9 Job Hunt Tips For Older IT Pros
The IT job market isn't always kind to professionals of a certain age. Use these strategies to improve your odds.
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Make age an asset
If you've read InformationWeek's ongoing coverage of age discrimination in IT, you know it's a real and sometimes heated issue. If you're a person of a certain age -- say, on the wiser side of 40 -- there's a decent chance you've encountered ageism, often subtle in nature, in your IT career.
In fact, roughly 70% of IT pros who participated in a recent InformationWeek poll said they've either witnessed age discrimination in their workplace or been victims of it themselves. In her breakdown of the poll's results, Susan Nunziata posed some tough questions about, among other topics, the relationship between age and salary. Here's a hint: that whole "you make more money as you get older" thing isn't necessarily true. Rather, median salaries peak around age 46 before flattening for staffers and actually declining for managers, according to InformationWeek's 2014 Salary Survey. That's not scientific proof of ageism, mind you, but it's also not a ringing endorsement for the perks of experience -- not to mention that it kind of belies the idea that we should all shuffle our middle-aged feet into middle management as quickly as possible.
Age-related discrimination can be a particular problem for IT pros that hit the job market later in their careers, all the more true if you do so abruptly and unexpectedly, which is typically the case in an involuntary layoff or unforeseen personal event. The job application and interview process lends itself well to the quieter, difficult-to-prove types of ageism -- "we're looking for someone who really clicks with our culture," etc. This can be particularly true in startups, mobile app development, and other environments that often attract young workers -- if not bona fide brogrammers -- in herds. The "old guy" might kill the game room mood, bro.
Still, it's not doomsday. Lots of companies want the "old guy," as one IT veteran told us last year. There are plenty of steps you can take to make your age an asset rather than a hindrance in your job search.
And it should indeed be an asset. Experience brings with it critical traits for any employer: the kinds of skills that can only be developed on the job, the ability to spot -- and solve -- problems before they occur rather than when it's way too late, the efficient knowledge that it's not how many hours you work in a given week but what you get done while working that really matters to the bottom line, and so on. Then there are less tangible advantages of a well-balanced, diverse team that includes people across generations. Just as Mother Nature doesn't typically favor a monoculture over time, nor does the business world.
In the tips that follow, we outline some ways in which you can make your age a plus. It's not always easy, especially if you're out of work and feeling the considerable stress that often accompanies unemployment. But the ideas, drawn in part from our coverage and conversations with IT pros who have been there, recruiters, executives, and attorneys, can help frame your search, whether planned or unexpected, in a much more positive light.
In turn, they help frame you in a more positive light. For example, instead of branding your experience with a number -- "22 years in IT" -- why not brand it with the bottom-line results accumulated during those 22 years?
Read on for more. Have your own tips from a recent mid- or late-career job search? Share them with us in the comments. I'd also love to hear about your age discrimination stories via email.
(Source: Flazingo)
Experience can be a real asset, and you want an employer that values the wisdom that comes with it. But in a job search, you're better served stressing the skills you've accrued as a result of serious experience rather than the simple fact that you've been working for a long time. Emphasizing "18 years experience as a systems administrator" doesn't tell employers whether you're a good systems administrator. Instead, show ways in which your extensive track record has enabled you to solve business problems, save the company money, find new efficiencies, and so forth.
(Source: Flazingo)
Some career-advice keywords just sound a little cringe-worthy. "Fit" seems a likely choice -- especially if you're stressed out about finding your next position. But it's a real thing: If you and your employer are a bad match, you'll probably be job hunting again before you know it. If corporate maturity is important to you, for example, joining a fledgling startup with funding but little revenue probably isn't going to work out well. This can be an advantage for older jobseekers: You know yourself better than a fresh-faced 20-something just out of school. Be clear with yourself about what you want. Write down your job search criteria and be sure to distinguish between must-haves, great-to-haves, and the nice-to-haves that you can ultimately live (and work) without.
(Source: rosipaw)
No, we're not talking about your waistline -- though exercise certainly can help keep you sane during a stressful job search. Rather, we're talking about your professional network and activities. More than one recruiter has pointed out to us in the past that a network isn't something that can be turned on and off at your convenience. In fact, it can be downright awkward to reach out to someone for help if you haven't been in touch with them for 10 years. So stay connected with the people you've built relationships and made acquaintances with over the years, even if you're not actively job hunting. Likewise, make time for professional activities outside of work -- industry groups, open source projects, philanthropic endeavors, and other interests. You never know where your next lead or tip might come.
(Source: Freelancers Union)
Older IT pros that feel a bit like Rodney Dangerfield may be better served focusing their job search on larger employers, according to a recent report from IT advisory service firm Wisegate. In Wisegate's recent survey of senior-level IT pros, nearly two-thirds of respondents at companies with 5,000-plus employees said IT was taken very seriously in their organizations, versus one-third in businesses with under 500 people. Some 23% in the latter category said the internal view of IT was "not very [serious]," and Wisegate recommended IT pros looking to make their next career move be aware that respect may be tougher to come by in smaller businesses.
"While some IT practitioners may find this an interesting opportunity, many will be frustrated at having to prove something that should be obvious to everyone by now," the Wisegate report reads.
It's worth noting that half of the respondents have been working in IT for 20 or more years, and another 40% have been in the industry for 11 or more years.
(Source: Takashi Hososhima)
Knowing what you want from a job and employer is important, but an open mind can be as equally powerful. If you're struggling to land the "perfect" gig, try to stay attuned to less obvious opportunities, such as translating past experience into different, newer roles. IT pros comfortable working on complex deployments might make good project managers elsewhere in an organization, for instance. Similarly, consider how existing skills might be a good fit for newer technologies. Maybe you don't have a lot of Hadoop or other big data experience, but a hiring manager dealing with a tight labor market might love the fact that you've got very large database (VLDB) and relational database management system (RDBMS) skills, for example.
(Source: Flazingo)
Don't forget that the application and interview process is a two-way street. You can (and should) do your due diligence on a prospective employer. Wisegate found that IT shops with a high number of employees who've been with the company for six to 10 years is a good sign: 27% of people in that category reported an "extremely healthy" company culture, and 44% indicated a "somewhat healthy" culture -- a dozen points higher than any other employee group. "Somewhat healthy" might sound like a cause for skepticism, but Wisegate offered a different interpretation: pragmatism.
"The fact that they have remained this long indicates they have a healthy -- but not unrealistic -- sense of the company culture," the report said.
(Source: Flazingo)
You'll encounter plenty of advice these days -- for good reason -- urging career-minded IT pros to round out their tech acumen with so-called "soft skills." Such skills suffer a branding problem: "soft" sounds unimportant, a luxury in the era of busy as business as usual. Yet the longer your career lasts, the more likely a well-rounded skill set will benefit you. Learn the language of the C suite; take a public speaking course; become a mentor; contribute to industry publications -- that's just a short list of ways to start augmenting your hardcore IT expertise with abilities that employers increasingly value in their IT hires. It's no longer just about knowing the ins and outs of technologies; it's also about understanding why-when-where-how a company can use those technologies to improve their business.
(Source: UWI)
Like many occupations, IT has its share of stereotypes. There's one you definitely want to avoid, especially in mid- or late-career: the grumpy IT pro. Simply put, you're just not doing yourself any favors in terms of first impressions, referrals, and recommendations, or improving your odds in the interview process. Some people are so wildly talented and sought-after they can act like jerks and get away with it; most people, however, cannot. And even if you can get away with it today, you might not be able to tomorrow -- or 10 years down the road. Moral of the story: Even if you've been treated unfairly or suffered a traumatic job loss in the past, don't let it turn you into a grouch that no one wants to work with.
(Source: Olle Sundin)
You'll hear and read stories of people going great lengths to hide their age: Hair color, wardrobe updates, even cosmetic surgery. But ultimately you're doing just that: hiding. If you work in movies or TV, maybe it's a necessary evil. But is it really worth it in IT? Not likely. After all, any prospective employer is going to find out your age eventually. As one IT pro who'd dealt with ageism in the past told us, if some gray hair is going to be an issue for a company, you're better off finding out up front instead of wasting time and energy doing multiple interviews, code tests, and jumping through other application hoops.
(Source: Flazingo)
You'll hear and read stories of people going great lengths to hide their age: Hair color, wardrobe updates, even cosmetic surgery. But ultimately you're doing just that: hiding. If you work in movies or TV, maybe it's a necessary evil. But is it really worth it in IT? Not likely. After all, any prospective employer is going to find out your age eventually. As one IT pro who'd dealt with ageism in the past told us, if some gray hair is going to be an issue for a company, you're better off finding out up front instead of wasting time and energy doing multiple interviews, code tests, and jumping through other application hoops.
(Source: Flazingo)
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