Do you remember when you were a little kid on a family trip and you were always asking, “Are we there yet?” Well, even if you never asked and you aren’t a little kid anymore, you will find yourself wondering about the answer to that question very often while searching for a job. For many people, severance pay lasts a year, and during this time as with the discovery of gold in Alaska in 1849, the rush is on!
For anyone, the search for another position is rarely an easy transition. Unless one is the friend, cousin, niece, nephew or sister of someone at the top, getting your foot in the door of a good company takes time, energy and planning. For those job seekers over fifty years of age, however, a major stumbling block in many instances appears to be age-bias. Whether this is true in every case or no, please consider that old saying about a duck. It goes something like this: “If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, the chances are, it’s a duck.”
According to Philadelphia-based placement firm, Right Management, there are fewer jobs at the top level. “This,” says senior vice president and general manager, Brian Clapp, “means that it is more competitive and that would take longer to search at that level than if you were seeking a more mid or lower level role.” For executives of all ages and levels, search time may be affected by other factors as well. These include how much effort and diligence are put into following up on job leads. One must be as fastidious to details as any celluloid detective Lieutenant Colombo or Hercule Poirot, as any little stone left unturned could be the one that makes it all happen.
Do YOU have a job search story to tell? Please share.
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