職場老兵怎樣找到新工作?
50至60歲的人在打算求職的時候,經(jīng)常會因為擔(dān)心年齡偏見而畏手畏腳。但現(xiàn)在,經(jīng)驗豐富的管理者很有市場,充分證明:經(jīng)驗是王道。因此,高齡求職者在找工作的時候可以充分強(qiáng)調(diào)這個優(yōu)勢。
親愛的安妮:您和您的讀者能否考慮一下我的現(xiàn)況。我在一家《財富》500強(qiáng)公司(Fortune 500 )工作了20多年,期間不斷得到升職。2008年,我?guī)ьI(lǐng)一個小部門扭虧為盈,之后我就一直在負(fù)責(zé)那個部門的工作。但現(xiàn)在,作為公司重組的一部分,我的部門將與另外一個部門合并。公司給了我一筆非?犊耐诵萁,我也很愿意接受,可我現(xiàn)在還不想退休。我如今才61歲,身體非常健康,我感覺至少還能堅持以高效率工作10到15年。
但我擔(dān)心的是,潛在雇主們會這么想嗎?有人說,我“比實際年齡要年輕”(當(dāng)然,這肯定是言不由衷的恭維話),我還有市場嗎?有些日期是否不應(yīng)該出現(xiàn)在我的簡歷中——比如我的畢業(yè)年份?您對此有什么建議嗎?——SK
親愛的SK:獵頭公司W(wǎng)itt/Kieffer的總裁兼CEO查爾斯•沃德爾認(rèn)為:“只要你擅長自己的工作,年齡就不是問題?纯窗头铺亍K呀(jīng)82歲了,可沒有人說他應(yīng)該退休!贝_實如此。伯克希爾-哈撒韋(Berkshire-Hathaway)的投資人和其他人或許都恨不得能克隆出另一個巴菲特來。
Witt/Kieffer公司的獵頭們發(fā)現(xiàn),雇主對于擁有幾十年成功履歷的管理者的需求日益增加。比如:在2012年,公司安置的CEO約有14%超過60歲,比十年前增加了3%。高管方面的比例也基本相同:13%的人超過60歲,而2002年僅有3%。
這種巨大的變化并非意外。據(jù)美國勞工統(tǒng)計局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)最近的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)顯示,美國失業(yè)率隨著年齡增長而呈下降趨勢。上個月,25至34歲年齡段的失業(yè)率為7.6%;35至40歲為5.9%;45至54歲為5.7%。而55歲以上年齡段的失業(yè)率為5.3%,是所有年齡段中的最低水平。
當(dāng)然,如今的水平遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于危機(jī)之前的2007年,當(dāng)時55歲及以上年齡段的失業(yè)率僅有3.1%。但從另一方面來看,將這一水平與應(yīng)屆畢業(yè)生(20至24歲)的情況進(jìn)行對比,我們就可以證明一點:經(jīng)驗才是王道。應(yīng)屆畢業(yè)生失業(yè)率高達(dá)驚人的13.5%。
你能帶領(lǐng)一個有問題的部門扭虧為盈,這在任何時候都是一個非常好的賣點。沃德爾認(rèn)為,這一點在當(dāng)前動蕩不安的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢下尤其可貴。因此,你的求職過程肯定會一帆風(fēng)順,只要你做到小心謹(jǐn)慎。首先,從當(dāng)前公司爭取到愿意為你的成就作擔(dān)保的推薦人:“在你這個水平,同事和上司的強(qiáng)力推薦至關(guān)重要。”
其次,沃德爾建議,在與招聘人員和雇主交流時,“明確每一位雇主的需要以及自己的技能如何滿足這些需要。關(guān)鍵是要確定,你能為新崗位帶來的東西,正是雇主們所需要的。”拿出時間和精力來找到最適合的崗位,可以避免招聘經(jīng)理們給出“條件太好”這樣的評價。
| | | Dear Annie: I wonder what you and your readers think about my situation. After 20-plus years rising through the ranks at a Fortune 500 company, I turned around a small division and made it profitable in 2008, and have been running it since then. Now my business unit is being merged with a different operation, as part of a restructuring. I've been offered a very generous retirement package, and I'm willing to take it, but I'm nowhere near ready to stop working. At 61, and in excellent health, I feel I have at least 10 or 15 highly productive years ahead of me.
My concern is, will potential employers agree? I've been told I "don't look my age" (a backhanded compliment, for sure), but how marketable am I? Should I leave dates off my resume -- the year I graduated from college, for instance? Do you have any advice for me? -- Still Kicking
Dear SK: "If you're good at what you do, age isn't an issue," says Charles Wardell, president and CEO of executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. "Look at Warren Buffett. He's 82, and nobody's saying he should head out to pasture." True. Berkshire-Hathaway (BRKA) investors, among others, probably wish they could clone him.
At Witt/Kieffer, headhunters are finding that employers increasingly want managers with a decades-long track record of success. Consider: In 2012, about 14% of the CEOs the firm placed were over age 60, up from 3% a decade earlier. For C-suite jobs overall, the figures were about the same: 13% over age 60 vs. 3% in 2002.
Those big jumps are no fluke. According to the latest stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment declines with age. Last month, the jobless rate stood at 7.6% for 25-to-34-year-olds; 5.9% for ages 35 to 44; and 5.7% for the 45-to-54-year-old cohort. The jobless rate for people 55 and up, at 5.3%, was the lowest of any age group.
Granted, that's much higher than the unemployment rate for people 55 and older in pre-recession 2007 -- a tiny 3.1%. But on the other hand, for proof that experience is king, contrast that current 5.3% with the rate for new college grads (ages 20-24): a whopping 13.5%.
Since you turned around a troubled division -- a highly marketable skill anytime, but especially in this still-shaky economy -- your job hunt should be pretty smooth sailing, as long as you approach it with care, Wardell says. First, line up references at your current company who will vouch for your achievements: "At your level, strong recommendations from colleagues and higher-ups are crucial."
Then, when you speak with recruiters and employers, "get very specific about what each employer needs and how your skills fit," Wardell suggests. "The key is to make sure that what you bring to the job is exactly what they're looking for." Putting in the time and attention to find precisely the right fit can prevent hiring managers from bringing up the dreaded "O" word (for "overqualified").
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沃德爾表示,要想進(jìn)入自己確實希望工作的公司,就別太在意職務(wù)或薪酬下調(diào):“過于關(guān)注職務(wù)是錯誤的。副總裁、董事或其他職務(wù),誰在乎呢?如果一家公司給出的年薪比你現(xiàn)在的崗位少了幾千塊,也不要把這一點看的太過重要。你永遠(yuǎn)不知道在十八個月過后,當(dāng)你抓住機(jī)會證明了自己的能力之后,你的職務(wù)和薪酬會達(dá)到怎樣的水平。”
對于是否應(yīng)該在簡歷上對某些日期撒謊,或者直接避而不談,沃德爾認(rèn)為不能。他說:“現(xiàn)在的許多雇主都認(rèn)為年齡是優(yōu)勢,所以沒有理由隱瞞。坦率承認(rèn)自己的年齡,然后把重點放在你能為這份工作帶來哪些競爭對手無法提供的東西,不論他們是幾零后。”
沃德爾的建議都來自他的親身經(jīng)歷。他是一位載譽(yù)而歸的越戰(zhàn)老兵,在職業(yè)早期曾在美國運通(American Express)、花旗集團(tuán)(Citi)等公司擔(dān)任管理職位。2011年,66歲的沃德爾成為Witt/Kieffer公司的最高領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。他說:“其他候選人都比我年輕,但我卻被選中了!蹦阃瑯涌梢宰龅健
反饋:如果你是55歲或55歲以上,你認(rèn)為自己在求職過程中遇到過年齡歧視嗎?如果你最近更換了工作,是什么讓你成功跳槽?歡迎評論。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓
| | | Don't worry if you have to take a step down in title or pay to get a foot in the door at a company where you really want to work, Wardell says: "It's a mistake to get hung up on titles. Vice president, director, or some other title, who cares? And if the starting pay a company offers is a few thousand dollars a year less than you've been earning in your current position, don't make that a sticking point, either. You never know where you'll be, in both rank and compensation, 18 months down the road when you've had a chance to show what you can do."
As for whether you should fudge the dates on your resume, or leave them off altogether, Wardell says not. "So many employers consider age to be an advantage now, there's no reason to hide it," he notes. "Be very upfront about it, and then focus the discussion on what you bring to the job that competing candidates -- whatever their date of birth -- may not be able to offer."
Wardell speaks from firsthand experience, by the way. A decorated Vietnam veteran who held management jobs at American Express (AXP), Citi (C), and elsewhere earlier in his career, he was 66 when he got the top job at Witt/Kieffer in 2011. "I was picked over other, much younger candidates," Wardell says. You can be, too.
Talkback: If you're 55 or older, do you believe you've encountered age bias in a job search? If you've changed jobs recently, what helped you get hired? Leave a comment below.
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