WorkWise Interactive: Q&A

Mildred L. Culp

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GUIDANCE

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I am 65 years old with more than 30 years in marketing and sales in the airline and travel industry. I'm very much up-to-date in new technology. I've had three interviews. I changed the order of my experience and qualifications to meet the needs of the job I was applying for. I prepared very well for the interviews. The message I got was that they were impressed with my background and knowledge, but I never heard back. Is my age a factor? Are companies reluctant to hire people with my age and experience? What are your thoughts on this?

Regards, Checking

A: Dear Checking, Competition for jobs now is keen. Following up after you've interviewed is essential. Your personality might not have been a good match for the teams. You might not have sent a thank-you note when someone else did. The position might have fallen through. A person inside might have been hired. A decision might have been postponed for a reason you know nothing about. Perhaps they discriminated on the basis of sex. Call up and ask if each position was filled. Ask why you weren't offered it. If employers obfuscate, consider that age or sex might be a factor. mlc

PREPARATION

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I don't want to job hunt right now, but I do want to when the recession seems to be lifting. What can I do to prepare for a job search, whether it's six months to several years from now?

Strategist A: Dear Strategist, Yes, you are! Decide what kind of job you want to look for and how to gain experience in your current capacity or in outside activities to support the change. You might have to volunteer for assignments internally or externally. Assess their relevance to your career path.

Every couple of weeks record what you've accomplished doing those things. In six months or less you should have enough results to reshape your resume. Delete accomplishments unrelated to your new job, unless the new points are so tentative that you need some substantive statements.

Meet the people essential to moving where you want to go. If they're at your current company, that's easy enough to do. If not, develop a plan to meet people over lunch, at trade association meetings or in other venues. Chip away at it and you'll have a network before you know it. mlc

BLOG TIP

Job interviews are supposed to be a two-way street, but that didn't keep Kathryn Marion (www.RealSolutionsPress.com) from being shocked when interviewing at a small software company. Openness is one thing; telling all, another.

Relaxed somewhat by the easy-going nature of the department manager, she nonetheless "was asked the most memorable interview question of my life: 'How do you feel about working with (expletive)?'"

After a two-second recovery from shock, Marion laughed and replied, "I don't like them any more than anyone else, but what're you going to do? They're everywhere!" He commended her for the best attitude of the competition. The following day she received an offer and accepted it, beginning a three-year stint at the company. The department manager and his wife became her bosses. All went swimmingly ...

Except when she got to know the president (owner) and his administrator (his wife). They turned out to be just as the manager had billed them.

Nonetheless, Marion points out, "Honesty in interviewing ... it sure helps!" And don't forget a dash of glibness, sense of humor and sense of adventure. Keep in mind, too, that when you interview someone else, what you say just might get around ... to where you'd rather not. Dr. Mildred Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net.