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May 26, 2009 CONTENTS Get help with your subscription. Or share your feedback. This newsletter is Copyright (c) 2009 North Bridge Group, Inc. Please respect that or meet our lawyers. Copying, posting on newsgroups, re-distributing, re-printing, and re-publishing are prohibited. However, you can purchase a license to use this content legally. Just ask. Ask The Headhunter features are available for newspaper syndication through our good buddies at Universal Press Syndicate. Learn more: Nick's book Ask The Headhunter is always for sale. Want your newsletter to be narrower for easier reading? Just drag the edge of the window!
Comments from readers "I get really irritated at the job advice columnists whose basic message is, ''Shut up and be willing to do whatever it takes to keep that soul-numbing job for the next 30 years.' We all only have one life to live. I think people often forget that. I like how you advise people to be really thoughtful about their job search process and honest with themselves and their employer from the start. Everyone ends up better off all around that way. Your column has been the most helpful of all career advice columns I've ever read." Kay Davis Oh, Yeah! I love success stories, thank you's, and examples of how Ask The Headhunter worked for you. Don't hold back: Please share your comments. | | The Book "Ask The Headhunter is fantastic! Over the last ten years, I've sat on both sides of the hiring manager/interviewee dialog. I've seen no other book that even comes close to telling it like it really is. No one has packed more useful, sensible information into a single source" Michael Heckman |
Celebrating 300 editions! Last week marked the 300th edition of the Ask The Headhunter Newsletter! I asked you, What's your favorite "golden oldie" topic or edition? The topic most in demand is about golden oldies: How older workers can get past age discrimination in the job search! So I dug into the archive and found this week's Q&A, which originally ran on March 14, 2006. It's based on an article titled Too Old to Rock & Roll?, which is referenced at the end. (That's a golden oldie, too!) If you're not so old, remember that you will be. This is perhaps the age-old topic that is — and will be — relevant to everyone. Hope you enjoy it! | | Land the Tech Job You Love Tech folks are a big part of the Ask The Headhunter audience. That's how I met Andy Lester ( The Working Geek) — talking tech. Andy has written a software manual that teaches techies how to Land the Tech Job You Love. Done up with style and insight that speaks clearly to programmers and other technical folks, this must-read manual about life and work shows you how to design, code, debug and run a successful career. I love this book! |
This Week's Q&A From the Archive:
Age discrimination or age anxiety? Question I am 51 years old and just got caught in a layoff. I am going to pursue new employment starting next week. I have 20 years of management experience, and I know I have a lot to offer any company in my industry. The only thing that worries me is my age. You hear so many stories about talented people my age being discriminated against. Do I have a problem, or is it in my head? Thanks. Nick's Reply There is no doubt that bigotry and discrimination thrive in the dirty little corners of the corporate world. But if there is age anxiety in your own mind, that's far more dangerous to your career. Don't approach an interview thinking about your age. Expect that a company wants you for the profit you can create. Then, if a business rejects you, all you're walking away from is a lousy company. Some employers will discriminate over age; some won't. The best way to influence them is to walk in the door, having done your homework, and show how you're going to help them improve their bottom line. I cover this simple idea so often that I fear people will get tired of it. But this is especially important if you're concerned about discrimination, because one thing trumps bigotry: Money. Show a company that you will help it make more money, and you will get almost any manager's attention. Let the manager smell your worries about your age, and you're toast. She'll make the safe assumption that your worries reveal insecurity which in turn will ruin her business. Except in the case of a rotten-to-the-core bigot, most managers will see past "the grey" if you show them the green — money, profit, success. They will forget their prejudices and sing your praises if you can make them look good to their own bosses. I can't overemphasize this: If your mind is on your age, your behavior will never communicate profit. I think there are two kinds of managers: Rats who discriminate, and perfectly good bosses who may nonetheless discriminate if you encourage them. Older job candidates themselves encourage discrimination when they show their age anxiety, though they deny it even to themselves. Fear or insecurity of any kind comes through in a job interview. As soon as a manager thinks you're worried about your age, she instantly worries, too — and for good reason. It's reasonable to conclude that your worries will affect your work. That's how older candidates encourage discrimination without realizing it. So, what can you do? Beat your own worries. Start any interview by focusing on how you can help the manager succeed. Immediately ask what the manager's objectives are with respect to revenue, cost reduction, efficiency, problem-solving, and profit production. (It's all about profit, no matter what you call it.) Then ask, "May I show you how I can help you solve that problem or tackle that challenge?" (You should already have an idea about this and be ready with a short presentation. If you don't, you don't belong in the interview. Hey, I didn't say this was easy.) Here's what one Ask The Headhunter reader wrote to me: "I am a 63-year old woman, nothing special, with a degree in English and 20 years of progressive experience. I was suddenly outsourced from a job I loved and intended to retire from. After nine months of researching companies, training myself in The Four Questions, and working hard to "do the job in the interview," I have -- again, at age 63 -- been hired into a Fortune 500 company. I have faced the job search at an advanced age and successfully defeated the age anxiety."As you already suspect, to some extent it's "in your head." Don't focus on your age, and you'll find that many companies won't, either. Even if the employer seems stuck on age, it's your mission to give her something more important to grab onto. Defeat age anxiety, and you'll survive most age discrimination. (There's more on this in Too Old to Rock & Roll?) Best, Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter® Have a question? Ask away. Each week I'll publish a Q&A that I think readers will find helpful. I will not publish your name if you submit a question through this link. Please see terms of submission below. Sorry, I cannot answer questions privately. Please do not send me resumes; I won't read them.
How to Say It Pay me more! A reader submitted this story... How to Say It: My brother was interviewing for a job as a draftsman. The interview went well and though the job was offered at $10/hr the interviewer said, "Let's start you off at $8/hr and in a month if you work out we'll bump you up to $10/hr." This is how my brother replied: "Let's do this, start me off at $10/hr and in a month if you don't like my work you fire me." They hired him. Nick: That's how to say it!
Readers' Forum Whistleblower's dilemma: Tons of advice! Last week's Forum topic drew so many good responses from readers that I realized I could never do justice to it by publishing just one or two of your submissions in the newsletter. So I've posted 9 thought-provoking suggestions on the blog, where you may add even more! If the Forum continues to stimulate your comments like this, I'll continue to use the blog to open topics up for further discussion. Got a new topic? Something to get off your chest? Something you'd like to get input about from other readers? Send it here.
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