New Work Realities and the Mature Worker:
How Job Seekers Over 50 Can Compete for Today's Jobs

BY ANITA LANDS

Corporate downsizing. The reduction of middle management. Retrenched industries. The widespread use of contingency workers, consultants and part-timers. All have combined to create new realities in the marketplace. These changes have had a major impact on all workers, but older job seekers must cope with age-related issues as well.

The over-50 job seeker can, however, beat the odds. First, you need to have a clear understanding of the trends defining today's workplace and how they can impact your job search. Then you will need to put together a job-hunting strategy based on a thorough knowledge of your skill base, experience and goals.

You are more likely to be hired by companies with fewer than 1,000 employees-- those firms tend to value people who can hit the ground running.

Workplace Trends

• Companies continue to downsize (including those making or projecting profits), and older, more experienced workers are often among the hardest hit. In addition, government, educational and other traditionally "safe" sectors have been cutting back.
• The traditional corporate structure has been transformed from "vertical" to "horizontal"; now fewer levels of employees handle a broader range of tasks. This flattening of the hierarchy has required the reduction of middle management, many of whom are older. Moreover, the resulting new organizational structure points to the likelihood of diminished permanent, full-time rehiring.

The flattening of the corporate hierarchy
has reduced middle management staff
--including many older workers.

• The growing phenomena of a large, widespread contingency workforce at all levels, from CEO to file clerk, continues to have an impact on the older job seeker. Contingency workers include part-timers, freelancers, independent professionals, sub-contractors, seasonal part-time jobs, job sharing, etc. More and more companies are hiring non-permanent employees, including long-term staffers, and even outsourcing total functions. By the 21st century, there will be 133 million people in the workforce, and less than half of them will be in conventional full-time jobs.
• The growth of small and midsize businesses, including franchises. Over 90% of all firms in the U.S. employ fewer than 500 people and 75% of all the hiring in the last several years occurred in companies making from $5 million to $500 million in volume.
• The lengthening reach of technology into everyone's life, which has affected how people work, where they work and the kinds of tasks they do.

You can probably count on many healthy, active years ahead and will likely need to fund a longer life.

How Older Workers Are Affected
The results of these fundamental and dramatic changes impact older workers in many ways. Those who have been downsized are more likely to be hired by small or midsize companies (companies with fewer than 1,000 employees), because those firms tend to value people who can hit the ground running. As in all age groups, however, the over-50 job seeker who has very specialized skills, mostly in technology or science, will have more options.

You will need to think creatively--and realistically--about long-term employment with one company. Open up your thinking and explore other employment options. Going forward, employment opportunities may well mean nontraditional jobs that require different work patterns and arrangements.

Job offers that come along may be temporary, of short, medium or long duration. Companies will no longer assume the role of managing your career, so that means you have to. But it also means you can be creative, tap into interests you've always had, and design a plan that suits your personal values and needs.

The new work realities call for a major shift in expectations and attitude, and they require a much more proactive approach to all aspects of your career. Furthermore, you can probably count on many healthy, active years ahead and will likely need to fund a longer life. Therefore, for financial and other reasons, work will remain on your agenda for a long time.

Develop and continually expand your network.
As an older person, you know more people.
Use them in your search. Strategies for Job Seekers Over 50
Here are several steps and strategies to help you evaluate your current situation and map out your future:

• Your First Moves
  Get a clear picture of your finances, both current and farther down the road. Your financial situation will determine the parameters within which you will be making job decisions, including whether you need to work full time, part time, and how much.
  
  Do a thorough assessment. Start with the Seven Stories Exercise and also examine your values, interests, experience, and education/training. This will help you to decide your next step as well as to market yourself with greater confidence. It may also help you consider how you might recast your background for possible new directions.
  
  Sylvia, in her late fifties, is an example. She had spent her career as a designer in the garment industry and found herself unemployed. Through the assessment process, a number of vocational and avocational accomplishments, interests and skills surfaced, including art, writing, and "running things."
  
  Sylvia decided to obtain a certificate in art appraisal. She was accepted as an intern at a small art gallery and later bought into a partnership there. In addition, she began writing as a volunteer for the newsletter of an AIDS-related fund-raising organization in the fashion industry. The range of Sylvia's new activities reflected a combination of relevant former abilities and accomplishments along with new training and experience.
  
  Write an accomplishment-oriented résumé, using The Five O'Clock Club approach. Focus on the benefits you offer an employer. Omit early jobs if they do nothing to enhance you on paper.
  
  

Temp work may or may not lead to full-time employment, but it could mean long-term work.

• Your Network
  Develop and continually expand your network. As an older person, you know more people. Make them part of your job-search strategy. Contact friends, family and co-workers (past and present).
  
  Explore other sources of leads as well, such as newspaper ads, executive recruitment firms, permanent and temporary staffing agencies (particularly those that work with older job seekers), government listings, job fairs, alumni college offices, professional and trade associations and unions. Don't forget about contacting people and companies directly. Depending on your field, go online for job postings. Leave no stone unturned.
  
  
• Your Library
  Get to know your library and its career-related resources. Many libraries today have expanded their job information sections. At the library, you can research growth companies, industries and geographic areas. Moreover, an increasing number have computer facilities.
  
  Join The Five O'Clock Club, the job-search strategy group. In addition, there are many networking and support groups that meet in churches, synagogues and community centers. All are sources of job leads and information.
  
  

Project the three "E's"
--experience, energy and enthusiasm.
Don't talk about the "good old days."

• Your Skills
  Continue to upgrade your skills. Retrain, through private or government educational institutions, to make yourself more marketable. Become computer literate. Tom, a client of mine in his mid-fifties, had been laid off from the securities operations area of a bank because of a major downsizing. It soon became apparent to both of us that, although Tom had had some computer training, his knowledge and experience fell short of being marketable. His opportunities would be limited, particularly since he wanted to expand his horizons beyond the banking industry.
  
  He decided to take several computer courses, both government-sponsored and at a community college. He worked hard to upgrade his PC skills and to gain confidence. He landed a job as assistant to the office manager (himself an older man) of a growing national office design firm.
  
  As Tom's example illustrates, lifelong learning is the new credo, and this could mean taking a course, pursuing a certificate or enrolling in a degree program. San Francisco-based SeniorNet is a nationwide organization that has Learning Centers for people age 55 and older. SeniorNet also has an inexpensive online service for members that includes job postings.
  
  Do volunteer or pro bono work. It will keep you in touch with your skills and strengths, help you to develop new ones in a low-risk or no-risk situation, give you a sense of accomplishment and contribution (helping your self-esteem), and occasionally lead to a paying job. Moreover, doing unpaid work sometimes can be used as a strategy to penetrate an organization or industry.
  
  A good example is Herb, in his early sixties. Herb had managed his extended family's money and real estate holdings for many years. He had put together a team of financial, legal and accounting professionals to assist him, but after his last elderly relative died, his work dwindled. Although he did not have to continue working, he wanted to do so and was interested in exploring something new.
  
  He had always worked autonomously in an environment with just a few people, and he was used to calling the shots. Moreover, he wanted to use his experience and knowledge, but in a somewhat different way. To find out more about where he could use his skills, he needed to network widely. Along the way, he spoke to someone who was involved in initial public offerings and whose business was growing rapidly.
  
  Herb proposed spending four hours a day pro bono to learn the business better, and he offered to set up computer programs to facilitate support operations. The two men agreed there would be a three-month probation period. At the end of that time, they jointly decided that Herb had sufficiently carved out a role for himself and proceeded to negotiate financial arrangements. In this case, the positive results were due to Herb's willingness to volunteer in order to build on his background and to transfer some of his skills to a growth area. Also, Herb created an opportunity for himself to learn in a low-risk way, and the volunteer situation allowed for a "sneak preview" by both parties.
  
  
• Your Work Options
  Become part of the contingency workforce, regardless of your job level or function. Temporary employment can come through such sources as an agency, a consulting opportunity or as a subcontracted project. It may or may not lead to full-time employment, but it could mean long-term work. Also, it keeps you involved professionally, maintains and/or develops your skills, leads to new contacts and generates income.
  
  Consider doing part-time, temporary or seasonal work for a former employer. Some companies have established hiring pools for their retirees; target small to midsize companies and go where the growth is. Don't bang your head against the corporate wall. Be a bigger fish in a smaller pond with the potential for making a greater impact and contribution.
  
  
• Your Interviews and Job Offers
  When interviewing, project the three "E's"--experience, energy and enthusiasm. Don't talk about the "good old days." Instead, face forward and stress the future. Indicate your willingness to learn, your ability to adapt and your experience working with people of all ages. Mention any recent upgrading of your skills, on or off the job. Demonstrate how, as a problem solver, you could contribute to the company's success. Overcome potential age concerns by demonstrating non-defensively how your skills, background and knowledge would be of value to the organization's needs and goals in the years ahead.
  
  When negotiating a job offer, if you have medical benefits from your last employer you can use them in one of two ways. Either you can make yourself less expensive by offering to keep your old plan, or you can use your benefits as a bargaining chip to increase your compensation.
  
  
• Your Attitude
  Maintain a "can-do" attitude to propel yourself forward and achieve your goals. Studies have proven that optimism is a powerful predictor of success. In addition, a positive outlook will draw support from many quarters along the way, whereas a negative attitude turns other people off.
  
  Be proud of the knowledge, wisdom and experience of your years, as well as your work ethics and habits. If you value your work, education, training and skills, so too will the world. Continue to believe that there are organizations out there that need what you have to offer, and act on that belief. While age discrimination exists in the job market and workplace, dwelling on it will only paralyze you--so don't.
  
  You are experiencing an important career/life transition. Managing major change can be unsettling and frightening. However, you can help yourself by tapping into successful transitions you have already made and thinking about those internal and external resources you utilized. Use yourself as a positive role model as you set goals and implement plans to achieve them. Remember--the best way to control your future is to create it!

Anita Lands is a former Five O'Clock Club counselor who specializes in both career management and retirement planning for the older adult.
Ms. Lands is on the adjunct faculty at New York University's School of Continuing Education, where she received the Award for Teaching Excellence.