If you’re over fifty and looking for work, chances are you are a highly skilled, experienced professional. Here are some Baby Boomer job-search tips to help you take control.
1. What do you want?
Don’t go after the same type of job you just left unless it’s exactly what you want to do. Take time to do research and assess career-management sites to identify what your ideal employment would be. Even if you need to take a job right away, go into the job search to find a position that you’ll love – not one that will simply allow you to survive.
2. Network (Social Networking too).
Jobs are often found through networks through personal contacts you have spent years developing. However, take advantage of online networking tools like LinkedIn and possibly even Twitter. According to a recent Accenture US Consumer Technology Survey, Boomers increased their uptake of popular consumer technology applications nearly 20 times faster than Generation Y. Further, a Deloitte & Touche study indicates that nearly 50 percent of boomers maintained a social networking site last year compared to just 31 percent in 2008. People who connect well – whether interpersonal or online – are more desireable in nearly any position.
3. Halt the “brain drain.”
As millions of Baby Boomers begin to consider retirement, an unprecedented “brain drain” is striking many American businesses, especially in retail, utilities, manufacturing, and healthcare. If you’re seeking a career position, you can provide a dramatic benefit to your new employer by sharing your experience and expertise, becoming an instant mentor to company employees.
4. Explore nontraditional options.
Don’t limit yourself to where you’ve been. Nonprofit organizations need to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior managers over the next decade– the equivalent to 2.4 times the number currently employed. These are not volunteer positions; they’re well-paid critical roles. Explore nontraditional job sectors online or through a career-management site to explore all of your options.