Corporate recruiters outlined the top advantages to hiring people over the age of 50 — attributes that could be highlighted during the interview process:
▪ Work ethic
▪ People skills
▪ Good judgment
▪ Emotional stability
▪ Business knowledge
▪ Credibility in the field
▪ Decision-making ability
▪ Wide range of contacts
▪ Politically savvy/influential
▪ Customer service perspective
▪ Depth and breadth of experience
▪ Commitment to organization goals
Executives who prove to interviewers that the benefits of hiring midlife executives outweigh the negative perceptions are likely to succeed in the job market. Midlife professionals are, often found to be, more committed to company goals, more reliable; and they carry greater credibility with stakeholders, says Jean Erickson Walker, author of The Age Advantage, Making the Most of Your Midlife Career Transition and facilitator of the monthly Portland, OR ExecuNet networking meetings.
According to Walker, younger employees tend to make decisions more quickly than older workers, but their lack of experience often prevents them from identifying the correct issue. “They explore and take risks, but if things don’t work out, they rarely have a back-up plan.”
Older workers, on the other hand, may be less impulsive, but they nearly always make the right decision. “And when they don’t, they always have a back-up plan,” notes Walker. “In the long run, organizations are going to save time and money with experienced employees.”
In addition to demonstrating unique senior-level experience, executives have to work hard to thwart common misconceptions. The survey revealed specific misperceptions held by many hiring officers when evaluating a more senior executive — despite the fact that the average age of those placed by search firms was 47.3 in 2008, up from 46.2 in 2007. Among those common misperceptions:
▪ Focus
▪ Health
▪ Lacks energy
▪ Costs too much
▪ Difficult to work with
▪ Just waiting to retire
▪ Lacks technical skills
▪ Lack academic credentials
▪ Desire for flexible work schedules
▪ Ability to mentor younger employees
▪ Inflexible/unwilling to deal with change
▪ Uncomfortable working for a younger boss
▪ Corporate mentality; expects a lot of support
“Inflexibility needs to be addressed because that is a big concern about the senior workforce. What is perceived as inflexibility may, in reality, be experience,” says Walker. “Senior executives have the ability to evaluate the potential of a situation. They may seem inflexible because they have the experience and expertise to know ‘This isn’t going to work.’ Experience, observation and wisdom tell you that there is a better way of doing something.”
Opting out of a typical 9-to-5 role for a contingent position demonstrates flexibility as well. “Executives who focus on solving issues could wind up in contract, project or consultant positions,” notes Walker. “These ‘fixer’ roles could lead to terms that are as long as full-time positions.”
Walker recommends an easy method for addressing the “lack of energy” perception. “Casually refer to activities that show energy, or make comments and references to your energy level,” suggests Walker. For instance, mentioning a recent marathon run or sailing adventure will demonstrate an active lifestyle. Asking the interviewer about a nearby gym would also suggest a high activity level.
“It’s important for candidates to refer to long-term professional goals,” says Walker of the “just waiting to retire” perception. “Since job tenures overall are shortening, the senior worker is more likely to remain with the company longer than the younger employee.”
“Employers write programs to sort through candidate résumés, and ‘year of graduation’ enables them to eliminate anyone over a certain age,” says an ExecuNet member.
Whether age screening is real or imagined, senior executive candidates have developed some creative methods for avoiding exact dates; but experts agree that this is not the best — or most truthful — method.
“I’m 57 years old. My résumé shows the date I graduated from college as well as all my employment dates,” says an ExecuNet member in the online networking forums. “It has been suggested that I remove all dates except for the last decade or so. The thinking is that a 57-year-old executive will find it harder to secure a job than a 40-year-old executive will. I’m up in the air on this. I don’t want to ‘date’ myself out of a possible interview, but I also do not want to mislead a prospective employer.”
Master résumé writer Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter responds, “My advice, which repeatedly I have seen work well on clients’ résumé documents, is to go back 10 to 15 (sometimes even 20) years — depending upon the pertinence of the further-back information/achievements, etc.”
“Sometimes, company affiliations or job roles dating 21 to 30+ years back need to be mentioned based on the target audience. In these instances, a summary section showcasing key information (names of companies/positions/key accomplishments) ONLY should be listed. Omit the dates,” says Barrett-Poindexter.
“I see younger workers focusing heavily on the plain vanilla duties and degree listings versus expounding on concrete evidence of their actions and results,” says Barrett-Poindexter. “They often ‘forget’ what their target audience’s needs are and pack the résumé with non-relevant dates. Remembering that the résumé is a marketing document to sell your unique skills and attributes related to the company’s needs and wants will take you a long way toward gaining interviews.”
Barrett-Poindexter also outlines a straightforward approach. “You might say something to the effect that you are sensing potential concerns about age, and then reassure the interviewer that you are fully prepared to master all requirements of the position — that you are committed to bringing a wealth of education, training and experience that few could equal, or some such similar response (such as answering the question indirectly but meaningfully).”
Walker points out that incomplete résumés are a common mistake, and they don’t present a realistic history. “Don’t leave off the early years of your work experience. This signals that you don’t think your age is an advantage.”
“Use dates only when the education is current,” advises Walker. “Don’t put dates for education, training or certification unless it falls within five years. Any education before then is background for what you were able to accomplish in your career. Companies want people who are continually learning and growing,” says Walker.
Omitting dates to get an interview can damage credibility and leave the interviewer feeling betrayed.
“I believe so strongly in the integrity of relationships, and it is a key point in hiring. People expect integrity and values from midlife workers. Trust is essential in building integrity; and if I make you doubt me, you won’t trust me enough to be part of your organization.”
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