I wrote a blog a few weeks ago on the issue of finding work as an older worker. I thought I’d add to it in the light of recent client experiences.

I continue to see people in their 40’s and 50’s who have been struggling to get back in the work place following redundancy or want to change direction but don’t know how.  Many are not getting any interviews and are wondering why this might be.  I remain increasingly convinced that the solution lies in the unadvertised job market – and people need to have a proactive marketing plan something that many have not considered. Why I ask myself do they, religiously, rely on job boards and recruitment agencies as the principal and often the only strand of their job search?  It never ceases to surprise me.   

The answer is that in many cases they just do not know better and with this comes a complete, and surprising naivety about the job market today.  They have always been told that job boards and agencies are where you should look when you are searching for a job. Another reason is that they are not prepared to take advice or be flexible and think broadly about the kind of role and organisation that they consider and the way in which they might work. This may be die to the “I know it all mentality” or the view that “I could always do it in the past when I needed to get a new job”.  They are just too narrow in their thinking and in the way they look at their job strategy.  A third factor is that they have not realised that the key to marketing at this age is networking and using their warm leads, or if they have then they are only playing lip service to it.   

Several major issues are crystal clear to me and these I convey to clients during our initial meeting. 

1. The job market is not only 85% unadvertised but with about 18 million CV’s on databases in the UK it is now a complete lottery!  Why search for a job this way when 90% of people are doing the same? 
2. Recruiters have no time to talk to you – to them you are purely a commodity – and your CV will very probably be lost in the Ethernet.  It is therefore a numbers game with clients calling the shots. Clients are also very discerning about sector fit and remain conservative often preferring to offer the job to the candidate who has worked in their same sector rather than take a risk with someone who has more to offer but is new to that sector.
3. The world of work is still very largely ageist despite what HR Managers tell you. Many organsations still prefer to hire a younger person and train and hone them into their culture. They fail to appreciate the value or worth of experience and the qualities that older workers can and do bring.
4. The majority of jobs on job boards lie in the £30K and below bracket and only 15% sit in the £45K and above range.
5. Networking really does work provided you do it effectively. That means having a plan and framework to narrow down your contacts and connections to produce a list of people who will add real value to you and using Linkedin in a focused way.   

 So the answer has to be to focus on the unadvertised market, but what does this involve and what are the chances of success?  I have blogged separately on the value of the hidden job market and I now work increasingly with people in this age group to give them innovative approaches and insights to their job and career search. These will significantly increase the return on their time and secure them more interviews where they are looking for another employed position.  I have also introduced a different approach and way of increasing their chances of converting the interview into a job offer.

It may also be that the solution does not lie with an employed role and here my colleagues and I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to help them take a broader view to consider options for using their experience, skills and knowledge in a different way whilst meeting their main work life requirements.

I hope you find this blog interesting. If so, why not pass it on to a friend or colleague?

A recent major job board survey and report shows that the average numbers applying for every job has increased from 15 per job to a high level of 20 in the last year, and rising to over 50 for some vacancies.  A the same time a strong fall in public sector jobs of 58% year on year has been revealed. This points to a very difficult job market, and slower resettlement of redundant employees could well be an expected outcome.  

Meanwhile statistics showing the growing trend towards self-employment - starting a new business or moving to become a consultant, contract worker or interim – continues with one outplacement provider reporting 26% in January, 38% in March, and averaging for the quarter at 30% of their delegates choosing some form of self-employment route.  At the same time figures for resettlement into an employed external role have dropped with that company showing a level below 50% for the first time a figures which they say reflects the high number taking the self-employed route that month. 

Other interesting figures show that very few people seem to be taking up further training as their next career step with reported statistics highlighting a ateady pattern at under 5%.  People moving to an internal role were reported at 6-8%, retiring 2-3% or taking a career break 4-5%.

Future blogs will give more information on patterns and trends in the job market.

A guest blog from my colleague Andrew Horder.

For many, the work that we really love falls into a very narrow band.  So narrow that the only way to do that and nothing else is to work for a very very large business.  And many of us just aren’t suited to surviving in really large companies.  In fact, if the work that really lights you up is very specialised, it’s probably not even possible to make a full-time job doing just that in any company.

Traditional work’s answer to that is to give you some similar work to do as well.  If you’re lucky, this “filler” work is stuff that you can at least manage to do with good heart.  And more often than not, the makeweight work is stuff you really don’t enjoy at all.  It might even be stuff you hate – but you have to do it, don’t you, to fill up your time.

Increasingly, companies are turning to fractional working to get specialist work done.  I’d love to say they do that so that workers don’t have to do boring or undesirable (to them) filler tasks.  In reality, it’s more a case of companies realising that they’re better off paying a little bit higher hourly rate for a shorter time for a real specialist in a task.  They get a better result, and don’t need to pay a specialist rate for the mundane tasks that a junior could do.  The result of that, of course, is to leave our specialist with only a part-time job – hardly ideal for them!

This is where you can take advantage of the situation.  If any one employer only needs a part of your time (the part spent doing what you love), that means you have a part of your time available to do other stuff.  If you’re lucky enough not to need a full-time salary, you can take that time and improve your work-life balance.  In fact, if you <i>really</i> love the specialist work you do, your work-life balance is already fixed – it’s all enjoyable stuff.  If, like most, you could really use a full-time salary, you can go and do your specialist work for somebody else, to make up your full-time hours.

And remember I said earlier that companies may well be prepared to pay an enhanced hourly rate for specialist work?  It’s entirely possible that the rate you now get paid by each of your employers is higher than you were on before – so your full-time hours are paying more in total!

This article is an excerpt from TheBusyFool.com‘s upcoming new ebook “The A to Z of Loving Work”

A recent article by Sandra A. VanGilder who is an executive coach with her own firm in New York caught my attention.  Here is what she says. It is important for people recently made redundant.  How true is this especially for many British people who do not like to blow their own trumpet! 

“Many people who’ve been laid off feel like crawling in a hole, rather than broadcasting their new job status (or more accurately, lack-of job-status) to the world at large.  But if you want to find another position, that’s precisely what you should do. 

In the current economy, with so many talented people being let go, there is “absolutely no shame whatsoever” in clearly indicating that you are out of work,” she says. “You exude confidence by not being ashamed that you’re between jobs.”

Linkedin which functions as an electronic CV, is a valuable tool to help you spread the word.

Until they are laid off, some people either don’t know how to use LinkedIn, or have a very basic presence on the site, Perhaps they think of it as a job search tool (a mistaken assumption) and either aren’t looking or don’t want their boss to think they are. Others are too busy.

Move up Move down

Three years ago senior people thought LinkedIn was for lower-level employees. Now everybody is connected and checking each other out. Often, the first thing people do when they are asked to interview someone – or even just network – is to look the person up on LinkedIn.

If you suddenly find yourself out of work, develop a “robust, 100% complete LinkedIn profile.  This site is so user-friendly that even new users ought to be able to find their way. Those who need guidance can rely on LinkedIn’s online tutorial or enlist help from an experienced friend or an enthusiastic IT minded teenager.

In creating a new profile or editing your current one, be very public about the fact that you’re looking for new opportunities.  These are some things you must address as you find your way though the key sections of the LinkedIn template:

Professional Headline

In this line, which goes under your name, give a generic description of what you do or a sample job title (for example, Chief Executive Officer, HR Manager). Label yourself as what you would like to be, rather than feeling limited by what your last job title was.

Current Position

As you’re now out of work, the “Current” heading should be deleted. Before you do that, cut and paste your previous company and job title into the “Past” section. Then click “edit” and “delete,” and make the “Current” heading disappear. Don’t be concerned that your job shows an end date. It’s very acceptable to be in between jobs.”

I read an article from a old Career Management colleague recently and it made sense. 

Making an informed and objective choice for your next career move is a critical phase of any job search.

It is really worth spending time and effort in making sure that the decision is right.  We all know people who walk into a new job and find themselves desperately unhappy after a few months.  Over 50 per cent of the population don’t look forward to Monday morning because they are in the ‘wrong’ job for them.

Whether you are unemployed or in work and looking for change the question is how to ensure that the next job is the ‘right’ one.  Your abilities, experience and qualifications will determine whether you can do a job, but they will not tell you whether you will enjoy doing it.  Fulfilment in a job depends much more critically on your personality strengths, related weaknesses and transferable skills base.  A successful career planning exercise must begin with a careful analysis of these factors. 

To identify your personality strengths and transferable skills, ask yourself these questions and then, importantly, write down the answers:-

• Which 10 work-related tasks do I do particularly well?
• What are the personality strengths which make me good at them?
• What do other people say I am good at and why?
• What are my 10 most impressive achievements?
• Which of my transferable skills were essential to each achievement?

 If you look carefully at your answers you will see some common patterns emerging which are related to your personality and working style.  Make the analysis as objective as possible by seeking feedback from other people.  The more objective the assessment the more useful it is in identifying the functions, sectors and types of companies to which you are best suited.

Now do the exercise again and this time concentrate on what you are not good at.  This will help to define areas to be avoided.  Remember, though, that with correct guidance some weaknesses can be turned into strengths in a different working environment or job function. 

With self-awareness exercises like these, whether done by yourself or by seeking professional guidance , you are more likely to make the right career move and career and work choices for the right reasons.