Wiser Worker Blog

Baby Boomer and Older Workers are surfing the web and STOP the presses they spend more time online than the average teenager. Your grandparents use the internet for more than email cute picture of their grandkids. It’s time we start looking at this demographic as a major player. Let’s face it they’re not going off into retirement and playing golf and sipping on martinis. However they may be using the internet to make reservations at the club for only the best tee time.

So what exactly are they doing?  Well……..everything shopping, communicating and well socializing with their friends! When they’re not surfing the web for the latest information they’re befriending people on Face book, tweeting the latest rage on Twitter and following the latest trends on blogs.

Baby Boomers and Older Workers:

Regularly use email 94%

Look up health and medical information 71%

Keep up to date on the latest news 70%

Are spending your inheritance on online gaming 47% (You better keep working!)

Managing their finances and banking 59%

Hitting the latest sales as they shop online 71% (highest % among any generational group)

Looking for work on WiserWorker.com

So the lesson here is that you better be taking this demographic seriously and learn from them as they want to teach you what they know!

Source: Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).

This morning I was reading okay watching the news and I came across the following article: “Over 50, and zero job offers”.  Okay that’s just silly; yes the job market is tough I give you that however; you need to remember this:  As an older worker have something that other applicant’s lack…..EXPERIENCE.

Your only obstacle is connecting with employers who are ready and willing to hire YOU. Get started today by creating the right resume, connecting on the social media sites that will get your connected and of course visit WiserWorker.com the only site for older workers!

Functional Resume usually starts with summary of qualifications to put emphasis on skills particular areas of focus. Examples might include: customer service, word processing, computers, accounting, data archiving, office, telephone reception and problem solving. Rather than listing specific details, the job seeker lists responsibilities and achievements under the three main highlighted areas. The employment history is simply listed underneath the functional areas followed by education, training and other complimentary sections.

LinkedIn exists to help you make better use of your professional network or create a network.  Their mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. Jump right in and create a account and make sure you select that you are looking for a job. You will be amazed at how many people seek you out because you are qualified.

WiserWorker.com YOU already know the most valuable resource online helping older workers get back in the workforce. WiserWorker.com is dedicated to providing quality employment opportunities and resources to people just like you.  

Good Luck!

Do you Blog?  Do you Tweet?  Are you LinkedIn?  Do you socialize on Facebook?

Have I just overwhelmed YOU? AM I speaking in another tongue? Well it’s okay… if you don’t know these terms today but you need to learn them…at least make yourself familiar with they mean and how they can make your job search helpful and more importantly successful!

Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the situation, how they can help YOU. Well here it is…. recruiters frequently search sites of these nature to either look for job seekers or to post open jobs because they are all FREE.  If you can join the millions online you can help yourself right into a job! 

The best way to start is to jump in feet first and play around with the sites…you can’t break anything and heck you might have fun!  Enjoy!

Blog: “is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.”

Twitter: is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers.

LinkedIn: The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. The people in the list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.

Facebook: is a global social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.^[1] Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region.

Don’t cut and paste your resume into your profile.

You wouldn’t hand out your resume before introducing yourself, so don’t do it on LinkedIn.  However, describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met.

Borrow from the best marketers.

Interject your profile with your voice. Use adjectives, colorful verbs, active construction (managed project team). Don’t write in the third person. Picture yourself at a conference or client meeting. How do you introduce yourself? That’s your authentic voice, so use it.

Write a personal tagline.

That line of text under your name is the first thing people see in your Profile. It follows your name in search hit lists. It’s your brand.  Create your professional personality into a more eye-catching phrase that describes who you are at a glance. (Your e-mail address is not a brand!)

Put your elevator pitch to work.

Create a 30-second description

The essence of who you are and what you do, is a personal elevator pitch. Use it in the Summary section to engage readers. The more meaningful your summary is, the more time you’ll get from readers.

Explain your experience.

Help the reader grasp the key points. Briefly say what the company does and what you did or do for them.   Use those clear, succinct phrases here and break them into visually digestible chunks.

Pat your own back and others

Get recommendations from colleagues, clients, and employers who can speak credibly about your abilities or performance. (Think quality, not quantity.) Ask them to focus on a specific skill or personality trait that drives their opinion of you. Make meaningful comments when you recommend others.  

Build your connections.

Connections are one of the most important aspects of your brand. The company you keep reflects the quality of your brand.    Identify connections that will add to your credibility and pursue those.  As you add connections and recommendations, your Profile develops into a peer-reviewed picture of you and of your personal brand.  

It can be difficult being 60+ and applying for a job.  How do you contest the age biases that you might come across?  First of all, don’t panic.  The key to getting and having a successful interview is confidence.  Besides there is plenty of evidence saying that you may actually have the upperhand in the job search.  Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Go to the Niche Sites. 
Meaning - use job boards that are targeted to your demographic.  This shouldn’t be too much a problem - you’re right here! WiserWorker.com has jobs that you can search and apply to that are specifically targeted to older workers. 

2. Update Your Skills & Consider a New Industry.
How good are you with the computer? What other skills do you think employers are looking for?  Check out your local community college for a few classes that might help you brush up on some newer skills and increase your chances of catching an employer’s eye.  A good example was I received an email from someone in the midst of her job search and while she was searching, she was taking a Spanish class to gain a little more competitive edge.  You may also want to look at a new industry.  Healthcare, for example, is an industry that can’t seem to find enough people to work.  If you’re going to brush up on your skills, why not learn some new ones. Certification might not take as long as you’d think.

3. Start With People You Know. 
Contact all the people you’ve worked with previously, your friends’ kids and anyone you think might be a good person to find out information. Be assertive and tell them you’re looking for a job, what industry and some of your qualifications.   You never know who they might know.  Of course with any networking be careful to not to go too overboard but the people you already know can turn out to be very valuable in your job search.

4. Use the Youth and the Internet.
Good references are a given, but you might want to consider having a younger professional being a reference.  Someone who might be able to speak about your management skills or ability to work with all ages.  You can also create a LinkedIn profile (which is essentially your resume online) and connect with previous or current co-workers and tap into online social networks. You don’t have to rely completely on Internet networking - attending Chamber of Commerce events and other in-person networking is important as well.  But this gives you an online presence and shows you’re tech savvy and ability to be up to date with what’s going on now with the job market and the workplace.

5. Highlight Your Experience.
Use your age to your advantage! No need to be ashamed.  You have experience and should say so.  This provides a great opening to an interview that will allow you to explain how you can benefit the company you are applying to or interviewing with.  Use your experience and present it as a positive rather than a negative.

(Sources: How to Get a Job When You’re 60 Plus, U.S. News & World Report; How An Older Worker Can Get the Interview, U.S. News & World Report.  Photo by welsh boy)