In this article, we will cover what to do if you were not hired for a job you were qualified for, and you think you were a victim of age discrimination.

Part 1 addressed what to do if you lost a job and you thought your age was a factor, plus some of the indicators that you might have a case.

Recently I spoke with employment lawyer Mark Risk, who generously offered to answer my questions about age discrimination under the law.

The discrimination discussed in this article centers around problems affecting people of the Boomer and older generations, and while the information comes from Mark Risk, it is paraphrased with his approval. When I quoted Mark directly, I used quotation marks around his words.

What About Discrimination in Hiring?

Many Baby Boomers who are not getting responses to their resumes and not getting offers in interviews suspect that they are victims of age discrimination.

The bad news is that while age discrimination in hiring is illegal under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) these cases are very tough to prove.

You have the option of suing the employer, if you can find an attorney to take your case, or you may file a claim with the Equal Opportunity Commission and seek redress through the Federal Government or through the appropriate offices in your local state government, depending on the laws in your location.

“Discrimination in hiring is every bit as illegal as other discrimination cases, but as a practical matter it is very difficult to find hard evidence. If you apply for a job and there were a lot of applicants and the person hired happens to be younger, how could you show that age discrimination is the reason?”

Many hiring discrimination cases are class action suits in which evidence is based on statistical trends in the company’s hiring patterns.”

Age Discrimination Exists

Whether or not you can make a successful age discrimination claim, it will still be up to you to look for work, and you will likely face employers who are biased against older workers.

Employers may believe common stereotypes about older workers; that they’re not technically up-to-date, want higher salaries and more benefits, don’t have the energy to compete, and don’t work well with younger supervisors.

We live in a culture where people who won’t speak negatively about your race, or ethnicity, or religion, will still feel free to make jokes about your age.

Still, there is much that you can do to turn these stereotypes around:

• Learn the ins-and-outs of effective online job search and develop an effective online presence – with a complete LinkedIn profile plus LinkedIn activities as a minimum.
• Act to make sure you are knowledgeable about developments in your industry, and learn new skills and technologies.
• Keep up your fitness and up-date your wardrobe.
• Rewrite your resume to emphasize your recent achievements, newly learned skills, and activities that demonstrate your ability to adapt and work collaboratively.
• Prepare for interviews by developing anecdotes that demonstrate the high quality of your work, how you have succeeded in your jobs, and illustrate your adaptability on the job.
• Practice answering the Common Interview Questions, getting feedback on how you present yourself, and preparing for questions that signal employers concerns about your age such as questions about being over-qualified. Read How to Fight Age Discrimination in Job Interviews for examples. Also check out How to Handle Illegal Questions in a Job Interview.

In my years as a career coach/consultant, nearly every new boomer client with job search problems believes that age is a factor in their not getting hired, and a few have pursued legal recourse. In nearly every instance, the client also had issues with how they were conducting their search.

The good news is that once they found focus and gained the skills and confidence to search effectively they saw a positive difference, being called in for interviews and getting offers.

The first step is to dig deep and find the courage to take control.

If you are a victim of age discrimination you will find resources to help you learn more about the law and where to go for legal assistance at the end of “Age Discrimination in Job Loss” (Part 1 of this series).

NOTE: Information provided is intended as a broad, general overview and is not legal advice.

Mark Risk.

Special thanks go to employment attorney Mark Risk, for his candor, and for sharing his expertise.

For More Information:

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
  • Age Discrimination Summary
• U.S. Department of Labor:
  • The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and other useful links on the topic of age discrimination
  • Additional information on age discrimination
• WorkplaceFairness.org – Includes information on workplace rights in all 50 states, resources for help and information including contact information for all relevant government agencies, and more
• American Bar Association – lawyer referral services by state
• Mark Risk – Mark Risk P.C. represents clients in employment law and litigation in New York

More About Fighting Age Discrimination

• Guide to LinkedIn for Job Search including how to have complete LinkedIn profile and LinkedIn activities
• A Recruiter’s Job Interview Success Secret
• Smart Answers to Common Interview Questions
• How to Fight Age Discrimination in Job Interviews
• How to Handle Illegal Questions in a Job Interview

More About Fifty Plus Job Search

• Beating the “Too Old” Bias: Being Visibly Up-to-Date
• Beating the “Too Old” Bias, Learning New Skills
• Goal Setting for Success
• Job Search Advantages of Being Over 50
• Find Part-Time Jobs with Benefits
• Goal Setting for Your Success Plan
• Boomer Job Search

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

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Joe Carbone’s program is designed for the long-term unemployed; but the steps indicated will be beneficial for your job search, no matter how long you’ve been out of work.

Do you have what the program outlines in place in your own life? If the answer is no, with the help of part 1 of this series, and by what will follow in this part, you can create it.

Doing this on your own takes initiative and the willingness to ask for what you want. Are you ready?

This part focuses on what you need to do to keep your skills and experience current.

• It is easier to find a job when you are working, whether in part-time or temporary employment, or an internship, fellowship, or other experiential position such as a volunteer position.
• Working while you look for full-time work shows commitment and eagerness to work – what employers want.
• It is particularly important for Boomers to have current, relevant experience because it will neutralize employers’ fears that they have been “coasting” and not keeping up with the times.
• Any of these options will not only help you keep up your skills (and possibly gain new ones) but they will also give you a new pool of people to add to your network for support, job leads and references, as well as add to your resume, and help you structure your time and stay motivated.

The “Platform to Employment” program links participants with internship opportunities with companies that are hiring. What a great idea, but still not that common. To find out if there is a program available where you live check sites like “CareerOneStop” or “Encore.” (see the links below in To Learn More).

Creating Your Own Opportunity

Most of you will be finding (or creating) your own internship or volunteer opportunity. Here are some tips on how to:

1.  Internships:

When you search for an internship you’ll find that the majority of existing structured internships are geared to traditional age college students. To find employers willing to host older interns, search for internships that are “open to college graduates of any age” or “nontraditional internships.”

An internship may not be right for you. Most internships last for several months and as an older worker you may already be juggling a part-time job and family responsibilities.

2.  Volunteering:

The good news is that you can still get current experience by creating your own volunteer position, tailor made for you, where you can contribute your skills, learn and update your experience, and create new connections. When your new employer sees how well you work, you may also get hired!

• List the skills you already have, the kind of problems you like to solve, and the skills you want to update or learn.
• List organizations you would like to work for that may need your skills.

Pick the first organization to investigate.

• Learn more about the organization. Read their website, research them on Google, and follow them on LinkedIn.
• Find a person you can talk with at that organization, through your LinkedIn connections or by directly calling and asking who would be appropriate.
• Arrange an informational interview to learn more about the organization and their current needs.
• Are you interested? No. Then go on to the next organization on your list.
• Yes? Tell them you are interested, and that you have some ideas on how you can benefit the organization. Add that you’d like to write a proposal and meet again to present it.
• Write your proposal, or letter of interest, or outline. Write your ideas down to clarify what you can contribute and what you want to learn. Include the reasons why you want to work with this specific organization and why you are a great match for their needs and culture.
• Arrange another meeting to discuss your ideas and listen to their interest, or their concerns. If they appear to be concerned about taking the time to work a new person into their organization you can point out that as a seasoned worker you will need little supervision.
• Clarify your and their expectations for your role and how and when you’ll work, and you’re hired!

Giving Yourself What You Need to Succeed

1.  Do you understand, and are you prepared for, a current job search?

• Your resume is age appropriate, headed with a profile, includes your achievements, and is key-word optimized.
• You’ve written a compelling cover letter.
• You have a 100% complete LinkedIn profile and have cleaned up any “digital dirt.”
• You are prepared to common and behavioral job interview questions with stories that outline challenges, the actions you took to solve them, and the results.
• You are ready to present yourself with focus, energy and enthusiasm.

2.  Do you have the support and structure you need to stay motivated and on track?

3.  Are you currently working, and are your industry knowledge and marketable skills up-to-date?

If you can answer yes to all of these questions, congratulations! You are well-positioned to be a convincing candidate.

If some of your answers are no, the best use of your time will be to be proactive and take the actions outlined in the “Platform to Employment” program and in the “Shave Time Off Your Job Search” articles to fill the gaps.

Bottom Line

Give yourself what you need to succeed, and you will see the difference in how employers respond to you.  And, the result will be a cut in the time it will take you to land a great new job.

To learn more:

• For more about free and low-cost options for updating your skills – “Beating Boomer Bias – Learning New Skills”
• CareerOneStop
• Encore Careers Fellowship program, begun in Silicon Valley in 2009, is now in 42 metropolitan areas.

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

The post Over 50: Part 2 of How to Shave Time Off Your Job Search appeared first on Job-Hunt.

If so, are you wondering if that’s “polite” wording for “too old”?

Or, are you one of the Baby Boomers looking to cut back and have a job with less stress and responsibility?

Are you concerned because you’ve heard you won’t be considered because you are overqualified?

To a job seeker, the idea that you wouldn’t be chosen for a job because you have more education or experience than the job requires just doesn’t make sense.

Why not hire the most experienced person?

Hiring Manager Concerns About “Overqualified” Job Candidates

But hiring managers or recruiters often look at candidates with more education and experience differently. When they see higher level qualifications than the job demands what they’re concerned about is:

• You won’t be challenged and will quickly become bored by the job.
• You’re going to expect a higher salary than is budgeted.
• You’re only considering the job because the job market is tight. As the recession eases you will leave for a job that is a better fit.
• Your manager, who may be younger or less experienced than you, will have a difficult time supervising you.
• You’ve been a manager or executive, and you won’t adapt well to taking orders.

Hiring Manager Concerns About “Old” Job Candidates

Or, you may be correct in thinking “overqualified” is code for “’you are too old for the job.” Fortunately, you can proactively address the major concerns employers may have about hiring older workers.

They wonder if:

• Your skills may not be up to date, particularly your technical skills.
• You may not have the physical and mental fitness to keep up with the stresses and hours needed to do the job successfully.
• You may not have the flexibility to adapt to working with others who may be as young as your children.

If you’ve been reading this column, particularly the Beating Boomer Bias and Beating Boomer Stereotypes articles, you already know strategies to disarm these employer biases. You can find these articles in the directory to the right of this post in “More on Boomer Job Search.”

Neutralize the Concerns

If you are, in reality, overqualified, here’s how to neutralize employer concerns:

  1.  Research  

Research the opening and company thoroughly, and then tailor your resume to the position. Elaborate on roles that are relevant to the job you are applying for, and deemphasize the rest. This is particularly important if the experience was linked to greater authority and responsibility than the position you are now applying for.

  2.  Explain  

In your cover letter be sure to present the reasons why you are interested in a job that requires a lower level of education or experience than you possess.

If you don’t explain in the cover letter, the employer may make the assumption that you just didn’t read the job description carefully and don’t understand what they are looking for. You may not get the opportunity to interview.

Possible explanations to include in your cover letter –

• I’m interested in moving back into providing direct service to clients because that is the position I found most gratifying.
• I’m comfortable with accepting a lower salary if it means doing work that is meaningful to me.
• While I’ll still give 100% when I’m on the job, I’ve decided that at this stage of life I want the flexibility to be able to spend more time with my family. Therefore I’m interested in a part-time role such as ___________.

  3.  Address the Issue  

In the interview take the initiative to expand on your reasons why you are interested in a job where you have more skills and experience than are required.

Don’t wait for the employer to raise the question. Even if they don’t say “you appear to be overqualified,” they may be thinking it.

It is your job to reassure the hiring manager that you will not be bored, that you have the curiosity and drive to keep learning new skills, that you are comfortable being supervised by someone younger, and that you will not become dissatisfied with a lower salary.

  4.  Stress the Advantages  

Once you’ve allayed employers’ doubts, stress the advantages you bring.

• Will your experience allow you to “hit the ground running”?
• Do you have the good judgment and superior interpersonal skills of a seasoned professional?
• Have you amassed a rich network of connections in your field?
• Do your qualifications enable you to perform additional functions that someone without your background could not?
• Have you informally mentored younger workers?

Tell the interviewer, and illustrate your answers with personal anecdotes. Follow these steps and you may be pleasantly surprised by the positive reception you receive from employers.

For More Information:

• Fighting the Overqualified Label
  If you are an experienced job seeker, over 45, managing these assumptions can make all the difference in the open job market. Changing just a few things can have a big — and positive — impact.
• Managing the Age Issue with Recruiters
  Managing the “age issue” is a matter of perspective during the job search. For older job seekers, the goal is to turn your age into an asset so that recruiters and hiring managers view you as a seasoned veteran, not as overqualified.  Article by recruiter Jeff Lipschultz, Job-Hunt’s Working with Recruiters Columnist.
• Resumes for the Unemployed and Overqualified
  How to manage the overqualified issue on your resume, particularly when you want to “down-size” your next job.
• The Myth of the Overqualified Worker
  Article by Andrew O’Connell for Harvard Business Review.

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

The post How to Address Being Overqualified for a Job appeared first on Job-Hunt.

“Ouching,” the second stage of the three part WOW job search requires an attitude of Acceptance.

This is the stage where you may begin to feel the pain of negative thinking about your job search. It is also the stage where you need to work on realizing how capable you are, learning strategies for accepting the reality of the present situation, overcoming your doubts and moving forward with a positive attitude. It is simply understanding and dealing with the a reality of your job search; knowing where you stand, what are your strong points, weak points and being able to convey what you have to offer to your target employer.

This stage is about learning to accept your situation, dealing with it, and learning strategies to increase your competitiveness.

I like to describe this stage as the ”Ouching” stage because it is here where you may be feeling the pain and need to focus your energy to get beyond it.

The work will consist of learning to deal with your fears, whether real or not, with worry, and with other negative thinking patterns that may interfere with a successful job search campaign.

The ABC / DE Approach

In his book, Learned Optimism, Martin Seligman, explains how negative thinking can be turned around to positive thinking by following his simple ABC / DE approach. Let’s look closer at how this can help you.

An activating event (“A”), like losing a job, creates negative thoughts, like never finding another job. These thoughts become beliefs (“B”), and those beliefs actually prevent positive action. The beliefs create circumstances (“C”) that generate the expected, negative outcome – becoming a self fulfilling prophesy. To counter them, Seligman recommends disputing (“D”) those beliefs to derail the process by collecting and focusing on the evidence (“E”) that the beliefs are wrong.

You may believe you are too old to get another job and, therefore, you may start to exhibit behaviors that are not the best for a positive job search result. Some of these behaviors may be:

• Lack of preparation for the interview.
• Incomplete research of the company you are targeting.
• Not networking properly.
• Responding only to openings on job search boards, and so on – just looking for any job rather than pitching your experience and expertise.

Let’s look at a hypothetical example of how Seligman’s approach can help turn your job search into a positive experience:

• “A” the activating event is being downsized from your job.
• Now you move into “B” your belief that stems from this event. “I will never be hired at a good company because I’m too old and they only want younger employees.”
• “C”, is the circumstance you now create for yourself based on your Belief. “I will not get a job because of my age, so why bother to put too much effort into the search or why bother to look at all, no one will hire me”.

This is the “Ouching” we all do when we give in to our negative thoughts.

Now, here is the important part to turn your thinking from negative to positive.

• “D” is disputing your negative beliefs by gathering evidence,
• “E” – the evidence gathered – shows you are still a viable and desirable candidate and capable of landing a new job.

What evidence do you look for?

• Gather testimonials of people who can speak to your competence.
• Review your skills and accomplishments on your assessments exercise (Step 1).
• Look for real life, everyday mentors, examples of people 50 plus who are still working and others who have landed jobs in their 50’s and 60’s.

Register with Google Alerts and get notified whenever there is an article in the media about successful workers/ job seekers at 50, 60 and yes, even 70 and 80. Look for the positive press. Don’t read the negative press stories.

Beyond Ouching

Move beyond the “Ouching” by creating for yourself a positive action affirmation that you will repeat to yourself and write down and display in prominent places in your home, for example, on your bathroom mirror, your front door, and the refrigerator next to the note that reminds you to eat healthy.

The affirmation needs to be short, 7 words or less, so that you can remember it, and it must be expressed in the present tense.

It needs to be positive and specific, and must be about something you want to achieve. An example might be: “I am a bookkeeper in (name your target employer)”. Or “I ‘m happily employed at a small company as a (job title you want).”

Present tense is important because you fool the mind into believing you are already doing what you want – working.

NEXT: Step 3, Winning

The next article in this series will discuss the third stage in the WOW job search process, “Winning” which requires you to create for yourself a sense of adventure.

Back to Step 1, Wanting.

About the author…

With a Master’s degree in Vocational Counseling, Boomer Renée Lee Rosenberg, MA, is a specialist in vocational counseling, career management, job search, and retirement. Renée is also a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with over 25 years of experience helping individuals navigate career change, cope with stress, and achieve successful outcomes and a Certified Five O’Clock Club coach for over 20 years. For more information about Renée, visit her websites RetirementTutor.com and PositivityPro.com. You can also find her Profile on LinkedIn, send her an email at renee@retirementutor.com, or call her office at (212) 924-2117.
More about this author…

The post Figuring Out What’s Next: Step 2 – Ouching appeared first on Job-Hunt.

You can count on it.

It happens to everyone, sooner or later.

Don’t be discouraged, and do NOT give up!

Are You Getting Stuck?

Maybe you started out hopeful and full of energy, but then:

• You try on your interview suit, and it doesn’t fit. You’ve gained weight.
• An employer schedules a video interview, and you feel very awkward using the webcam.
• One of your friends is connected on LinkedIn to someone you want to meet. You not sure how to ask for an introduction, so you do nothing.
• You have all day to work on the project you never had time for, but instead of taking action you play video games.

You procrastinate, and you tell yourself: you’re too old, too fat, too lazy, too broke, or too inexperienced.

You tell yourself, I’m not ready, No one will hire me, It’s too risky, too hard, not the right time, and on, and on, and on.

Before your know it, you’re at an impasse.

Initially you were stymied because you lacked a plan, or knowledge, or a connection, or a resource, or an idea, or perhaps you had too many ideas, or competing ideas. And, rather than solving your problem and moving forward, you stopped — because change is uncomfortable.

Change brings up fears, commonly of looking foolish, of losing a comforting sense of self, and of being rejected as not good enough.

Re-Start Your Momentum

Sometimes you can shake yourself out of your fears. Keeping a daily journal of your progress, exercising, and meditation can all be useful. But many times you need to allow others to help you move ahead.

Before you slide into a cycle of negativity and regret, be kind to yourself. Give yourself the gift of reaching out for structure and support.

In “How to Shave Time Off Your Job Search” I wrote about some of the more popular methods for getting structure and support for your change, working with:

Support and accountability partners
Coaches and counselors
Support groups

I encourage you to read the article and consider your options. Whether you choose a formal arrangement for meetings for structure and support, or to reach out informally to your friends, look for:

• People who can remind you of your excitement about and commitment to, the wonderful future you are creating for yourself.
• People who see the best in you and help you see and experience your potential.
• People who are willing to hold you accountable and expect you to honor your commitments.
• People who are emotionally invested in your success, who will listen to your fears and help you celebrate your achievements.
• People who have knowledge and expertise and who will share information and point out potential pitfalls in your plans.
• People who are great networkers, who will delight in connect with the right people and resources.
• Problem solvers who can look at your situation with fresh eyes.

With support you will multiply your chances of reaching your goals. Who will you ask for support?

Move into Action

Don’t fool yourself and think that with time your situation will improve or that – at a later time – change will be easier and your fears will fade. Usually that is not true, and, with inaction, your fears grow as well as your regrets for what might have been.

However, if you overcome inertia and take action your fears will begin to decrease. You’ll find that action toward your goals will increase your self-confidence and happiness.

All it takes is the willingness to step out of your comfort zone and experience some discomfort. If you want a future in which you feel fully alive, if you want to experience the joy that comes with overcoming obstacles and reaching your goals you need to move into action and stay in action.  Action creates its own positive spiral.

The Bottom Line

Take heart from the third law of thermodynamics – A body at rest tends to remain at rest. A body in motion tends to remain in motion.

Your Personal Professional Success Plan:

• Part 1: Goal Setting
• Part 2: Maintaining Momentum

More About Fifty Plus Job Search

• Beating the “Too Old” Bias: Being Visibly Up-to-Date
• Beating the “Too Old” Bias, Learning New Skills
• 5 Ways You Look Out of Date in Your Job Search
• Professional Success Plan, Part 1: Goal Setting for Success
• Job Search Advantages of Being Over 50
• Find Part-Time Jobs with Benefits

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

The post Maintaining Job Search Momentum: Part 2 of Your Personal/Professional Success Plan appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Non-Profit Job Opportunities

Non-profits are a multi-trillion dollar sector of the job market that includes charities, universities, hospitals, international relief organizations, and member organizations. They are all mission driven and run by volunteer boards of directors, paid staff, and volunteers.

The non-profit sector is experiencing significant growth particularly in critical service sectors, such as healthcare and social services where the need for services is expanding.

As the US moves out of the recession, there will be openings on every level within non-profits. If you possess skills in direct service, operations, finance, human resources, marketing, development, communications, and executive experience, your skills will be in high demand.

Pluses and Minuses of a Non-Profit Career

What are the pros and cons of working for a non-profit? In a 2002 Brookings Institute survey of worker satisfaction in non-profit, for-profit and government sectors – non-profit workers reported themselves most satisfied with their work.

They described their organizations as “…doing the best, most important work…”, by a large margin in almost every area measured.

What contributes to such high satisfaction?

• Legacy – There’s a long term impact you can make by contributing your experience and talents to a non-profit. Many jobs involve working with future generations, and with important issues like environmental sustainability.
• Informality – non-profits tend to be casual and values-driven, offering the opportunity to work with other practical idealists who share similar values, passions and sensibilities.
• Flexibility – Because many non-profits are small and informal, organizations may offer hands-on opportunities to take on responsibility and wear many hats, and may be open to flexible job options like telecommuting.
• Challenge – If you are someone who is excited by the challenge of solving problems with limited resources, you will be stimulated by the non-profit environment.
• Benefits – While salaries at non-profits, at least on lower levels, are in many cases smaller than in for-profit companies, benefits may be more generous.

What are some of the disadvantages?

• Wages – When you begin, you can generally expect to have lower pay than you would in business.
• Hours – People in non-profits often work longer than 40 hours a week, and there may be evening and week-end commitments for fundraisers and community affairs.
• Results – Many of the issues non-profits deal with don’t have clear cut solutions. Progress is extremely incremental when you’re dealing with issues like child welfare, or refugee problems. This can be frustrating, and lead to burn out.
• Expectations – Non-profits may have different or fewer structures than hierarchical organizations, with informal chain of command and role expectations.
• Tolerances – Whatever money is raised is funneled into the mission of the non-profit. This can mean working with out-dated equipment and less than comfortable surroundings.

Is a non-profit career right for you?

As with any other career change, if you’re considering a transition into a non-profit career the place to start is with self-evaluation. Perhaps the last time you really thought about who you are and what you want in life was in high school or college. Your priorities likely have changed. In addition, you’ve developed a wealth of knowledge and experience to bring to a new role. It’s important then to look at your work and life experiences, and to identify the abilities and skills you most enjoy using, that you want to carry forward into your new career.

But what’s different in a transition into the non-profit world is the opportunity to align your passion with an organizations’ mission. It’s important to explore your interests and motivations. Here are some questions to ask yourself.

What is calling you? What are you motivated to help with, or to change?

What matters to you? Are there issues like education, child-welfare, low-income housing, lobbying, legal services, community development, sustainability, climate change, global health, microfinance, animal welfare, disaster relief, funding for the arts, etc. … that you feel strongly about?

How to Transition:

1. Research
   You can start to learn about the different kinds of roles that people play in non-profits, like fundraising and volunteer recruitment and management, by visiting a non-profit web portal like Idealist http://idealist.org. There you can read job descriptions and begin to get a feel for what non-profits seek in new hires.
2. Network
   Then deepen and widen your knowledge, and build your network in your new field, by conducting informal interviews with people who hold roles that interest you. Ask them how they got started and what experience you need to become a credible candidate. Ask them who else you should meet, what you should read, and what organizations to join.
3. Volunteer
   The most straight-forward way you can build credibility for a non-profit career, is to volunteer. Focused volunteering will help you develop skills and experience for the role you seek and allow you to sample new roles.Volunteering is a great way to:
   • Confirm whether an organization or role is right for you.
   • Expand your network.
   • Find opportunities to lead a project and show leadership.
   • Raise your visibility in the organization.
   • Demonstrate your commitment to a cause.
4. Build more skills
   Other options to gain experience and credibility are non-profit board or committee membership, internships, a term of service with an organization like the Peace Corp (many organizations have opportunities, for varying lengths of time), Fellowship programs, and learning opportunities like workshops, certificate programs and community college courses.

Creating a Legacy

People decide to work in the non-profit sector for many reasons but for members of the baby boomer generation some of the larger motivations are:

• To leave a positive legacy as a result of their work
• To do something that contributes to a cause bigger than themselves
• To help resolve societal problems for future generations, and
• To answer a call that they feel inside.

If you are hearing the call to contribute to your community, country, or the world, then consider a move to the non-profit sector.

Let yourself be inspired by an idealist from an earlier generation, Margaret Mead, who said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

A great site to begin your exploration of a career that combines passion, purpose and a paycheck is “Encore Careers.”

For More Information:

Read Boomer Career Pioneer: Changing to a Non-Profit Career at 54.

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

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I’d like you to meet Lauralee Barbaria, one of the most inspiring people I know. In her fifties, Lauralee took the risk to reinvent herself and change careers, and she has just landed the job of her dreams. She’s just started as the Director of the Green M.B.A. program at Dominion University.

Lauralee and I spoke recently about her transition. She talked about her obstacles and breakthroughs. And she offered encouragement to others who want to cap their working lives with new challenges, synthesizing all they’ve learned in their careers to make a difference.

Here is Lauralee’s story:

“There were times in my transition I felt pretty lost, and the process took me more than two years.

“As I reconnected with my passions I realized what I care about most at this stage of my life is what I’m handing on to children and grandchildren, my legacy, but it’s not a legacy of money.

“I want to feel really good about how I’m spending the rest of my life, and that means two things to me. Making sure that what I do with this part of my life validates how I spent the first part of my life, and acknowledges the things that I hadn’t done – and wished that I had.

“Part of what helped me figure out what I wanted to do was reflecting on my history and becoming clear about my gifts. I started out as a teacher, which is one of my ‘true gifts,’ the gifts that bring the greatest satisfaction and growth. I sorted my ‘true gifts’ from my ‘near gifts’ which are the things I do well, and got rewarded for, but which aren’t my true gifts.

“After teaching I was a professional athlete which helped me learn about teamwork, being competitive, and not being afraid to try things.

“Then, I had a long career in information technology where I learned problem solving skills, how to work collaboratively and how to be a change agent, to change the way people think.

“Then I trained as a mentor and coach, and found another ‘true gift’ which is to help people find their way in what they’re thinking. When people think about finding a new career, often they don’t know where to start. I didn’t and coaching helped.

“I have passions for travel, learning, and adventure, and I found a deepening passion for the environment, particularly in sustainability. This is where I decided I wanted to make an impact. So I went back to school, at Dominion University, in the Green M.B.A. program.

“When you start school at the age of 55, it’s easy to believe that your skills aren’t relevant and transferable, and the idea of interacting with much younger students was daunting.

“It was heartening to realize that my career and life experience – that the traditional age students didn’t have, is a great mix with the technical experience that they have – that I was behind the curve in learning.

“Boomers definitely bring talent and valuable input to the class room. We just have to share it in a thoughtful way. Just because we did it ‘that’ way in the past, doesn’t make it right for now.

“Sometimes I felt afraid. A big learning for me was that it’s OK to be afraid, and it’s OK to show weakness, because people will reach out and engage with you when you’re authentic. You can learn techniques to deal with fear so it’s not debilitating, and the support system you’ll build by asking for help will help you though the hard times.

“I also can’t emphasize enough how important that is in moving forward to talk about the value you bring. When you leave your familiar role you forget the satisfaction of doing something well and being validated for your work, and it can be really hard to overcome that barrier. What I did to ‘capture my value, believe in my value’ was to ask people about where they saw me bringing value, how I was doing it, and how they could see me bringing value in a new role. I did a lot of questioning.

“Lastly, I told myself ‘Go for it. What do you have to lose?’ Well, I had money to lose, and I had stature to lose. My family might not understand. But, really, when you think about it, Phyllis, when you think about the worst thing that could happen, you can find a way around those worst things. If you take the time to critically approach those questions you’ll find solutions. You’ll find ways around the road blocks.

“When you’re ready to job hunt have someone help you with your resume because you can’t see the best in yourself as well as somebody else can. Put your personality into your resume, write about the things that make you shine and get excited.

“Networking with other Boomers brought unbelievable support. Boomers in business, out of business, retired, newly retired; they all offered to share information or contacts.

“Also, practice interviewing in front of a video camera, over and over and over. I’d spent many years as the interviewer and had forgotten what it’s like to be the interviewee – much to my chagrin. For my new job I interviewed with four groups through four levels and it was quite arduous. The video interview training helped.

“The biggest change in me though participating in the Green M.B.A. program was in my thinking about leadership – and I think this is where Boomers can have the biggest impact. If you want to make change on a local, or on a global level, the new way of thinking is that there is no silver bullet or single magic answer.

“What you’re looking for is a holistic view of all the pieces of a problem and how they interact so you can put together strategies that are dynamic and flexible. Leaders help look at all of the interactions of a system, systemic thinking, so that we don’t have unintended consequences. Leaders need to be relationship builders and collaborative. This is a transformation for those of us who grew up protecting our turf, because now it’s everybody’s turf.

“Participating in the program was an awesome experience. Now that I’m leading it, I’m excited about increasing the scope of the Green M.B.A. program to impact wider and wider circles – to bring sustainability around the globe.”

Recommitting yourself to making a difference (in whatever area calls to you) is a way to gain enthusiasm – as Lauralee abundantly illustrates.

One of the challenges of growing older can be the ‘been there, done that’ feeling, the sense of dryness or ‘going through the motions’ that can come from long spells of doing your duty without joy. Whatever you choose to do, whether it’s in your career, or as a volunteer, if you throw your heart into it, you’ll find new passion, and the energy to overcome whatever obstacles you run into along the way.

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
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I understand that although you’re reading this article, you’re reluctant to take a Profile photo.

I understand your reluctance, and I’m writing this article to explain why avoiding a Profile photo is a really bad idea.

When you’re over fifty, crows feet, double chins, and under-eye bags seem to appear overnight.

Although you know intellectually this happens to everyone, it’s still a shock when you look in the mirror.

You may be uncomfortable about how you look. You may also think, I’ll take a photo when I lose twenty, forty, or sixty pounds — or never…

My Profile Photo May Ruin Opportunities

Many of you, or at least some part of you, believe that no one will want to hire you because of your age.

You think that employers will think you are younger if you avoid posting a photo.

Some career professionals will agree with you.

They’ll say, “Leave the photo off your LinkedIn Profile. If employers don’t see how old you are, they’ll invite you in for an interview. ”

“Once you’re there in person, you’ll wow them with your skills and experience, win them over, and get the job.”

I don’t agree.

Let’s assume you don’t have a Profile photo and still get invited for an interview.

If the employer has an age bias, or thinks someone younger will be a better fit for the job, you are unlikely to overcome that mindset — even in person.

Your interview effort and time will be wasted.

Having No Profile Photo Does Ruin Opportunities

Without a good photo, chances are very slim that you will be invited for an interview.

In JobVite’s most recent annual survey of recruiters, 96% use social media to find candidates, with LinkedIn, by far, the most popular site, followed by Facebook and Twitter. Of the six seconds recruiters generally spend scanning a Profile, 20% is used in evaluating Profile photos.

On LinkedIn, you are forty times less likely to be approached with career opportunities if your Profile lacks a headshot photo.

LinkedIn requires a photo for 100% completion of your Profile (known as an “All Star” Profile), and your Profile’s visibility is greatly increased when ite is complete. Without a photo you are unlikely to be found by someone searching for your skills. (See LinkedIn’s Simple steps to a complete LinkedIn Profile.)

If hiring managers and recruiters do find you or look you up online after receiving your resume, they will wonder why your photo was omitted. They’ll wonder if you have something to hide. Or, are you behind the times?

If you do use a photo, you will be found by more potential employers, and if they contact you, they are already convinced of the potential in your experience, judgment, and therefore; your value to their company.

When I lead LinkedIn workshops for older workers most do not have a Profile image. Of the ones who do I often see:

• Profile photos that are so heavily retouched that I’ve asked, “Is this a photo or a drawing?”
• Old, old, old photos… 1980’s hair
• Dark glasses
• Caricatures
• Large hats shading faces
• And on…

Choosing to upload one of these options will also make viewers wonder what you’re hiding.

The Best Profile Photo for Over 50

The following is a brief primer on how get the best professional photo — one that you will feel proud of. It explains how to minimize the parts of your appearance you feel uncomfortable with, and what to emphasize instead. At the end of the article you’ll find links to resources where you can find more detailed instruction.

Who to Take Your Photo

One possibility is to have a professional photo taken. A professional already understands how to help you pose, how to get the most flattering lighting, and how to edit your photo.

If that isn’t an option, a friend who is a talented amateur will get good results when they take many, many photos. It’s been suggested to me that it may take as many as one hundred frames to allow you to become comfortable being photographed and present the natural shifts in expression that create the best images.

Making Your Best Impression

Enter PhotoFeeler.com, a website designed to offer users free, unbiased responses to the effectiveness of Profile photos. According to their research the top factors in creating a positive impression are Profile photos that convey likeability, competence and influence. The following are most important in order to express these qualities:

• Eyes:
  Make eye contact with the viewer. Look in the direction of the camera, and focus beyond it. This will create an impression of immediacy.
• Smile:
  A smile is important. Show a few teeth if that feels natural to you. Research has shown that smiles showing teeth convey a more likeable impression.
• Dress:
  Dress professionally and simply in a current style. Avoid dazzling patterns. Keep the focus on you rather than your clothes.
• Double chins:
  Double chins and sagging jaw lines can be camouflaged by moving the jaw forward while holding the face steady.
• Crows feet and other lines:
  The impression of facial lines can be lessened with light photo editing.
• Simple background:
  A blank wall is best, if possible. The goal is to have something that is not distracting.

Now the fun part – choosing which photo to use.

Choosing Your Best Photo

You can ask your friends for feedback but you’ll likely get a wide range of opinion that won’t help you make a decision. Instead upload your photos to PhotoFeeler where strangers will rate your photos on which ones are most effective in conveying friendliness, competency, and influence.

You may be surprised by the results. Your photo where the lines on your face are prominent, but where you have a genuine smile, might be the winner.

Profile photo resources:

• New Research Study Breaks Down “The Perfect Profile Photo”
• Free feedback on which of your photos is most effective: PhotoFeeler
• How to pose to get a clean jaw line: “It’s all about the jaw” video by Peter Hurley
• Free photo editing software:
  • Gimp – https://www.gimp.org/
  • Fotor – https://www.fotor.com/
  • PIXLR – https://pixlr.com/

More About LinkedIn for Job Search

• 10 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile
• Fast Formula for a Powerful LinkedIn Professional Headline
• 5 Secrets to a Knockout LinkedIn Profile Summary
• Why You Need a Photo on Your LinkedIn Profile

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

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People who explicitly make New Year’s resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions, according to the grim statistics on resolutions from Statistic Brain.

And, most people don’t regularly make resolutions.

Without resolutions, the probability of achieving goals is clearly lower.

How to Achieve Your Goals

First, focus on goals rather than resolutions.

Resolutions rely on will power, and will power is usually more effective at the beginning of change, which is more of a marathon than a sprint.

Instead: setting career goals, creating an action plan, neutralizing the fear and resulting negativity that often accompany change, getting support, and setting up structures like tracking your progress will help you go the distance.

  Why Set Goals?  

• Goals give clarity to your vision. They specify the end result of what you want to achieve.
• Goals make what you want tangible.You are declaring to yourself; this is what I want.
• Goals help you focus your daily energy toward making your wishes and dreams reality.You keep moving forward, even when you bump into obstacles.

A respected and effective method for setting goals and tracking your progress is the S.M.A.R.T. model by setting goals that are:

1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Attainable
4. Relevant
5. Time Bound

An additional tip

When setting your goals: focus on what you do want rather than what you don’t want.

For example: rather than “I’m going to stop spending all my time applying for jobs online,” get as clear as you can on what you want. Depending on what you want, this might be “I’m going to spend four days a week updating my skills, developing my personal brand online, and networking; and one day applying for jobs.”

How to Determine Your Goals – 8 Questions to Ask Yourself

Then, begin to answer the following questions, taking time to contemplate your career satisfaction, your job search, and also your level of satisfaction with the different areas of your personal life: your health, your relationships, finances, personal and spiritual growth, fun and recreation, etc. They are all connected. Write the answers as they come to you. Grammar and spelling don’t count!

1. What were your finest moments over the past year?

What did you accomplish? Think about when you were proud of yourself, when you made a change, did something well, had a positive impact on someone else’s life, or solved a problem.

2. What were your biggest disappointments?

Remember when you disappointed yourself, or were disappointed by others; when your expectations weren’t met, when you met rejection, when your dreams weren’t fulfilled.

Or perhaps there are dreams you had for yourself earlier in life that weren’t fulfilled. What are you regretting?

3. What did you learn?

Looking at your answers to the first two questions, ask yourself what worked, and what would you like to do differently.

What would you like to do differently?

4. How are you getting in your own way?

One of the biggest obstacles to success are negative thoughts and feelings you may hold about your ability to succeed and your worthiness in getting what you want.

At this stage of life it’s particularly important to look at negative assumptions you may hold about change and aging. To get clearer about how you do that, answer these questions.

How do you limit yourself?

What do you say to yourself to explain these limitations?

Negative self talk is the voice of your fear and not the truth about you. Pick one of your toughest limiting beliefs and ask yourself – is that true? Really, really, 100% true?

You’ll find that even if there’s some truth in these limitations – there still isn’t a reason for not getting what you want. Over time, you can make huge strides in changing your negative beliefs. Start with one of the toughest ones, and see the difference.

5. What are your personal values?

Make a list. If your values aren’t clear to you, it can be helpful to think about how you’d like to be remembered. What would you like to be admired for – or who do you admire – and for what?

How well are you living your values?

6. What do you want your legacy to be? What impact do you want to make in the rest of your life?

What would you like to be remembered for? Who do you admire – and for what? These questions contain clues that will help you begin to think about this important question.

7. Which area(s) of your life will be your major focus?

If you could put one problem behind you, what would it be? Where do you want a breakthrough? What would make the biggest difference in your life?

8. What’s next?

Whether or not you answered every question in detail, allowing yourself time to reflect is a rejuvenating process that will help you have a deeper sense of who you are and your purpose. From that place of clarity, you will find it much easier to create a future that is uniquely rewarding for you.

Most people know the steps to take to succeed at common challenges. If you want to lose weight, you know you need to eat less and focus on nutritionally dense fools, and exercise. Or to find a new job: get clear on what you want, and present yourself to employers as willing and able to solve their problems.

This site is full of articles that explain, in detail, how to conduct an effective job search.

For most people the problem isn’t in knowing what to do, but in actually doing it.

Where people get stuck is in knowing how to customize general advice to your needs, make doable plans, overcome inner obstacles, and accept and learn to work with your own style for implementing change.

Create Your Action Plan

Start your step-by-step action plan by identifying as many steps toward your goal as you can and then put them in time order.

For example if your goal involves becoming effective at job search networking your list might look something like:

• Compile a data base of everyone you know
• Identify what keeps you from networking.
• Write your 90-second elevator speech.
• Schedule two information interviews every week.
• Join a professional association
• Attend at least one networking event every week.
• Keep your network updated on your progress.

Next, add more and more small steps the closer you get to present time is key.

Based on past research scientists assumed that people learn more slowly as they age.

Recent research finds that when older people break up tasks into smaller bits, and work incrementally, step-by-step, they accomplish much more.

For example, can you compile a database of everyone you know right now? If not, what do you need to do first? Choose a database? What do you need to know or do to choose a database? And so on, until the steps are specific and small enough that you can take action without resistance.

Then, schedule the steps in your calendar. When you are feeling resistant – which you will – taking the smallest action toward your goal will build your confidence.

•   Neutralize Negativity

When you begin working toward your goals motivation and will power tends to be highest. You think thoughts like, ‘I’ve started! I can do this’ and brush aside fears and negative thoughts.

But as time goes on and you’re tired, or bored, when you’re stressed or dealing with rejection, it becomes harder to stay motivated. That’s when the 3 S’s: self-understanding, support, and structure come in to help you stay the course.

•   Increase Self-Understanding  

Write a list of all of the ways reaching your goal will benefit you (and the people you care about). Include concrete results, “I’ll be able to pay off the mortgage” and also how you’ll feel. Post the list where you can see it frequently, and also make the list portable for on-the-go doses of motivation. You could write the list on 3X5 cards or input it into an online daily reminder.

Whether or not it is true that change becomes harder as you get older, you’ve certainly lived longer and had more opportunity to try and fail and grow scar tissue.

Experience can become a stumbling block if it means looking back and dwelling on what didn’t work in the past.

Trying something new, or a new approach to something you’ve been unsuccessful at in the past, means opening yourself up and experiencing vulnerability.

One method to help you prepare is to answer the following questions:

• What is your history with this goal? Did you go to a networking event and freeze when you were asked to stand up and introduce yourself? Did you try networking many times without getting leads or introductions?
• What do you tell yourself to explain this experience? “Networking doesn’t work for me.” “This is futile.”
• What will you tell yourself instead? “Up to now networking hasn’t worked for me.” “I can learn how to get better results networking.”
• What actions will you take in the future to change those results? Taking a workshop about job search networking? Reading networking tips? Practicing introducing yourself in front of a mirror or with a friend?

  More small steps!  

This article focused on how to lay the ground for success. These are all actions you can do on your own to clarify your goals, develop an action plan and motivate yourself to move into action.

Your Personal Professional Success Plan:

• Part 1: Goal Setting
• Part 2: Maintaining Momentum

More About Fifty Plus Job Search

• Beating the “Too Old” Bias: Being Visibly Up-to-Date
• Beating the “Too Old” Bias, Learning New Skills
• 5 Ways You Look Out of Date in Your Job Search
• Professional Success Plan, Part 2: Maintaining Momentum
• Job Search Advantages of Being Over 50
• Find Part-Time Jobs with Benefits

About the author…

Phyllis Mufson is a career / business consultant and a certified life coach with over 25 years of experience. She has helped hundreds of clients successfully navigate career transitions. You can learn more about Phyllis and her practice at PhyllisMufson and follow Phyllis on Twitter @PhyllisMufson.
More about this author…

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You bet it does, but so do many other forms of discrimination found in the workplace environment: gender, education, ethnic origins, weight, and more.

But should it stop you from doing your best in your job search? Of course not!

Do you deserve to get the best job possible to meet your skills and experience? Of course you do!

Here are three proactive suggestions to help foil those annoying age discrimination thoughts that may stand in the way of your success.

1. Believe you are capable of succeeding. Focus on your past successes, skills, and experience and not your age.

How you want others to see you depends first on how you see yourself. You are in control of your self-perceptions, not others.

Joan, 69, who was looking for a part-time job near her home after working in her previous job for 30 years, told me, “I know I’m older than the others, but why shouldn’t they want to hire me? I’m really good at what I do. I have years of experience keeping the numbers straight and balancing the books and am current in the latest technology.”

“I’m good!” she exclaimed.

Joan landed a job in 3 months.

Do you project confidence in your own skills and abilities?

2. Focus on your resources, strengths, and talents to determine how they can fit into an industry or position different from your last experience.

You may feel that your skills can only be applied to your previous industry or job and don’t feel you can work in another industry or position.

Do your research to discover what the organization needs and show how your skills and experience are transferable and are just what they are looking for.

John worked for 20 years in an industry that was retrenching.

When he would apply for a job he would list the needs of the company in one column and create a description in a corresponding column of how his experiences were transferable and matched each skill they were seeking.

He was able to convince a hiring manager that he was a great candidate for a totally different job that his previous one by emphasizing how his previous job skills fit exactly the skills needed for the current opening.

He got the job.

Are you able to identify and promote your transferable skills?

3. Emphasize your strengths, skills, and experience in a concise, positioning statement based on what the organization needs — NOT based on everything you have done in the past.

Remember you may have a wonderful long job history, but the employer you are targeting may not be interested in many of your past skills or accomplishments, even if you are really proud of them. Only tell them what they want to hear – what you know and have done that applies to their situation. After all they will be paying you to meet their needs and get their job done.

Let them know how you can help. Don’t assume they will see for themselves – looking at your extensive work history – how you can help them succeed. It’s just not likely.

You have to tell them what they want to hear – how you will apply your relevant skills and experience to help them.

Do you have a clear, concise positioning statement that demonstrates you are the best candidate to help them meet their needs?

Don’t be a victim and fall prey to believing the myths about older workers. Remember you are in charge of how you want others to see you.

Bottom Line

Know what you have to offer based on what the organization needs. Show them you are confident and enthusiastic, that you are the best candidate. Do your best. You may not get the job you want initially, but you will certainly be on the right track toward a successful job search.

About the author…

With a Master’s degree in Vocational Counseling, Boomer Renée Lee Rosenberg, MA, is a specialist in vocational counseling, career management, job search, and retirement. Renée is also a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with over 25 years of experience helping individuals navigate career change, cope with stress, and achieve successful outcomes and a Certified Five O’Clock Club coach for over 20 years. For more information about Renée, visit her websites RetirementTutor.com and PositivityPro.com. You can also find her Profile on LinkedIn, send her an email at renee@retirementutor.com, or call her office at (212) 924-2117.
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