Do's and Don'ts for Mature Job Seekers

Summer is here and with it a lot of leisure time to spare. My time, however, is spent more and more in front of the computer than out there under the warm summer sun and perhaps, an hour or two in the surf. Often when I look at the images of summer I see kids playing and resting on the beach. Why is it that summer is more commonly associated with the bubbling spring of youth rather than with the rocksteady maturity of the thirty-and-above crowd...?

I've always considered aging as a transition from the reckless and impulsive rocky world of youth to the calmer and steadier country of maturity. This is why mature workers remain to be valuable employees for any company who'd hire them. Their experiences and the wisdom they have accumulated as a result of those experiences can be used to teach the younger employees and even, younger bosses, not to repeat past mistakes and to change ineffective and inefficient methods in the career field they're involved in.

But for those who have become mature workers and are seeking new paths to take in their career, here are some good career advice from the University of Kansas site:

Do's and Don'ts for the Mature Worker

In the employment of mature workers, there isn't a more important person than the individual worker. Obtaining a job frequently means adjustments on the part of the applicant to change in the world of work, in pay, in working conditions and in location.

Too frequently mature job seekers face personal stumbling blocks, particularly in age and technological skills. Instead of emphasizing their advanced work experience and skills when applying for a job, mature workers sometimes attract more attention than necessary to their age and health. Often mature workers feel they were not chosen for the position because of age -- never realizing that they might have fallen short of the job requirements or lost the opportunity because they misrepresented themselves as incapable workers.

To help the mature job seeker, the "National Association of Manufacturers on Employment of the Mature Worker" has compiled these Do's and Don'ts. This list is not all inclusive. Locating a suitable job takes time and thought. These suggestions from a group of employment specialists, however, are worth careful consideration for all job seekers.

Do...
* Stress your qualifications for the job opening.
* Recount experience you have had which would fit you for the job.
* Talk and think, so far as possible, about the future rather than the past.
* Indicate where possible, your stability attendance record, and good safety experience.
* Remember that older employees are capable, dependable, trainable, careful, and steady.
* Try to learn ahead of time about the company and it's products.
* Assume an air of confidence.
* Approach the employer with respectful dignity.
* Try to be optimistic in your attitude.
* Maintain your poise and self-control.
* Try to overcome nervousness or shortness of breath.
* Hold yourself erect.
* Answer questions honestly and with straght forwardness.
* Stress the contribution you can make to the enterprise.
* Be well-groomed and appropriately dressed.
* Have available a list of former employers, time and period of service.
* Apply for the job in person.
* Let as many people as possible know you are job hunting.
* Know the importance of getting along with people.
* Recognize your limitations.
* Apply at plenty of places.
* Indicate your flexibility and readiness to learn.

Don't...
* Keep stressing your need for a job.
* Discuss past experience which has no application to the job situation.
* Apologize for your age.
* Be untidy in appearance.
* Cringe or beg for consideration.
* Speak with muffled voice and indistinctly.
* Be one of those who can do anything.
* Hedge in answering questions.
* Express your ideas on work-related concerns, such as compensation and work hours, early in the interview.
* Depend upon the telephone for a job.
* Hesitate to fill out applications, give references, take physical examinations or test on request.
* Go to the interview without a record of your former work connections.
* Arrive late and breathless for an interview.
* Be a "know it all" or a person who can't take instructions.
* Isolate yourself from contacts who might help you find a job.
* Feel the world owes you a living.
* Make claims if you cannot deliver on the job.
* Display feelings of inferiority.

Practically some of these Dos and Donts can be applied as well on younger job seekers. Advice such as "Don't be late" or "Exude an air of confidence" works on any person seeking for employment no matter what age or level of academic achievement he may have.

For older workers, it seems these things become more vital since aging is viewed as a weakening of abilities and capacities as an effective worker. More often than not older job seekers are bypassed in favor of younger ones whose skills and technological know-how are freshly learned and can easily be developed. Their youth also encourages a more flexible work ethic which can be molded according to company rules.

Corporate culture also is another reason that younger job seekers are sought. In the fast-paced frantic race to success in the workplace, more of the work-eat-sleep routine is to be expected. Much of the physical afflictions that workers suffer from were due to the stress they experience at work everyday. A young man of thirty can unsurprisingly suffer from a heart ailment these days. What more of a guy pushing fifty or sixty?

But it is also important for human resource managers to focus on the inherent requirements of the job rather than whatever future complications they foresee in hiring a mature worker. As long as there is a clear-cut definition of the job description, human resource managers need not worry of future consequences. What's important is that mature workers are given an opportunity to contribute in their own way to the company, thereby proving themselves worthy as employees.