Anticipation

Be ready for anything they may throw at you

You don’t have to be a Boy Scout to appreciate the importance of “Be Prepared.”

Being prepared is especially critical in a job search when it comes to planning for a job interview. You probably have heard about interview planning as it pertains to studying the company, the industry, the job, the person with whom you’re interviewing, etc.

How much time do you spend anticipating the questions you may be asked and how you will respond? This is all that much more important when you’re a 50+ job seeker.

This is so because the 50+ job seeker needs to be ready for a whole army of questions about age. Fortunately, most of these questions are predictable. Unfortunately, most of these questions are predictable.

If you’ve gone on several interviews it’s very possible that you’ve faced some of these demeaning questions.

“How well versed are you on the latest technology?” The assumption is that because you’re “old” you can’t adequately handle the rigors of smart phones, social media and the internet.

“When are you planning to retire?” Here is the assumption is that, if we hire you, you’ll retire in a few years and we’ll have to fill your position again.

When they ask, “How is your health?” the suggestion is that, because you’re older, you’re more sickly and more prone to need additional sick days that your younger counterparts.

There are more, but you get the idea.

Of course none of those questions are fair. Some may even question whether or not they’re legal. (That’s another argument for another day.)

The key takeaway from all this is that you, rightly or wrongly, you need to be prepared to address these issues. You have to anticipate what kind of “age-related” questions you may face and how to answer them.

Think, Carly Simon.