is also a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Copyright © 2011, Trustworthy Coaching®.  All Worldwide Rights Reserved.