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Old Guys Scoring Jobs: It Isn’t About You
In last week’s post, “Old Guys Scoring Jobs: The Sizzle Doesn’t Sell,” I told you about a 56-year-old ad exec and a 28-year-old executive MBA from Cornell who both feel they face career problems—because of age bias. They’re both worried they aren’t viewed as “sizzling” by employers.
My advice to anyone concerned that an employer is truly discriminating against them is to take legal action. If that’s not where you really want to go, then I think you have just one other option (other than giving up): Show the employer that you’re offering much more than the sizzle.
I promised to share some tips about how Dave, the 56-year-old ad exec, could deliver the beef.
Advice For Dave:
- Target your prospects. Landing a good job at a good company isn’t a mass-marketing task. Start by picking the best companies you’d like to work for. Now for the hard part: Figure out where they hurt. If you can’t figure that out, then you have no business suggesting they should hire you—because you’re missing the point.
Did any advertising client ever hire you for your resume? My guess is they hired you because you figured out where they were hurting, and you showed them how you’d make it better. Job hunting is no different: It’s not about you. Turn your presentation into a plan for one specific employer.
- Create trust. Agencies hire talent through other people they know and trust. Now for the hard (but fun) part: You have to go hang out with people who do the work you want to do in the companies where you want to do it. Hang out with employees, consultants, vendors, clients, lawyers, accountants, landlords—anybody who does business with them. Do it online or in person. Building trust is more effective than sending resumes. This is how about 60% of hires are made. Meanwhile, your competitors are lost in some jobs database.
- Show them the money. Green trumps gray. It also trumps youth and any Gen-Y’ers indistinct notion of what’s cool. The CEO of the next company that hires you couldn’t care less where you’ve been, what you’ve done, or who you are. (Translation: It isn’t about your resume. Your very youthful competition hasn't exactly done much yet, or really been anywhere, has it?) She wants to meet someone who can deliver next year’s clients, projects, proposals, and revenue. This is the hard part: Ignore your interesting career story. Create the CEO’s new revenue story and lay it out as a specific proposal. The CEO will invest in success no matter who’s selling it.
More Advice For Dave: A solid plan to produce success and profit trumps youth or gray hair. With all due respect to your efforts, I think you’re not getting the jobs you want because you don’t deserve an audience. Do the work, prepare a custom business plan for the job you want, tease the CEO with it, and no one can touch you, no matter anyone’s age.
That’s the advice I also gave to my new 28-year-old friend.
What’s your advice to old guys about landing jobs in today’s economy? Join us on the Discussion Forum.
About Nick Corcodilos
Nick started headhunting in Silicon Valley in 1979. His contrarian "Ask The Headhunter" media properties feature his radical approach to winning jobs and to hiring great workers. On CMO.com, Nick shows you how to tackle the daunting obstacles that job hunters and managers face when trying to work together. Join Nick on the discussion board to talk shop and get an edge in the C-suite. In addition, his newest books, How to Work with Headhunters and How Can I Change Careers?, are available as PDFs.
