Comeback Career Advice for Women Over 50

by Kerry Hannon at nextavenue.org
 

Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, has written books inspiring women to take control of their career and fight the forces holding them back in the workplace. She launched a “Know Your Value” conference series and a slick website sponsored by NBC posting articles on the topic. But she realized she wasn’t confronting the complete picture until her sister-in-law, Ginny Brzezinski, texted her one day: “Hey Mika — Can KYV address women like me who have downshifted to take care of kids and now want to pivot careers or return to work? We have value too!”

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Ginny Brzezinski

When my Midwest-City friend Jon Wheeler was looking for a job four years ago in his 50s, a hiring manager complimented Wheeler on his “strong resume” and promised to get back to him.

    After a few days of hearing nothing, Wheeler called the friend who’d gotten him the interview who told him managers worried he was too old to keep up.

    Age discrimination is pretty much an accepted phenomenon in today’s workplace.
 

You’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the same industry, and now you’d like to make a change. You want to move into another field — but you’re not sure if any employer in this new industry would see you as qualified and relevant.

    It’s a genuine concern, but the good news is a career change can be made. The key is identifying and marketing your transferable skills.
 

Want That Job? Write a Letter

by Greg Fleming at nzherald.co.nz
 

You've got a pretty snazzy CV, which you fire off when you see a job you like — then it's just a case of sitting back and waiting for the interviews to roll in, right? Wrong. Truth is you're likely missing out on many opportunities simply because you didn't take the time to write a cover letter.

    Research finds that job applications with tailored cover letters yield just over 50 percent more interviews compared to those without. The survey conducted by ResumeGo looked at 7287 job application submissions and a survey of 236 hiring professionals in North America to discover just how integral cover letters are to job search success and what exactly employers value in them.

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Pass it Along

If you attend networking events and go to jobs clubs, you’ve been meeting other job seekers just like you. Mention the Nifty50s to them and encourage them to visit as well. You’ll be helping them and you’ll make an appreciative friend for yourself.
 

Many 50+ job seekers have spent their entire careers at large companies. Working at a large company may be like working in a jungle, but at least it’s a jungle they know well.

    Is it any surprise that when these individuals find themselves out on the street looking for a new position, the first place they look is at other large companies? To be sure, some of them are lucky enough to find such a spot. Unfortunately, that’s not true for the vast majority.

    It should come as no news to anyone that working for a small company has many advantages for the older job seeker as well as the new employer. Small can be better.

    Let’s begin with the job search process itself. First, the bad news: many small companies don’t use recruiters so their openings may be harder to find. But they are out there for the diligent job seeker.

    When you do find a company with an suitable opening, it’s more likely than not that you’ll be speaking directly with the person who will be hiring you – maybe even the company president. In short, in most cases there won’t be any HR-department filter to contend with and no ATS computer to block your application. Admittedly, at worst, there only will be minimal HR interference.

    In addition, once you have the job, again, you’ll probably be working closer to management than you could ever dream of at a large company and with a bigger impact on the process, the product and the profit level. And with a greater voice in how things happen.

    And the bad news? The bad news is that, in all probability, you won’t be making as much money as you were at the large company. Then again, your higher salary may have been the main reason the larger company let you go in the first place.