Of Course You Can

In today’s competitive job market, expectations are running high

No one likes to be taken for granted – least of all older job seekers in the midst of a job search.

For the older job seeker, experience is pretty much a given. Check. Hiring managers expect that an older candidate will know the ins and outs of the workplace and that you know how to work with people. Check. And they expect that candidates from the Boomer generation, on average, will be more reliable, dependable and have a stronger work ethic. Check.

None of this should surprise you. But what may surprise you is some of the other characteristics that you may feel the need to highlight or boast about, but the person on the other side of the desk takes for granted.

Here’s what we expect

Although it’s true that many hiring managers (incorrectly) assume that older applicants are not as technologically savvy as some (or most) of their younger counterparts. As such, there are times when many older applicants feel the need to emphasize some of these skills. Not so.

So you’re adept at word processing. Big deal. It’s 2026 and, save for the techno-phobes, everyone can do basic word processing. Even elementary school children can handle it. It’s no big deal.

The same can be said for data entry. Although the amount of data may be large, boring and laborious, it’s just assumed that it’s within your wheelhouse. In fact, working with an office suite such Microsoft Office and all its various components is a given in today’s workplace. More and more employers expect job candidates to have some working knowledge and capabilities in handling AI. Handling online video conferencing and working remotely are fast joining the stable of things that you’re expected to do and with which to be comfortable.

Ditto for email and basic online searching. If you can’t handle those tasks, you’re the oddball, the outlier… the unemployed and the unemployable.

Today, it’s all taken for granted.

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