How Age & Experience Can Help You Land A Job
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A plethora of articles are written about the value of boomers looking younger and behaving more youthfully to succeed in the perceived (and sometimes very real) youth culture of job search.



This runs the gamut from dressing more hip, brightening dreary hair, honing your tech savvy, and going from flabby to fit. Many of these tips are crucial to remaining competitive in a particularly tough job market.



Unfortunately, this drumbeat often skews the reality. In fact, there are several characteristics age and experience give you that help you in your job search:



1. Forward-Looking. Many ‘older workers’ are ahead of the curve with or without the unending advice. They are leading the way with fit, futuristic attitudes, current training and skills in technology and social media. As a bonus, they offer a sea of experience that surpasses many of their younger colleagues.



2. Vital. Many are also as physically fit and energetic as their Gen-Y colleagues – if not more – running 5Ks, participating in marathons or trimming body fat and enlivening their attitude through vigorous weightlifting routines. They are motivated to maintain their health and vitality on many levels.



3. Modernistic. As a matter of fact, experienced, action-focused leaders are at the helm of turnaround leadership, tsunamic change and culture shifts that require they be upending their own knowledge – as well as that of their teams – in rapid-fire speed. This urgent, lean and uber-competitive business landscape naturally weans out the slackards, slow learners and low-energy drags and pulls to the front highly focused and inspired competitors.



4. Strategic. Being a great competitor often requires strategy, and strategy often leans on a deep resource pool of (years of) experience and real-life case study scenarios from which to draw. While stories of ambitious high school or college graduates grabbing the golden rung of financial and entrepreneurial success at a tender young age abound, the reality is success is the fruit of a laborious path of hard work, experience and a dash of luck. Many of the top-talent is still like fine wine that has been aged, over time, to a more robust result.



5. Sophisticated. In fact, companies offering sophisticated products and services often rely upon mature and worldly candidates to market, sell or operate their business solutions. Moreover, older adults who have endured the concept to conclusion of a corporate transformation often are tapped for roles requiring calm amidst chaos and patience to untangle complexity. They have proven they can help steer a slow-moving ship back on course.



While the value of older workers continues to be debated, the facts remain that the value of experience and the stories that fuel that experience are compelling. If you are a more mature, boomer worker worn down by the constant drumbeat that younger is better, consider a paradigm shift. Get to know your stories better and how to articulate them powerfully and succinctly to your target audience. Believe in your wise value.