Last night I watched the story of mogul skier Alexandre Bilodeau who won the gold medal for Canada on Sunday. He credits his older brother who has cerebral palsy for inspiring him and keeping him driven and focused on his goal. Doctors told his family that his brother would no longer be able to walk past the age of ten, but at age 28 his brother can still walk. So each day when Bilodeau thinks about the training challenges in front of him, he pauses for a moment and thinks of the challenges his brother faces every day, how he has overcome them, and how he continues to beat the odds.

What if job seekers could adopt this Olympic-winner attitude and create internal “tapes” to motivate them and move past their challenges? Perhaps then the setbacks they face would seem manageable and the hope would stay alive. Here are some positive messages job seekers should be sending themselves on a regular basis.

1. I will maintain a healthy life style so I can manage my search at an optimal performance level.
2. I will challenge myself to reach out to new people who may be able to help me with my search.
3. I will accept the help of friends and family during this difficult time even if it makes me a bit uncomfortable.
4. I will seek out coaches and mentors who can help me move closer to my goal.
5. I will put in the time necessary to research potential employers and market myself directly to them.
6. I will examine my resume and other personal marketing collateral to make sure they are the best they can be.
7. I will celebrate the victory of landing an interview, even if I don’t ultimately get the job.
8. I will not blame external factors for my situation.
9. I will be a good team member and support others in their job search when I can.
10. I will regularly envision the end goal of landing my new job.

Some days it’s hard for an athlete to muster up the motivation for the grueling training session ahead of him. Likewise,  some days it’s hard for a job seeker to stay motivated in a challenging market. Positive self-talk can help. So does keeping your eye on the gold. Let the games begin!

Last year I went on multiple interviews for six different consulting assignments. It’s kind of strange to go on interviews when your profession revolves around teaching others how to interview. It’s often a humbling experience and sometimes I don’t even take my own advice. I thought I was perfect for each of these roles. But my definition of perfect didn’t always jive with the hiring manager’s. My skills were never in question, however, there are a lot of circumstances that affect the hiring manager’s decision besides competency. Sometimes I couldn’t see past those obstacles. Here are a few of the tapes that were playing in my head as I interviewed for different positions. Do any of these sound like you?

1. I should be a shoo-in. The first position sounded perfect. The organization was looking for someone to do job search training with a focus on social media tools. No one in their current organization had any knowledge on how to leverage these tools in a job search and I had many stories of success to prove my expertise in this area. I went though multiple interviews and everyone assured me that the final interview with the CEO was just a formality. And while I hit it off with everyone, the company decided to go in a different direction shortly thereafter and there never was an offer. I guess I didn’t fit in with the company’s rebranding strategy.
2. I’m a quick learner. This opportunity had me both excited and neurotic for a good month. The project was a huge undertaking and had the potential to catapult me to a new level professionally. My credentials and track record as a career professional moved me into the final round of interviews. But I had never done exactly what the employer wanted me to do and didn’t have an existing infrastructure to support it. And even though I’d mapped out every nuance of every operational scenario, in the end it wasn’t enough to convince the hiring authority that I was the right person to come in and hit the ground running.
3. I’m perfect for this role…with a few minor adjustments. Next I interviewed for a role that played to all of my strengths…resume writing, coaching, training…it looked like a “no brainer” to me. But the hiring manager was looking for a greater time commitment than I could offer. I tried to massage the position to give him what he needed in a compressed time frame but that just didn’t work with his company’s corporate culture.
4. Of course you’ll hire me…you really need me. The next opportunity was to do some operational consulting and service delivery for a firm that was branching out in a new direction that involved career services. The business model sounded perfect and I thought I was surely the right person to help bring the new service to fruition. But the sales team quickly realized that the sales cycle for the product will take much longer than their original predictions, so I’m still waiting for my first assignment to materialize.
5. I know I don’t look like what you are used to…so what’s the problem? Next I was interviewed by a CEO to deliver a fairly large service contract. At the same time he was interviewing professionals from Fortune 500 firms.  He couldn’t get past the fact that my business was a boutique firm and he decided he was more comfortable with a bigger name firm.
6. I can do this job and I can prove it to you. The last opportunity was to blog on jobs and careers for a major online site.  Sure, I had my standard resume to prove my knowledge base, but what won me the job was my blog. My blog was the most authentic example of what I can do. It proved I had the technical chops for the job but more importantly it proved my commitment and passion. I was a fit. I started blogging for AOL Jobs and Careers in December. It’s a good fit and I’m really enjoying it. It was well worth the wait.

It is rare these days to have an interview process that is straightforward and linear. What looks like a slam dunk often isn’t and what you thought was the gig of your dreams might not really be the right fit at the moment. View each interview as a learning experience and practice for the next interview. Forget about being liked by everyone…it’s not about being liked…it’s about fitting in. And if you don’t get the job, there may be a good reason why, even if you can’t see it right away. The right job will come…and both you and the employer will know it when it happens.

Everyone’s starting to talk about their New Year’s resolutions…lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, get out of debt, and find a new job are the ones I hear most frequently. And while I think that New Year’s resolutions are a great idea in theory, I think that a lot of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions because often the only criteria motivating the person to make the resolution is the time of year.

This year I made several really big changes in my life. Yet none of them happened overnight. Some took months to make, others took years, and one took more than a decade to come to terms with. But none of them were motivated by the time of year. They were motivated by a feeling that I could no longer continue in a situation under the current circumstances or by the fact that I wanted something and I wanted it sooner rather than later. Basically, my desire to change a situation was greater than my desire not to change it. There really wasn’t an “aha moment” or even a calculated plan in many cases…the changes happened because in my mind, they had to at one point or another.

The other thing about my changes was that few of them went smoothly and most had a “one step forward, two steps back” feel to them. But I was able to persevere because I didn’t link the changes to a time frame. With New Year’s resolutions, people often link them to a time frame and if the person can’t follow the timeline, they frequently abandon the new behavior before they can see the true results of their efforts.

So if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to find a new job, here are some suggestions for forgetting about the time of year and instead focusing on the long term change.

1. Don’t declare a New Year’s resolution; instead set a long-term goal with some interim milestones. If you know you would like to change jobs at some point in time or land a job as quickly as possible, commit to 5 things you could do over the next month to move towards that goal. That may mean setting up informational interviews, joining a professional association, becoming more active on social media sites, or starting your own job search group. Do something to move you closer to your goal.
2. Don’t create a defined time frame for achieving the goal. Forget the formulas about how long a typical job search lasts. There is no such thing as a typical job search. Think about nurturing existing relationships and building new ones to gather information, extend your professional visibility, and secure more interviews. Build relationships whenever you can…graciously accept a meeting whether it will occur next week or next month.
3. Don’t reset the clock when your progress towards your goal feels stagnant. Some weeks your search will feel like you are slogging through mud or sinking in quicksand. Other weeks will be more fruitful. A slow week doesn’t mean the market has tanked or everyone must be on vacation. Don’t give up during the slow times; instead use the downtime to focus on other aspects of your search such as improving your resume or creating a target list of companies to explore…keep on keeping on.
4. Don’t blame external factors for your inability to change; look inward to figure out why you can’t change just yet. It’s easy to blame a bad economy for your lack of progress. But often it’s our own insecurities that hold us back. Even when people want to find a new job or land a job when they don’t have one, it can still be hard. Maybe it’s fear of rejection, apprehension about taking a risk, or a feeling that maybe the grass really isn’t greener on the other side. It’s ok (and normal) to have these feelings. Explore them, deal with them and make decisions as to whether your desire to change exceeds these feelings at this point in time.
5. Cut yourself some slack if you don’t reach your goal as quickly as you would like to. We are all impatient at times. Yet the job market often doesn’t take this into account. In an employer’s market, searches tend to last a long time and it’s not unusual to go through several rounds of interviews over several months before a hiring decision is made. You can’t control every aspect of your search. Focus on what you can control and recognize that things might take longer than you would like.

Forget the one time resolution on January 1. Instead focus on contributing something towards your career each and every day…that’s what career management is all about. To your success in 2010 and beyond!

My son is getting braces. In order to prepare for the braces, he first needs to wear a special “appliance” to realign his jaw. When you look in his mouth it looks like he has four giant screws in the back, all in different places. Each time he closes his mouth he must push his jaw forward in order to have the desired effect. As you can imagine, this makes chewing quite cumbersome. On the first day he could only eat soup and jello. Today he has moved on to mashed potatoes. And by the end of the week we are told that he will have figured out how to chew more solid foods.

I think that when people find themselves in a job search after many years of being comfortable in a job, they have a similar relearning process and nothing comes easy at first. The old methods of job search don’t work the same way anymore and job seekers need to work around more obstacles to find the right leads. Here are some ideas to chew on (pun intended) as you create a direction for your job search.

1. Take a bite out of that old resume. Examine the content of your resume closely. If there is information on it that is dated or irrelevant to your target audience, get rid of it.
2. Sink your teeth into networking. Building relationships takes time. Do something for your network everyday so the task is less overwhelming and more productive. Set attainable goals to schedule coffee with a colleague or lunch with an old friend. Be consistent and purposeful and remember to approach networking with a “give more than you get” attitude.
3. Get a taste of social media. Dabble in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and create profiles on Google and Zoom Info. Be part of the conversation and share expertise, ideas, musings, and your experiences.
4. Explore the different flavors of interview questions. Practice responses to behavior based interview questions such as tell me about yourself, tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision, or tell me about a project that failed and what you learned from it. Interview questions come in all flavors…some are about positive experiences and some are about difficult situations you faced…learn how to answer all of them with confidence.

The “appliance” in my son’s mouth is an obstacle right now. But he will overcome it…the kid’s gotta eat! Job seekers face obstacles everyday. But with some thought, preparation, and a commitment to do things differently they can overcome these obstacles and savor the taste of a sweet new job.

This weekend I attended a workshop on story telling facilitated by a company called Narativ. During the workshop, I learned how to tell a better story and be a better listener.

One of the most memorable exercises of the day was when each person in the group was asked to tell a story about one of their grandparents, told through the voice of that grandparent. It was somewhat challenging at first…having to piece together memories that are somewhat hazy now that these people are no longer with me. We were asked to speak for several minutes and I wasn’t sure I would have enough to say. I’m sure others in the group felt the same way. But I think we were all surprised by how vivid our memories were and the strong emotions that came out when we told our stories.

There were fascinating stories about grandparents who were immigrants and others impacted by the Great Depression. There were stories of incredible opportunity and incredible loss. And in each story there was humor, intrigue, and drama…every story was moving and memorable.

What I gleaned from these stories is that what made them memorable were the details. Some storytellers used descriptive words or imagery to make a certain fact stand out; others used quotes that the grandparent had actually coined, and still others referenced historical events, religion, geography, and favorite family foods to help the listeners feel that they were truly in the presence of these grandparents.

I started thinking about how job seekers can learn to tell more compelling interview stories by drawing parallels between their family stories and their work stories. A person’s family history is unique, compelling, and often something people communicate about with passion. Career stories can be equally unique, compelling, and passionate. Here are a few things to consider when creating your stories for answering interview questions.

1. Personalization equals passion. A great story of success to showcase during an interview is one that proves your passion. To simply state that you are passionate about building strong sales teams or creating technology infrastructures would sound cliche. But communicating a story about a time that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into a project to get it done on time and on budget would be an authentic and more interesting way to tell your story and make hiring managers feel confident that you could create similar experiences in their organization.
2. Everyone has a story. So many job seekers think they have nothing unique to say. “I just did my job; I didn’t do anything special” is one of the statements I hear most frequently from job seekers trying to prove the impact of their work. But like your family history, your work history is unique to you. Try to focus on how you did your job effectively and what you do differently than your colleagues or your predecessors in the position.
3. The specifics of the story are more important than the general facts. I don’t remember all the facts or the time line of every grandparent story I heard this weekend. But for each story I heard, I remember several snippets that best describe that grandparent  and even offer clues to their values and way of life. In interviews, most people think they should talk about their skills in general terms, but it is the specific examples of success and the specific metrics behind those stories that prove your impact that the interviewer will remember.
4. A personal story can represent a universal feeling or experience. All the grandparent stories I heard were quite different. Yet there were common themes of family, community, love, and loss that everyone could relate to. When you interview, you are attempting to find common ground with the interviewer. You are trying to develop rapport by proving that the things you have achieved in your past positions will help improve their current work environment.

My grandparent story was about my maternal grandfather, Pat. He and my grandmother were married for 60 years and were first generation Americans living in a small town in Pennsylvania famous for its busy train station, Horseshoe Curve, and Malamar cookies. My grandfather taught me how to hit a baseball. He wrote the letter “e” in a special way that I had never seen before that I copied and still use to this day. He loved watermelon with salt (yuck!) and my grandmother’s apple pies. There is a lot more to his story, but you can see how the little details can make the story memorable. So what’s your story and how can you be memorable to employers?

I’m having a piano delivered to my house. Arranging for a piano delivery is no small feat.  Besides making arrangements with the showroom, I had to coordinate the insurance with my apartment building’s managing agent and figure out if the piano would fit in my elevator. Delivering a baby seemed to be much easier than this ordeal.

The delivery was scheduled for tomorrow, yet the piano showed up at my house today. It seems that the employee from the piano showroom missed one minor detail…recording and communicating the correct delivery date to the movers. The piano arrived just as I was leaving my house for a meeting, so I had to refuse delivery and send the piano back to the showroom.

Ok, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. But in some situations you are going to be judged more harshly than others. If a delivery of new sheets or towels showed up on the wrong day, I might not have given it a second thought. But it’s hard to shrug off the fact that a 450 lb piano showed up on my doorstep unannounced. And even if the employee at the showroom is the employee of the year every year and is frequently praised for her attention to detail, to me she will always be “the lady who delivered a piano to my house on the wrong day.”

Job search is a situation where your actions are under a microscope. Errors that might be passed over in your day to day work are scrutinized much more diligently when hiring managers are reviewing applicants. When you start the job search process, an employer doesn’t know you and they don’t trust you yet. They don’t know if you are competent to do the job so each of your interactions with them either builds that trust or destroys it. Here are a few errors that job seekers often make and are frequently judged by.

• Resume typos…It’s very rare that I receive an email without a typo. And I see typos on websites and blogs all the time. And it doesn’t really color my opinion of that person. But in job search, typos on the resume make a red flag go up for many hiring managers. The concern is that if the applicant wasn’t detail-oriented enough to catch the typos in their resume, they may make other, more costly errors for the company.
• Fashion Faux-pas…Everyone has showed up at work at some point in time in some outfit that was far from flattering, too casual, inconsistent with the company’s corporate culture, or even offensive. In most cases the fashion faux-pas becomes fodder for the water cooler for a day or two and then just goes away. But on an interview, the candidate quickly turns into “the applicant in the fishnet stockings” or “the guy with the really bad tie” and again a judgement is passed. The concern is that based on the applicant’s dress they won’t fit in with the company’s culture or perhaps lack sound judgement in other areas.
• Arriving late to the interview… Just about everyone has been late to work at one time or another.  And unless it becomes a chronic issue, it is generally accepted and not a big deal. But on an interview, arriving late can signal to a hiring manager that you are not reliable or dependable or that you don’t manage your time well.
• Electronic whoops…We’ve all been in situations where someone’s cell phone rings during a presentation or important meeting. And maybe it’s a bit embarrassing but it’s quickly forgotten. However, if your phone rings during an interview, the interviewer notices and may pass a judgement about you or even your consideration of others.

When you apply for a job, you are a lot like a 450 lb piano. Everything you do is obvious. Everything you do gets noticed. And little errors in your job search strategy can quickly turn into detrimental ones. The person who arranged for my piano delivery should have checked and double checked the delivery date…because it’s a piano. Job seekers need to check and recheck all the little details that go into an effective job search…because it’s your career. Both are really big things that you don’t want to screw up.

I’m excited to announce that my second book, #JobSearchTweet will be released shortly. The book delivers 140 tweet-like tips on just about every aspect of job search. It’s a book that you can read quickly but continue to reference for the duration of your career. Resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, references, recruiters, networking, social media, interviewing, and salary negotiation are all addressed. Here’s a sneak peak at a few of the tweets.

• When writing a resume, include graduation dates; omitting them raises suspicion and calls more attention to the very thing you are trying to hide.
• Half of hiring managers read cover letters and the other half do not; but you never know which half you are dealing with so always send one when applying for an open position.
• Have a phone interview? Sit in front of a mirror to anchor you during the conversation and make you feel like you are talking to someone (even if that someone is yourself!)
• When networking, ask people you meet a lot of questions about themselves. People think you are a great conversationalist when you let them do most of the talking.
• With traditional networking you can only be in one place at a time; with online networking you can be interacting in multiple communities simultaneously.
• The negotiation process begins the moment you submit your resume and continues until the offer is finalized. You can’t position yourself at one level on the resume and expect to be compensated at a higher level later on.

Interested in the other 134 tweets? Learn more about the book here and for more job search tips follow the #jobsearchtweet hashtag on Twitter.

My daughter is addicted to the musical comedy Glee and I’ve started to become a fan myself. Last week, two students on the show competed in the school’s first “Diva-off” and the competition required that they sing the song Defying Gravity from the Broadway show Wicked. Since watching the show, I can’t seem to get the song out of my head and I’ve been thinking about the importance of defying gravity in a job search ever since.

I think that everyone who is in a job search has to defy gravity in order to gain traction, particularly in a competitive job market such as the one we are facing right now. You need to take a leap of faith, step outside your comfort zone, and do things differently. Because techniques that worked during your last job search might not work today. So here are my five gravity defying recommendations to help you take that leap and still land safely.

• Don’t pull out your most recent resume, slap on your last position, and call that an update. Stop treating your resume like another piece of paper that needs to be in your briefcase when you start interviewing and start acknowledging it for what it is…a marketing tool and advertisement for “brand you”. Forget about what you think are the rules around resume writing…I have news for you…there really aren’t any. The goal is to make a powerful and memorable impression…quickly…and with whatever it takes. This can be achieved by communicating your impact on the organizations you have supported and it can be proven with stories, visuals, case studies, testimonials, or links to podcasts, whitepapers, and even YouTube videos. Resumes that read like job descriptions won’t cut it…they will never defy gravity, but instead will fall flat with the hiring manager.

• Get off the job boards. Job boards cater to the most complacent of job seekers. The ones who expect the jobs to come to them. The ones who think that if they throw enough resumes against the job board wall, one of them is bound to stick. But it doesn’t really work that way. Because the person on the other side of that job board is getting resumes hurled at them much faster than they can catch them. So they are forced to use applicant tracking software to parse the data in your resume and reduce its substance down to a few keywords. And keywords don’t really communicate success. In addition, while that hiring manager is trying to field all the applicants from the job boards, they are also building relationships via other channels. And let’s face it; if someone they know introduces them to a candidate, there is a much greater likelihood that they will check out that candidate first and actually look at their resume while the applicant tracking system does all the grunt work parsing data on the other 500 applicants. Which set of eyes would you rather be in front of…the human eye or the computer one?

• Don’t expect a recruiter to find you your next job. Even a recruiter will tell you that you are more likely to find your next position through a connection than through them. Just because you found your last job via a recruiter, it doesn’t mean you will land your next job the same way. Recruiters are inundated with prospects but don’t necessarily have the inventory of job openings to match the demand. Build your network by becoming an active member of professional and personal communities to extend your visibility and circle of influence. Break away from a reliance on recruiters and start making things happen on your own.

• Don’t turn your back on social media. I’ve heard all the excuses…If you don’t think that social media is relevant to you in a job search, watch how quickly you become irrelevant to the many decision makers using it to find top talent. Dip your toe in the social media water, start some conversations, support others, and learn how to protect your privacy to alleviate any concerns you have about using these tools.

• Don’t purchase a book on interviewing and expect to interview well. Interview books can help you lay the foundation for your interview strategy, but they can’t tell you how you should answer the interview questions. A strong interview strategy is one that communicates your unique value proposition through stories of success. Review interview questions to determine the underlying competency the hiring manager is searching for. Then showcase an example of something you did in the past that proves you have that competency. This strategy builds your credibility and helps the hiring manager gain trust in your abilities. You will never wow a hiring manager by regurgitating the pat answer listed on page 23 of some interview book.

Defying gravity in your job search takes a lot of work and it requires some risk. But if the old methods of job search aren’t working for you, then you need to try something new. And while you are planning your gravity defying job search strategy, here’s the song to get you motivated.

Last night on Larry King Live, ex-beauty queen Carrie Prejean called Larry King “inappropriate” after being questioned as to why she dropped her claims of libel, slander, and religious discrimination against the Miss USA pageant. Ms. Prejean seems to have agreed to go on the show assuming her agenda, which focused on promoting her book, would be followed and neglected to take the interviewer’s agenda, uncovering new details about why she dropped her claims, into account. It seems to me that Prejean committed a fatal interview faux pas which was to become defensive about King’s questions. As a result, she lost credibility and raised questions that she is hiding something.

I think the same problem sometimes exists in a job seeker’s interview strategy. I frequently hear stories from job seekers about inappropriate or illegal questions that they are asked during an interview. And I can understand why these questions would frustrate job seekers. But often hiring managers ask questions that are “just plain wrong” because of their agenda…because of a concern they have about your candidacy or a fear of finding something problematic about you after they have hired you. In many cases, the inappropriate question is asked without even realizing it is inappropriate or even illegal. So before you get defensive about a certain question, try to examine the hiring manager’s motive behind asking it. Below are a few inappropriate interview questions along with the potential motive for asking them and suggested responses.

Are you married? Clearly this is an inappropriate question and martial status has nothing to do with your success in the position. But the motive behind asking the question may be the fear that if you are married you may be planning on starting a family soon which could mean an extended leave or even a decision to quit. But rather than getting defensive about the question, try answering it by acknowledging the motive. Respond by saying something like “If you are concerned that my marital status could effect my long term plans at the company, I can assure you that is not the case.”

Do you have children? Absolutely politically incorrect and illegal? Sure. But some managers ask this question because they are concerned that if you have kids, you are more likely to come in late or leave early, need more time off, or need a more flexible work schedule. Rather than getting defensive and saying that they are asking an illegal question, again try to assuage their fears by understanding their motive and say something like “If you are concerned that my parental status will effect my ability to carry out all my work duties and be present at all work-related functions on a regular basis, I can assure you that my commitments to the company would not be compromised.”

You have an interesting name. Where are you from? Does this question reek of discrimination? Possibly. Or, the employer may be asking this question because they are not sure if you are authorized to work in the U.S. and they cannot offer you a work Visa. You can respond by saying “If you are concerned about my authorization to work in the U.S. I would be happy to provide you with proof of citizenship (or a green card).”

How old are you? Yes, I’ve actually had clients who were asked this question during an interview. Offensive? Absolutely. But again, try to examine the underlying motive. Perhaps the hiring manager is concerned that your skills are not current or that they will not be able to afford someone with your level of experience. Rather than getting defensive say something like “I can assure you that my age has no bearing on my ability to do the job. My skills are up to date and my salary requirements are flexible.”

Interviewing is about building a relationship and establishing rapport. Getting defensive never works well in an interview situation. If you later decide that the hiring manager is an absolute Neanderthal for asking you inappropriate or illegal interview questions, you can always decide not to pursue the position. But it’s a sounder interview strategy to address the motives behind the questions head on than take off your microphone and sit there stewing as Ms. Prejean did.

I don’t think about my age too much. People often tell me that I look younger than I am so I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to look older, not younger. But recently, four events occurred within the same day that forced me to think about age and the perception that age can create.

• I saw a lead that a major magazine was offering a job search makeover for women between 25 and 45 years old…I did the math and realized that if I had been interested, I wouldn’t be eligible.
• A colleague posted on Facebook that he was celebrating his 35th birthday. I commented back that I recently celebrated my 35th birthday…for the 11th time.
• I was exercising and monitoring my recommended heart rate and realized that I fall into the category for the oldest exercisers on the chart.
• A client listed her work history on her resume back to 1995 and asked if she should remove that information because it was “ancient.” I didn’t even think my teenage kids thought 1995 was ancient history!

So what happened? I went to bed feeling young and woke up feeling old? I had become Rip Van Winkle overnight? How could this be? I think many boomer job seekers face the same dilemma. Age was never a factor in their job search, but now it is. I have heard stories from clients telling me recruiters have told them they are too old for certain positions. Others, who are often several years younger than me just assume they will be discriminated against based on their age. And everyone seems to have a different cut off for what they think “too old” is. Some say 40, others say 50 or 60.

In a job search there are some things we can control and many things we cannot. I always coach my clients to focus on the aspects of the search they can control. And while we can’t control our age or other people’s perceptions about our age, there are proactive steps all job seekers can take to make sure age bias is minimized.

Resume Development

• Group earlier experience into a category that reads “Additional Experience.” Create an abbreviated overview of the positions you held more than 15 years ago, but include the dates. This allows the hiring manager to focus on more current and more relevant experience. Many people believe that by omitting the dates there is less likelihood that the bias will surface. I think the opposite. When the dates are missing, people wonder why and often assume you are even older than you are. If you chose to leave off certain employment experiences to make you look younger on paper, I say proceed with caution. If you are called in for an interview and it is obvious that you are much older than the information on your resume represents, you run the risk of making the hiring manager believe you are not truthful…not a great way to start out a relationship.
• While I’m not usually a big fan of a “hobbies” section on a resume, the information displayed there can sometimes offset a potential age bias issue. If you regularly participate in a sport that showcases your active lifestyle, this is something I suggest including. And if you have certain technology skills that prove you are current in your field, I recommend adding that information as well.

Online Identity

Some job seekers believe that by not having a picture on online identity and networking sites, they decrease the chance of being discriminated against. Again, I disagree. If you do not post a picture in communities where they are the norm, people will think you have something to hide. Sometimes people post pictures that are 10-15 years old. Another mistake that could damage your credibility when you meet the person who viewed your profile in person. Your picture is part of your brand. Pay as much attention to it as you would your other marketing collateral. Lighting, makeup, clothing choice, an updated hairstyle, and maybe even a wee bit of photo-shopping (shhh) will help you present your best image while still being transparent and authentic.

Interview Strategy

Sometimes when a hiring authority figures out your age, they draw the conclusion that you command a certain salary and that perhaps they won’t be able to afford you. When interviewing, if you detect this feeling, be sure to be able to discuss your interest in the position, your desire for meaningful work, and your flexibility. This can help the hiring manager to understand that salary in not necessarily your main motivator. The reality is that many older workers are not more expensive; if anything they are often behind market value because of longevity with a previous employer. Large salary bumps generally occur by switching jobs more frequently; not by staying with the same employer over many years. So the very thing the employer is concerned about might actually turn out to be a non-issue. Better to explore the issue than let the hiring manager come to their own, and possibly incorrect, conclusion.

Job Search Research

No one is the right fit for every company. Some companies do have a more youth-oriented culture. But many do not and even tout themselves as best places for boomers or people over 50. AARP publishes a list each year called the Best Employers for Workers Over 50. By targeting the companies that embrace older workers you dramatically decrease the potential for encountering age bias.

Attitude

It sounds so cliche but it is true. If you believe you are old, others will believe it as well. If you refuse to put arbitrary limitations on age you increase the chances that others will reject these notions as well. Focus on the value you can bring to an employer, not the longevity of your career history. Leverage the latest social media technologies such as Twitter and Facebook to stay connected in current conversations. Ditch phrases such as “back in the day” and “when I was your age.” Rewrite the rules.

I take my cues on age from my soon to be 79 year “young” mother. She still wears her hair in a ponytail. She knows more about the hardware and software on her computer than most 25 year olds. She has no major health issues. And she can get away with wearing clothes designed for women more than half her age. So that’s my barometer. What’s yours?