Are older workers still employable?

With the economy slogging along, and more people competing for fewer jobs, many are concerned about whether they are at a disadvantage when competing with others. This appears to me to affect "older" workers more than most others. Many are under the perception that, because they are more experienced and typically at the top of their wage earning potential. The worry is that younger workers can work longer for less. While this might be true on occasion, I don't think it's worth worrying about, and here's why.

Folks in their 40's and 50's are truly in their prime working years. This is a time where they should be maximizing their income and capitalizing upon their experiences in their jobs. The thing is, these folks have another good 15-20 years of productive work left. As I see it, there are a number of obstacles in the way of folks who want to work for an employer rather than start their own business.

Potential employers appear to be extra cautious in hiring older workers. There is a lot of liability for employers who hire older workers. If they decide to let an older worker go, even for cause, they must take extra precautions to eliminate the threat of an age discrimination suit. Additionally, some folks perceive that older workers get short shrift because younger workers can get paid less.

Here are some suggestions:

An opportunity to grow my audience. Will you please help?

As you may be aware, I like to encourage folks to pursue their passions, and to find ways to find an audience. Such an opportunity has come up for me for my coaching, but I need your help. It should take you less than 2 minutes.

Our local AM powerhouse, WBT, is hosting a contest for their next talker on Sunday nights from 6 - 8 PM. To participate, contestants need to create a video and get the greatest number of "likes" for their video. After contemplating this idea, I decided to enter the contest. We are in the voting phase of round 1 which ends on Thursday morning, 11/10/11 at 9:59 AM.

As a coach, and having taught workshops in churches, non-profits, and now at the community college level, I have seen many folks who are either in jobs they hate, or stuck trying to find work that is satisfying. That is one reason why I've been preparing a podcast to be called Cure For The Common Cubicle. This is also the concept for my radio show entry. I want to answer questions from listeners, and provide resources and information to help them. This is an amazing opportunity.

So here's how the contest works, and what I need from you:

30,000 being laid off, or given a new opportunity?

Earlier this week, Bank of America announced that they will be laying off 30,000 workers! That's a mind boggling number to many. Also, a fourth "green-energy" company touted by President Obama has filed for bankruptcy. One of those four, Solyndra, laid off 1,100 workers AFTER receiving over $500 million dollars from taxpayers. August saw the creation of ZERO jobs. Are you discouraged yet? Should you be?

I say no, you should not be bothered by this news. At a meeting with another business owner this week, I stated that this should be looked at as a positive. Granted, I'm not Mr. Cheery-face all the time, but hey, this is opportunity here for everyone. In the area of employment and work, I seem to be learning how to look for positive things when they present themselves.

Getting a job with a black mark on your record

I received a question the other day regarding a gentleman who was having trouble finding work. He had been working from home at the beginning of the year and had interviewed for a position with a large company. After being offered a position, he gave his notice to his employer. Shortly after, the new company rescinded the offer because of a misdemeanor on his record regarding over-payment of unemployment benefits. He had mentioned it during his interview and was told that it wouldn't be an issue. However, after doing the background check, the company appeared to not be comfortable with the charge and declined to hire him.

Part of the challenge in answering a question such as this is not knowing more specific information. I'm uncertain as to what he was doing from home before he interviewed with the large employer, but it sounds like he has skills that are transferable to many places. However, let's just focus on the criminal record issue.

How are you different than your competition?

I started this article with respect to identifying how one can pursue self-employment in a seemingly crowded niche, but this really is applicable to anyone. If you are looking for work and competing for a position, the tips in this post should help you with your job search. How are you different than those you are competing with? If you can't answer this question, how will you differentiate yourself from your competition?

Recently, I had the priviledge of talking to a guy about self-employment. I LOVE talking about work that fits. In this case, this guy is a military veteran who, after serving our country, joined a  line of work that seems to be what he needed to do, but conflicts with his inner drive.

Mike (fictitious name for protection) is working in law enforcement. However, his passion is fitness. He thinks he'd like to take advantage of his GI Bill benefits and pursue his degree in a discipline related to exercise science. At first glance, one might think that will be a tough field because of the competition. There are fitness trainers galore out there. You can walk into a gym and find half a dozen personal trainers. One guy told me he has watched how it took his brother 15 years to make a decent living as a personal trainer, but is that really necessary?