Renee Lee Rosenberg, Author at Job-Hunt

Boomer Job Search Success Affirmations

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:46 +0000

“Who will want me? I’m too old. I worked 20 years in the same company; this is all I know.”

“I have the qualifications but I’m older than the interviewer and all the other candidates. They’ll never hire me.”

“Why bother to look, I haven’t looked for a job in years and, besides, my age is a major handicap.”

Fears defeated and new jobs happily found

Do any of these statements sound familiar? Are you repeating similar sentiments to yourself? These are actual quotes from three of my clients, aged 50, 60 and 70 years old, when they were downsized and feeling hopeless.

Their concerns are not unusual for an older worker trying to re-enter the job market.

Each of them expressed doubts and worries about their age as well as fears that they would never find a job again. Perfectly normal emotions.

Today each of them, within a 3-6 month period, landed a job they enjoy.

What changed them from negative, fearful individuals to successful job seekers? It was their ability to face their fears, reframe their language and alter their thoughts.

To quote Norman Vincent Peale, Change your thoughts; you change your world.

How did they do it?

The first step was to examine their negative language and replace it with a positive affirmation: a short, specific self-script in the present tense that states a situation or goal they wanted to achieve in their job search.

Jack’s affirmation was: “I am experienced and qualified for the position.”

Susan and Claire, on the other hand wanted to affirm their age was not a problem, and so they chose respectively: “I am as young as I want to be and am a great candidate,” and “I can get the job I want; age is not important.”

After writing their affirmations they posted them on 3 by 5 index cards in visible places around their home:

a bathroom mirror
the refrigerator
the inside of the front door
a hallway mirror.

They repeated their affirmations frequently, both out-loud and silently, until each became a mantra of reality.

To their surprise they found their job search improved. They were more relaxed on interviews and were finding interviewers showing more interest in their abilities and experience as well as getting call backs for second and third interviews.

Each of them eventually landed good jobs that matched their skills and experience.

What else did they do?

At the same time they practiced strategies for conducting a good job search:

They didn’t solely depend on responding to postings on job boards.
They conducted a mail campaign.
They built confidence by developing a strong networking campaign.

But that’s another article (coming soon).

Studies show that positive attitudes work.

The message here is about the first step, adapting a positive attitude, to keep you motivated, focused and strong during an unexpected layoff, emotional upheaval and unwanted job change.

A persisting negative attitude will only zap your energy and pull you down.

You may still be skeptical about affirmations and not sure of their value. Studies on learning have shown that repeating the same message programs your subconscious to believe the message, and believing it will cause you to take the actions needed to make it happen. Think about it, don’t we do this with negative thoughts?

It’s easier to be negative than positive. Research has found that 75 percent of our daily thoughts are negative. Why not work on changing that statistic to 75 percent positive thoughts?

Bottom Line

Creating and practicing your personal affirmation is a commitment to your future and toward a positive job search. Try it, and enjoy the results.

About the author…

With a Master’s degree in Vocational Counseling, Boomer Renée Lee Rosenberg, MA, is a specialist in vocational counseling, career management, job search, and retirement. Renée is also a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with over 25 years of experience helping individuals navigate career change, cope with stress, and achieve successful outcomes and a Certified Five O’Clock Club coach for over 20 years. For more information about Renée, visit her websites RetirementTutor.com and PositivityPro.com. You can also find her Profile on LinkedIn, send her an email at renee@retirementutor.com, or call her office at (212) 924-2117.
More about this author…

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13 Common Interviewing Mistakes

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:46 +0000

Have you been working at the same company for 15 years or longer and now you find yourself looking for a new job? Or perhaps you’d been working steadily for a number of years but now you’re no longer at that job? You want to work again but now find yourself floating in the wind: laid-off, downsized, reorganized, excesses, made redundant (as they say in England). Out of work and out of sorts, you want and need another job. What stands in your way?

You may be like so many others who are 50 plus, finding yourself, during this turbulent time, fearful and concerned about how to prepare for the guardian of your next job, the dragon at the gate: the dreaded interview process.

Don’t Do These

Job interviews are stressful, but millions of people succeed at them every month, and you will, too. Just avoid these common job interview mistakes, and you’ll be way ahead of the game:

Winging it. This is never a good idea. Prepare as completely as you can for the interview. Research the company; prepare your answers and questions and practice, practice, practice.
Talking too much. Mentioning unnecessary, irrelevant information, rather than working to persuade them you are the best candidate will bore them, not convice them you are the best-qualified candidate.
Talking too fast. You risk running out of time before you make your point.
Not acting enthusiastic and interested in the company and the job. Know what the company does, their competition, and who is interviewing you.
Having distracting hand and/or body gestures. No pen clinking or foot tapping allowed!
Relying on the interviewer to carry the conversation and ask all the questions. Have questions of your own to determine if the job will be a good one for you.
Dressing inappropriately. Business dress/casual at a minimum, even for a restaurant hostess job.
Closing too soon. Don’t ask for the job until you have answered all their questions, and they have answered yours.
Deciding this job isn’t for you during the first interview. Bad chemistry with one person can be discouraging, but don’t give up unless that one person would be your boss.
Not making eye contact. Look the interviewers in the eye. Don’t stare at them, but avoiding eye contact makes you look “shifty” — like you are not telling the truth.
Putting yourself down or downplaying your own worth. This is not the time for modesty. Own up to your accomplishments. Proudly!
Not demonstrating your knowledge of the industry and the skills the particular job requires. Show that you are interested, capable, and ready to “hit the ground running” (or, at least, walking fast).

And, last but NOT least –

Not smiling at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the interview. Be friendly.

The interview is your chance to impress the interviewer, to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job. Look over the list above. Are you committing any of these mistakes? Think how you can challenge yourself to re-image your presentation to showcase the best you offer to the company.

About the author…

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Figuring Out What’s Next: Step 2 – Ouching

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:46 +0000

Once you have completed your assessment exercises in the “Wanting” stage you will have a greater self-awareness, a clearer idea of what you want, what is important and what you can offer to a prospective employer. Knowing your values, skills, and interests will help you to focus your job search and help you to explore setting realistic goals.

“Ouching,” the second stage of the three part WOW job search requires an attitude of Acceptance.

This is the stage where you may begin to feel the pain of negative thinking about your job search. It is also the stage where you need to work on realizing how capable you are, learning strategies for accepting the reality of the present situation, overcoming your doubts and moving forward with a positive attitude. It is simply understanding and dealing with the a reality of your job search; knowing where you stand, what are your strong points, weak points and being able to convey what you have to offer to your target employer.

This stage is about learning to accept your situation, dealing with it, and learning strategies to increase your competitiveness.

I like to describe this stage as the ”Ouching” stage because it is here where you may be feeling the pain and need to focus your energy to get beyond it.

The work will consist of learning to deal with your fears, whether real or not, with worry, and with other negative thinking patterns that may interfere with a successful job search campaign.

The ABC / DE Approach

In his book, Learned Optimism, Martin Seligman, explains how negative thinking can be turned around to positive thinking by following his simple ABC / DE approach. Let’s look closer at how this can help you.

An activating event (“A”), like losing a job, creates negative thoughts, like never finding another job. These thoughts become beliefs (“B”), and those beliefs actually prevent positive action. The beliefs create circumstances (“C”) that generate the expected, negative outcome – becoming a self fulfilling prophesy. To counter them, Seligman recommends disputing (“D”) those beliefs to derail the process by collecting and focusing on the evidence (“E”) that the beliefs are wrong.

You may believe you are too old to get another job and, therefore, you may start to exhibit behaviors that are not the best for a positive job search result. Some of these behaviors may be:

Lack of preparation for the interview.
Incomplete research of the company you are targeting.
Not networking properly.
Responding only to openings on job search boards, and so on – just looking for any job rather than pitching your experience and expertise.

Let’s look at a hypothetical example of how Seligman’s approach can help turn your job search into a positive experience:

“A” the activating event is being downsized from your job.
Now you move into “B” your belief that stems from this event. “I will never be hired at a good company because I’m too old and they only want younger employees.”
“C”, is the circumstance you now create for yourself based on your Belief. “I will not get a job because of my age, so why bother to put too much effort into the search or why bother to look at all, no one will hire me”.

This is the “Ouching” we all do when we give in to our negative thoughts.

Now, here is the important part to turn your thinking from negative to positive.

“D” is disputing your negative beliefs by gathering evidence,
“E” – the evidence gathered – shows you are still a viable and desirable candidate and capable of landing a new job.

What evidence do you look for?

Gather testimonials of people who can speak to your competence.
Review your skills and accomplishments on your assessments exercise (Step 1).
Look for real life, everyday mentors, examples of people 50 plus who are still working and others who have landed jobs in their 50’s and 60’s.

Register with Google Alerts and get notified whenever there is an article in the media about successful workers/ job seekers at 50, 60 and yes, even 70 and 80. Look for the positive press. Don’t read the negative press stories.

Beyond Ouching

Move beyond the “Ouching” by creating for yourself a positive action affirmation that you will repeat to yourself and write down and display in prominent places in your home, for example, on your bathroom mirror, your front door, and the refrigerator next to the note that reminds you to eat healthy.

The affirmation needs to be short, 7 words or less, so that you can remember it, and it must be expressed in the present tense.

It needs to be positive and specific, and must be about something you want to achieve. An example might be: “I am a bookkeeper in (name your target employer)”. Or “I ‘m happily employed at a small company as a (job title you want).”

Present tense is important because you fool the mind into believing you are already doing what you want – working.

NEXT: Step 3, Winning

The next article in this series will discuss the third stage in the WOW job search process, “Winning” which requires you to create for yourself a sense of adventure.

Back to Step 1, Wanting.

About the author…

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Over 50: Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

Are you afraid that your age will prevent you from obtaining a job? Do you worry that others may see you as the “old person”? Does age discrimination exist?

You bet it does, but so do many other forms of discrimination found in the workplace environment: gender, education, ethnic origins, weight, and more.

But should it stop you from doing your best in your job search? Of course not!

Do you deserve to get the best job possible to meet your skills and experience? Of course you do!

Here are three proactive suggestions to help foil those annoying age discrimination thoughts that may stand in the way of your success.

1. Believe you are capable of succeeding. Focus on your past successes, skills, and experience and not your age.

How you want others to see you depends first on how you see yourself. You are in control of your self-perceptions, not others.

Joan, 69, who was looking for a part-time job near her home after working in her previous job for 30 years, told me, “I know I’m older than the others, but why shouldn’t they want to hire me? I’m really good at what I do. I have years of experience keeping the numbers straight and balancing the books and am current in the latest technology.”

“I’m good!” she exclaimed.

Joan landed a job in 3 months.

Do you project confidence in your own skills and abilities?

2. Focus on your resources, strengths, and talents to determine how they can fit into an industry or position different from your last experience.

You may feel that your skills can only be applied to your previous industry or job and don’t feel you can work in another industry or position.

Do your research to discover what the organization needs and show how your skills and experience are transferable and are just what they are looking for.

John worked for 20 years in an industry that was retrenching.

When he would apply for a job he would list the needs of the company in one column and create a description in a corresponding column of how his experiences were transferable and matched each skill they were seeking.

He was able to convince a hiring manager that he was a great candidate for a totally different job that his previous one by emphasizing how his previous job skills fit exactly the skills needed for the current opening.

He got the job.

Are you able to identify and promote your transferable skills?

3. Emphasize your strengths, skills, and experience in a concise, positioning statement based on what the organization needs — NOT based on everything you have done in the past.

Remember you may have a wonderful long job history, but the employer you are targeting may not be interested in many of your past skills or accomplishments, even if you are really proud of them. Only tell them what they want to hear – what you know and have done that applies to their situation. After all they will be paying you to meet their needs and get their job done.

Let them know how you can help. Don’t assume they will see for themselves – looking at your extensive work history – how you can help them succeed. It’s just not likely.

You have to tell them what they want to hear – how you will apply your relevant skills and experience to help them.

Do you have a clear, concise positioning statement that demonstrates you are the best candidate to help them meet their needs?

Don’t be a victim and fall prey to believing the myths about older workers. Remember you are in charge of how you want others to see you.

Bottom Line

Know what you have to offer based on what the organization needs. Show them you are confident and enthusiastic, that you are the best candidate. Do your best. You may not get the job you want initially, but you will certainly be on the right track toward a successful job search.

About the author…

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Avoid “Winging-It” in Job Interviews

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

Don’t Wing It!

The first mistake on the list of Common Boomer Job Interview Mistakes is “winging it.” Walking into an interview unprepared is never a good idea. Always prepare as completely as you can for the interview. Research the company. Prepare your answers and questions, and always be sure to practice, practice, and practice.

Preparing for the Interview

Your preparation process can be in five steps:

1. Know how you fit the requirements.

Always be mindful that you must be completely prepared to discuss how your skills, experience, and accomplishments meet the duties required. You will always have competition.

Make sure you come across as the expert in the field so that you can knock the others out of the water.
Be familiar with the specific requirements of the job, and be able to explain how you can meet them by giving examples of similar experiences and accomplishments in your past job(s).
Make sure you have a current copy of the job description.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but I have heard many a story of a job seeker going on an interview based on a friend or family recommendation and never actually seeing a description of the job duties before they interview. Don’t let this happen to you. Always ask to see the job description. Otherwise, how will you be prepared to ace the interview?

2. Know the industry, the job, and the employer.

Know as much information as you can about the industry, the job and of the needs and problems of the company. As the saying goes, find out “what keeps them up at night.” Conduct a thorough research campaign of the industry, the company, and the job functions.

[MORE: Guide to Company Research.]

3. Research the people.

Always try to find out about the individuals who will be interviewing you. Know who will be involved in the interview process. I have had clients report back after an interview that they were interviewed by four people, but only expected one interviewer. Don’t let this happen to you.

Call the company ahead of the interview to ask who will be interviewing you and what their job titles are. Don’t be caught by surprise.

When I interviewed for my last position I actually found myself in a conference room surrounded by six program directors, all asking questions. Was I prepared? You bet I was. I knew each name and area of responsibility. This may seem unusual but believe me it can happen.

Find out ahead of time and don’t walk into the room like a deer in the headlights. Be prepared, not surprised.

(And by the way, I got the job.)

[MORE: Interview Investigation: Know the Interviewer In Advance.]

4. Be up-to-date.

Gathering current, up-to-date information is important. There are many resources available to you to get the information you need.

First, look people and companies up on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Next, go to your local central library branch and ask the job information librarian for data bases that will give you company and industry specific information. I like Reference USA for searching individuals in companies. Many databases can only be used in the library but many can also be copied onto a memory chip and used at home. Ask which are available to copy for home use.
Join Google Alerts to get updated media stories on a specific person, company, or industry.
Speak to people you know in the industry and to people who can connect you to people who know people in the industry/company. Research, research, research until you feel you can sound like the expert.

[MORE: 5 Ways You Look Out-of-Date in Your Job Search.]

5. Practice your questions and answers.

The fifth step is practice, practice, your questions and answers, Write them down, speak into a mirror, and speak into a tape recorder. Listen to how you sound. Are you convincing? Would you hire you?

Be mindful of your filler words, your tone, and your pitch. Remember! Winging it will never get you the next interview or the offer.

More Information About Successful Job Interviews

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Figuring Out What’s Next: Step 1 – Wanting

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

In my over 25 years of practice as a career counselor working primarily with clients over 50 and beyond, I have observed that the ones who achieved the most satisfying results and who were the happiest with their results were the ones who were committed to – and worked consistently toward – identifying their needs, skills, values, and goals.

They were determined to persevere even during difficult times and were open and willing to step out of and beyond their comfort zone.

In my attempt to analyze the steps they followed, I see them falling into a three-part approach that I call the “WOW” of job search.

WOW is the acronym for:

Wanting, which requires self- awareness
Ouching, which requires an attitude of acceptance
Winning, which requires a sense of adventure.

In this article, I will describe the first part, Wanting.

In the two subsequent articles, I will discuss the next two steps – Ouching, followed by Winning.

I hope I have now piqued your curiosity.

Wanting

Let’s begin by looking at the characteristics of Wanting – the life-charged battery that gets things started.

When you wish for something, you are hoping to gain something you want. To know what you want, you need to be conscious of your thoughts and how they interact with the world around you.

To quote the roman playwright, Seneca,

“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”

In other words, if you don’t know what you want, how will you know what to do to make it happen?

What do you wish for? How aware are you of what you want as you move forward in your job search?

Ask yourself “Who am I, and what do I want to do?” What are your values, feelings, desires?

Awareness of self is important for a complete and fulfilling job search. Self awareness can be determined by completing various assessment inventories provided in a book on careers and assessment or by being tested by a career coach or counselor.

Do you know if you have the skills, experience, and training to achieve what you want or wish for? Be sure to do your due diligence by conducting a thorough research of your desired job target or targets.

Is what you are wishing for doable? Before you focus your energy on a full targeted search gather your information and become knowledgeable of the industry and position. Is it viable, worthy of your time and effort? Is it worth a full search? Is it an industry that is growing or is it one to avoid because it is retrenching?

Many job seekers over 50 who have not done a thorough investigation into their desired job target may blame age discrimination for the fact that they are unsuccessful when the reality may be that they haven’t researched the needs and growth of the industry.

So many are too quick to cry ageism when it may be that what they Want may not be the best choice because the industry is small or because they may need additional updated skills to be considered competitive.

Where are you in this first step of the process? Do you know what you want?

Next: Step 2, “Ouching” accepting the difficulties that may arise and getting past them.

About the author…

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Figuring Out What’s Next: Step 3 – Winning

Renee Lee Rosenberg — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

In two previous articles I wrote about the first two steps of the three-part WOW process. WOW, of course, is an acronym for: Wanting, Ouching, Winning. The first two articles, Wanting and Ouching, can be found through the links below. In this article I will write about the last step, Winning.

This is the most important step in the process of positive work/life change and perhaps the most challenging because it calls for courage and confidence in yourself to achieve your personal happiness.

Before I introduce Winning, I would like to briefly remind you of the two previous steps:

Step 1: Wanting requires assessment and self-awareness:

Learning to ask the right questions in order to get the right answers for achieving self-clarification and self awareness.
Focusing on who you are and what you now want in life and work.
Making decisions.
Planning and setting goals.
Identifying first steps toward a personal brand mentality.

Step 2: Ouching requires an attitude of acceptance:

Feeling the pain but at the same time learning to accept reality for what it is.
Adapting strategies to deal with fear, worry, anger, and other negative-thinking patterns that stand in the way of a successful happy future.

And now –

Step 3: Winning requires a sense of personal adventure and awakening to what can be in this next stage of life and work:

Moving toward personal adventure.
Taking risks, exploring the desired unfamiliar with curiosity and energy.
Learning how to expand parameters with small positive-action steps.

The steps in Winning include:

Knowing that you have the right to get what you focus on (what you discovered you want in Step 1).
Taking action by stepping out of your comfort zone. Be willing and open to trying something different, something you may have been afraid to venture into before. Moving into what is referred to as the “Yipes” zone or the “This-Is-Scary-But-I-Can-Do-It” zone. Be willing to take the risk to achieve a new and desired goal.
Developing outcome-based thinking by approaching the solution, not the problem. Stop dwelling on the problem—it is past-tense. Move onto the present tense, be in the now and look for positive-action steps to get a new solution.
Developing your personal power.
Taking small positive-action steps: explore the new path, experiment with small positive steps, and then implement the new.
Letting go of barriers. Stop reliving and retelling your old negative stories and beliefs.
Identifying and enjoying your personal power.

Working through the three-step WOW process can be daunting. Take your time to move through each step and remember, it is not a linear process but a circular process. You may find yourself returning to and reevaluating Step 1 after examining Step 2 or Step 3. Don’t consider that a step back—learning new things about yourself is always a step forward.

The WOW process is meant to serve as a guide to assist you through a life/work transition. You can also work with a career counselor to help you through the process. Enjoy the journey and good luck!

Back to Step 1, Wanting.

Back to Step 2, Ouching.

About the author…

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