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How Older Workers Can Project Confidence in A Job Search, with Scott Jacobs

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Ageism is alive and thriving, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made it stronger. If you’re an older worker looking for your next job, Find Your Dream Job guest Scott Jacobs says you must increase your self-confidence before your next interview. Scott shares how to present your experience as an asset rather than a liability and why you must get comfortable with technology if you want to be considered for a position. And finally, Scott reminds us that ageism is no excuse for not going after your dream job.

About Our Guest:

Scott Jacobs is a career coach who runs the  Jacobs Strategic Group. Scott has helped hundreds of clients with career transitions and job searches.

Resources in This Episode:

 

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 381:

How Older Workers Can Project Confidence in A Job Search, with Scott Jacobs

Airdate: January 11, 2023

Mac Prichard: 

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life. 

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.

Find Your Dream Job is brought to you by TopResume. TopResume has helped more than 400,000 professionals land more interviews and get hired faster. 

Get a free review of your resume today. 

Go to macslist.org/topresume. 

Ageism in hiring happens every day and discourages countless older applicants. 

Scott Jacobs is here to talk about how older workers can project confidence in a job search.

He’s a career coach who runs the Jacobs Strategic Group. Scott has helped hundreds of clients with career transitions and job searches. 

He joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Well, let’s jump right into it, Scott. Why is it important for an older worker to project confidence in a job search?

Scott Jacobs:

It’s critically important for those of us that are over fifty, in particular, to project the confidence in understanding and self-awareness of their skills and abilities and what they can bring to an organization. But before I go into that any deeper, it’s really important for them to understand the opportunities and the obstacles for job seekers over fifty, and ageism is alive; it is not well, it’s a horrible thing. But that was coined back in 1975, and we’ll talk more about that shortly. 

Mac Prichard: 

You mentioned ageism as one reason older applicants get discouraged. What are other common reasons, Scott, that affect the confidence of older job seekers? 

Scott Jacobs:

That question is quite commonly asked, and one of the things is the level of confidence in technology. The understanding that the interview process today has been elongated from where it had been in the past, and the ability to adapt to a virtual interview environment and become comfortable in an online virtual interview, are all areas that senior-type workers need to be able to address. 

Mac Prichard: 

When you’re confident as an older worker, Scott, how do you come across to a hiring manager? 

Scott Jacobs:

From a hiring manager’s perspective, it’s critically important for you to project that level of confidence and know what your assets are and that you’re a good fit for that job, that job description, and that organization. One of the benefits of being an older job seeker is you shouldn’t be put in a place to accept a job that isn’t a good fit. It’s critically important that you identify opportunities that you know that you can be successful in. 

With that said, you have the ability, you have the assets, and most importantly, the experience to attract those jobs that work best for you. You know, ageism can be a barrier to many people. But if they can get over some of the digital technical issues, they can recognize some of the stereotypes and prejudice that older workers have to endure and that they’re willing to learn, to adapt, be flexible, and even leverage their soft skills that they’ve developed along the way. It can help differentiate themselves from the younger workers. 

Mac Prichard: 

You mentioned a number of ways, assets, and strengths that older workers offer and that in recognizing that can help them project that confidence. One thing I just want to- before we talk more about that, Scott, I just have to ask, if you don’t show confidence in a job search as an older worker, what does a hiring manager see? And what do they think? 

Scott Jacobs:

Well, if you have a lack of confidence and you’re demonstrating hesitation or the fact that you aren’t in a position- that they don’t feel you can actually do the job, you’re not gonna be considered for the job, and that’s critically important. One thing I want to make sure I can state, Mac, is that the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected this whole exclusion and prejudice against older people in a number of different ways, and it’s been carried out, you know, with a number of different stakeholders. I’ve had a number of clients that are saying, you know, Scott, what do I do? How do I differentiate myself in a way that we are able to get the job we want and desire? 

And many of my clients have decided to make sure that they go within organizations that are accepting. That they don’t have the prejudice and are able to have a clear understanding that they’re of value to an organization. The pandemic has created, I mean, I hate to say it, but it has created a divide between young and old workers. But it’s something that you can overcome through practice, confidence, and understanding, that you can’t change who you are or how old you are, but you can represent your best self. 

Mac Prichard: 

Tell us more about your point that the COVID pandemic has created a gulf between older and younger workers when they’re doing a job search. Why do you think that it had a particularly harsh effect on older job seekers? 

Scott Jacobs:

Well, two events occurred. One, we had a mass termination of jobs. I mean, let’s just face it. We had thirty-six million people who became unemployed, and that was at all ages. But as we came back and got rehired, everything turned remote. The comfort of being in an office with your other coworkers disappeared due to the pandemic, and the comfort of having those support systems in place and finding a place to work out of your home was a challenge for many older workers. 

The other piece is that ageism is something that we have to be prepared for because the hiring managers in this particular case, in most cases, are younger than the job seeker, and there are prejudices and a mindset that is inaccurate in regards to the value of that worker. And so, the pandemic created a disruption in our employment system, in our hiring practices, and in the ability to work in an office for almost two years.

Mac Prichard: 

You’ve got a number of tips for how older workers can project confidence during a job search, and one of them, which you’ve already touched on, is to show employers that your experience is an asset, not a liability. Why is this important, Scott? And how does it help you project confidence as an older worker during a search? 

Scott Jacobs:

Whether it be myself or other clients I’ve had in the past, one of the biggest assets that we’ve discovered, as you’re interviewing and identifying yourself for a particular job, is that your experience puts you in a position to be coach, to be a leader, to be able to mentor and develop other employees within the organization. With that recognition, the older worker can be respected and elevated to be a true coach within an industry, within a business, to the point where they can have what we call unrecognized skills that start to percolate within an organization. 

Mac Prichard: 

And, how do you show an employer that that is an asset, both in your application and in your interviews? 

Scott Jacobs:

That’s a great question, and I feel that the point you just made about whether it be in the application and the interviews, it has to be consistent. You don’t want to hide your age. You want to recognize it as experience, and you use those keywords about experience, knowledge, skill development, and you also pepper it today, in particular, with those soft skills, listening, understanding, and empathy. You want to mitigate that behavioral discrimination and that it is not formalized in a company’s culture or its policies. With that said, you have to be very selective and make sure that the jobs that you’re seeking are what you want. 

Mac Prichard: 

Terrific. We’re gonna take a break, Scott, and when we come back, I want to talk about your other tips for how to project confidence as an older worker when you’re doing a job search. So, stay with us. We’ll return in just a moment. 

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Now, let’s get back to the show.

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with Scott Jacobs.

He’s a career coach who runs the Jacobs Strategic Group. Scott has helped hundreds of clients with career transitions and job searches. 

He joins us from Portland, Oregon. 

Now, Scott, before the break, we were talking about how older workers can project confidence in a job search. You’ve got a list of tips that we began talking about in the first segment. A second idea that you share for older workers to help them project confidence in a job search is to believe in yourself and the assets you offer employers. You mentioned this in the first segment. Why is this so important, Scott? Tell us more about this. 

Scott Jacobs:

Mac, so many of my clients, during the process of a job search, have their ups and downs. That’s totally understandable. But having self-doubt really can be a crippling factor in your job search, and one of the things, as a career coach, that I have to do is really help keep their spirits up. Have them understand that they’re going to have those ups and downs and allow themselves to really process the emotions. But on the other hand, understand, have self-awareness, and believe in themselves throughout the process.

I find that, you know, one of the things that really helps is don’t pursue jobs at this stage of your career that are not right for you. You don’t want to go out and get a job just to get the job. Make sure it’s what you want. This type of thing, so often, just becomes a difficult factor and an obstacle for the job seeker. 

And the other thing is to recognize yourself. Understand your value to any organization, and maintain that self-confidence through the process. You know, one of the areas that I find, and I work with my clients on, is that I ask them, listen, we’re gonna work together. But hold yourself accountable for going through the process. Let’s make sure that you can stay confident and that you have self-awareness of truly what your strengths are, and we’ll work together to identify what works best for you in regard to that next job. 

Mac Prichard: 

What’s your best tip, Scott, for overcoming self-doubt for an older worker? 

Scott Jacobs:

That’s a great, great question. You know, I find that the number one tip is to have them look in the mirror and recognize that they are of true value. Not only at the job but in their lives, and I think that that is critically important to do. You know, I have some clients that end up turning a little too extreme, and it becomes a little arrogant, and the reality is you just want to project confidence that you’re an asset and you’re going to be able to exceed the expectations by leveraging your skills, experience, and mindset. 

Mac Prichard: 

How can applying for jobs that you could do or might qualify for but aren’t what you really want to do, affect your self-confidence and perhaps contribute to self-doubt? 

Scott Jacobs:

Mac, enthusiasm. No one’s really enthusiastic to go after a job or even work at a job that they don’t feel is a good fit, and they don’t like. Over time, that individual, even if they achieve getting that job that they really didn’t want, probably isn’t going to be a successful long-term employee. And so, that’s one of the things we want to mitigate is to avoid falling into that trap of taking that job just because they feel that they’re wanted there, and it’s not something they really want to do. 

Mac Prichard: 

You mentioned in the first segment the importance of soft skills, and you said it’s a particular asset that older workers may have as leaders and coaches. Tell us more, Scott, because this is another tip you have for increasing confidence among older workers. Tell us more about the soft skills that matter and how an older worker’s understanding of those soft skills can help them appear as a confident candidate to an employer. 

Scott Jacobs:

You know, the soft skills go hand in hand with our ability and experience to understand, listen, and be compassionate. Whether it’s a man or a woman, in this advanced stage of their career, the ability to listen and you can be empathetic because you’ve had so many experiences,and your ability to relate to critical and even emotional problem-solving within the office or remotely is of tremendous value to organizations. 

Mac Prichard: 

And when you recognize that you have those skills and you understand the value, how do you communicate to an employer that it is indeed an asset? 

Scott Jacobs:

Soft skills have bubbled to the top in all organizations, and it has a lot to do with the younger workers aren’t gonna accept just being told what to do. They want to be listened to. They want to be understood. You have to develop your soft skills to really be successful long-term in today’s market. 

So, empathy and listening are two of the most critical elements of soft skills. In addition, what you want to do is make sure that those skills are noted on your resume, that you share them in the interview process, that they don’t get swept under the rug. 

Mac Prichard: 

Scott, you work with so many older workers as clients in your career coaching practice. Do you think the majority of these clients understand the value of the soft skills they have and the importance of the soft skills in the workplace? 

Scott Jacobs:

In some cases, when we talk about it, there’s a little bit of doubt. But, you know, I share with them articles, information, industry information, specifically to hiring today, and what type of people are the most successful, and it’s critically important for all organizations to have people that have patience, that have understanding, and can recognize that within the workplace. 

Mac Prichard: 

Your final piece of advice to older workers for projecting confidence in a job search is to recognize that a job search is an emotional roller coaster. How does this help you, Scott? And how do you do that? 

Scott Jacobs:

Navigating an emotional roller coaster is very important. It’s just like the emotions that you might have in a relationship or just on a day-to-day basis. We all have our ups and downs, and there’s no way to really, really hide them. 

The key here, though, is to find people around you that have positive energy, that recognize that you’re an asset, and that can help keep you motivated, hold yourself accountable, and don’t let your age stop you from pursuing what you want. Don’t let age be an excuse for not aggressively going after that next job. 

Mac Prichard: 

Well, it’s been a terrific conversation, Scott. Now, tell us, what’s next for you? 

Scott Jacobs:

Well, you know, this year, we’re gonna be working in 2023 on a series of trainings, webinars, and some of these webinars specifically are gonna be about addressing the older worker, and others are gonna be addressing some of the skills that we need as everything shifted during the pandemic. 

One that we’ll be having come up in February is going to be Mastering the Online Virtual Interview, and as you know, Mac, this is here to stay. Interviews are gonna be done remotely. It’s cost-effective, and we have to be comfortable doing them, and that’s one thing that I really suggest for the older workers, is they become very comfortable with the technology, with the laptop, so that they can represent their best selves and not fumble and misrepresent what they really can bring to the table. 

Mac Prichard: 

Terrific. I know, Scott, that listeners can learn more about your upcoming webinars and your career coaching services by visiting your website, the Jacobs Strategic Group, and that URL is jacobs-strategic.com, and you also invite listeners to connect with you on LinkedIn, and as always, I hope they’ll mention they heard you on Find Your Dream Job. 

Now, Scott, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listener to remember about how older workers can project confidence in a job search? 

Scott Jacobs:

The key is to believe in yourself, have self-awareness, and don’t give up when it gets difficult. 

Mac Prichard: 

Make sure you never miss an episode of Find Your Dream Job. 

Subscribe to our free podcast newsletter. 

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Next week, our guest will be Mia Williams.

She’s the founder of  The Colors of Her Success. It’s an online platform for Gen Z women of color learning to navigate success in life and career. 

Automation plays a big part in hiring. 

So you might believe, when looking for work, that you need to think like a robot. 

But Mia says that you’ll have more success if you focus on things that only people understand, like relationships and values. 

Join us next Wednesday when Mia Williams and I talk about how to take a human approach to your job search.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List. 

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer is Matt Fiorillo.  Ryan Morrison at Podfly Productions edits the show. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.