CVtrumpet Career Services
And News
One of the more typical questions we get asked looks at age and experience
in the job searching process.
On the one hand we get some people mentioning that they're over 50/55, they're not getting interviews and they wonder if we can still help.
We also get emails from those who only have a few years of relevant experience
looking to move up to the next level.
According to the latest findings from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI),
(produced by Cranfield School of Management), age discrimination remains
rife in the UK workplace.
A quarter of respondents to their survey were aware of a current policy or practice within their organisation that could be perceived as discriminating on the basis of age.
Respondents which included HR professionals and senior managers admitted to still having stereotypical views of older and younger workers.
Older workers were seen as having wide experience, being loyal, having better
time keeping and being interested in having a work-life balance.
Younger workers were seen as open to new ideas and ambitious but inexperienced and not likely to stay in the job long.
In most organisations the elimination of age discrimination was sponsored by the HR department (61%), followed by the Board or CEO (27%). Only a fifth of responding organisations had a project or
task group on age.
Dr Emma Parry, Research Fellow at Cranfield School of Management,
said:
“The research shows a lack of commitment at senior management and board level to stamp out ageism in the workplace....”
The challenge with this type of research is that it is easy for some people to use it as their "story".
It becomes an excuse for not taking action and getting you and your CV out there to make new connections.
In many cases our own expectations help to shape reality. The person who during the interview thinks "I'm too old/young, they're not going to hire me" is probably right. As they begin to focus on themselves and not on answering the questions effectively, you can guess what happens.
Compare that to someone who has the approach of "I am valuable, I can perform well in the role, I am the solution to their hiring need."
In the interview they focus on listening and answering the questions effectively. They show the interviewer how they can add value to the organisation, rather than be concerned about being discriminated against.
How we use the findings of the survey is up to us. We could give in and let discrimination become our story.
Or alternatively, do we use the findings as a motivator by working 33%+ harder at landing our next role, knowing that the extra effort will enable us to blast right through the effects of any discrimination that's out there.
The only real way to find out what really works is to test it. So for 4 weeks let's forget about discrimination in all its forms and move forward with a different approach.
Let's drop any other beliefs that may be limiting taking action and replace them with beliefs that empower, rather than dis-empower.
How about going for each job application and every interview with the focus on being the solution to the company's hiring need, rather than focusing on factors that we cannot control or change.
How about believing that we can, and letting it show in the interview and in each job application.
And to those that have written in recently on this subject, remember that massive, intelligent action is the solution to so much.
"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
"We are made to persist. That's how we
find out who we are."
Tobias Wolff, 'In Pharaoh's Army'
How Recruiters Find You
We’ve touched on this before, today though I’d like to take a look at the methods recruiters are using to find you in 2009.
By getting to know how recruiters find you, you can target your job searching time more appropriately and find your next position faster.
A 2009 survey overviews the main methods recruiters use (source: Execunet) to search for you. Each executive recruiter was asked what his or her main method was for finding candidates.
The survey results may surprise you:
Networking -- 37%
Firm's Own Database -- 30%
Online Job Posting -- 15%
Online Research/Public Databases -- 10%
Mining Target Companies -- 8%
Advertising -- 3%
If you look at how people job search, you get almost the exact opposite of how recruiters look for candidates.
Candidates tend to spend most of their time responding to offline and online job ads. Yet these methods, although used by recruiters to find you, aren't the main methods they use. Only 18% of recruiters state job posting or advertising as the main method of finding you.
This is why job searches can take so long – there’s a disconnect between how recruiters find you and how you look for that next job. This is shown by the average amount of time the job search takes (source: Execunet).
The average time executives had spent searching for their next job was just over 5 months. To add to this though, the average amount of time executives expected their job search to continue was another 5.2 months. This makes it a total of over 10 months for the average executive job search.
The purpose of building CVtrumpet was to change this and enable you to get your CV out to large number of pre-screened recruiters who recruit for your market in just a couple of minutes, rather than several months.
If we look at the top two methods that recruiters use to find you, CVtrumpet enables you to network with recruiters by letting them know that you are on the market and what your skills are. You also get on each firm's radar for future positions.
