How to Get a Good Job After 50 E-Book

Rupert French

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 388

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Many people are looking to stay in the workforce longer and are seeking satisfying, fulfilling jobs. With age comes experience, reliability and practised skills, and this step-by-step guide explains how to market these qualities with confidence. Covering all aspects of the job search, this is a tried and tested recipe for career success!

Leseprobe

Rupert French has been actively involved in helping job seekers for almost 40 years. In that time he has developed and delivered highly successful job-search training and coaching programs. He has also presented on effective job-search methodology at numerous career conferences both national and international. This revised edition of How to Get a Good Job After 50 is his fourth book on successful job search.

Together with his experience as an employment counsellor and job search trainer, he brings skills developed in previous careers in journalism and teaching to clearly guiding his readers through the often confusing and daunting process of finding work.

Experience in a wide diversity of other occupations — as well as having crewed on a square-rigged sailing ship — has provided him with a good understanding of a variety of different careers and helped him ensure that his methodology caters for all.

PRAISE FOR THE NEW EDITION:

‘Over the hill for rewarding work? Not if you have self-belief and a methodical job search. Rupert French’s excellent book will steer you through the process. Valuable for job searches at any level, it is especially useful for older workers needing support to channel their knowledge and experience to new opportunities.’

— Dr John Neugebauer, BA, MSc, FCIPD, PhD; Visiting Fellow, Bristol Business School

‘How to Get a Good Job After 50 is a comprehensive guide that explains job seeking today. It journeys right through the job search process from first steps through to succeeding in your new job. Rupert French’s years of experience shine through with a wealth of well-tested suggestions and a confidence in openly debating some contentious issues for those over 50. Rupert explains current recruitment processes, provides practical lists and clear steps to follow, and offers a selection of approaches to job search. If you are an older worker who needs a confidence boost for your job search, you could add this book to your resources.’

— Julie Thomas, Director of The Career Development Company

‘A fantastic guide for mature-age workers seeking to build confidence and control in their job searching.’

— Jennifer Luke, Careers educator, practitioner and researcher, University of Southern Queensland

‘Job-hunting can be lonely and, post 50, it can feel like landing on an alien planet. Let Rupert French be your expert guide. He’s over 50, has inside knowledge of today’s world of work and he’s passionate about helping you. Rupert’s book, How to Get a Good Job After 50, provides advice on today’s cover letter and résumé writing and addressing selection criteria and interviews but also how to ace the new stuff — social media, networking and even the ‘robot’ interview (that’s a thing now). The book will help you develop the right mindset for today’s job hunt. A must to market all you still have to offer.’

— Kate Southam, career blogger, speaker and coach

‘A brilliant and comprehensive guide to help you get back on your feet and into work over 50! It puts you, the job seeker, back in the driving seat of your career and takes the mystery out of job seeking today. Find out how to use your age to your advantage and secure a job that ticks all the boxes!’

— Lola Brocklesby, career coach, Viva Career Coaching

‘Rupert’s How To Get A Good Job After 50 is a must-read for the 50+ job market. More so, a top 5 book to have for any person at any age, doing a career transition . . . Get ready to learn, build confidence, and attack your new job with Rupert French.’

— Professor Rick, digital author, gainful employment expert, career educator

‘If you are daunted by job search then this practical toolbox is for you, bursting full of nuggets of wisdom.’

— Dr Edwin Trevor-Roberts

‘This informative and practical book is a must-read for anyone over the age of 50 who is out of work or considering a career change.

Each chapter provides easy to read, practical advice, along with worked examples. There are also sample cover letters and résumés at the back. While I’m not looking for work, the book even gave me some practical tips for marketing myself as an entrepreneur.’

— Amanda Heal, inspirational speaker, published author and empowerment coach

‘This book is well-written and the content is organized in a way that makes perfect sense. I like that Rupert has used real examples to illustrate key points, ensuring all sections are as easy to read as they are informative. It seems to me that readers will have no trouble relating to Rupert’s examples and applying his advice to their own circumstances. Let’s face it: it’s tough out there in the job market. This book provides useful practical tips as well as some much-needed encouragement for its audience.’

— Wanda Hayes, experienced career practitioner and CDAA National President (2017–21)

‘Mature-aged candidates can take control of their employment search by using Rupert French’s excellent advice. Giving jobseekers confidence and understanding to select the right employment opportunities for them is a really positive shift from the traditional job application process. How to manage such a campaign is well described in this book; clearly written to share the value of extensive experience. Unreservedly recommended.’

— Grant Herring, 30-year veteran of Community and Employment Services management

Rupert French has hit the “ball out of the park” with his job search book, How To Get A Good Job After 50. I loved the way he started with a focus on building confidence and a proactive enterprise approach to job search. The unemployment experience can be challenging both emotionally and cognitively. French helps to build hope and he restores the feeling that one has some control over the process. The information provided is up-to-date, practical, and presented in a manner that is accessible for people of all ages. There are numerous illustrations and activities within each section and he takes you through all aspects of the job search process. This is an excellent book and it deserves to be on the shelf of all career practitioners and the clients they are serving.’

— Norman Amundson, PhD, Professor Emeritus,University of British Columbia

‘How to Get a Good Job After 50 has all of the elements of an excellent job-search book. In addition, Rupert French has loaded it with techniques that energize older job seekers to not only compete with younger colleagues, but to beat them out in the competition to get hired. This book is like having a wise uncle as your personal job search coach.’

— Richard ‘Dick’ Knowdell, author of Building a Career Development Program and From Downsizing to Recovery, Founder of Career Planning & Adult Development Network

Contents

Author’s note

Introduction: What’s so special about this book?

Chapter 1:Establishing You & Co

Chapter 2:A permanent job, the gig economy and other options

Chapter 3:The résumé — a ‘business proposal’

Chapter 4:The résumé — fleshing out the skeleton

Chapter 5:The résumé — the more challenging bits

Chapter 6:The sizzle that sells the story

Chapter 7:Cover letters and a call to action

Chapter 8:Addressing the selection criteria

Chapter 9:Your billboard in the cloud

Chapter 10:Avenues for marketing

Chapter 11:Goodwill, market research and networking

Chapter 12:Staying calm and positive when the going gets tough

Chapter 13:Preparing your pitch for the job interview

Chapter 14:Making the sale in the face-to-face job interview

Chapter 15:Phone, video and robot interviews

Chapter 16:Assessment centres

Chapter 17:Sealing the deal

Chapter 18:Succeeding in the new job

Appendix 1:Specimen applications for human eyes

Appendix 2:Specimen applications for ATS software

Endnotes

Acknowledgments

Index

Author’s note

All the applications in this book are fictitious. The applicants themselves and their backgrounds are creations of my imagination. While places were researched carefully and local industries identified, any resemblance to any person is totally coincidental.

The applications in the book have been designed for real jobs in real places but the identities and locations of all the employer organizations, with the exception of two, have been changed to ensure the privacy of the employer. The two organizations which have not changed are included with the employers’ permission.

You will find the specimen applications divided into two appendices at the back of the book. Appendix 1 features the applications designed to be read by human eyes and Appendix 2 contains those prepared for screening by computer software (ATS). The book features excerpts from these applications, as well as a few examples from other applications not included in the appendices. The excerpts should give you a good idea of how you can present your experience, skills and achievements to prospective employers.

INTRODUCTION

What’s so special about this book?

The purpose of this book is to help you get the job you want as quickly as possible, and one essential for that is confidence. Above everything else, confidence is the deciding factor. If you are confident that you will be successful in the job search and you are equally confident that you will be successful in the job itself, the likelihood for your success is strong.

If you have been looking for work for a while, you may have lost some of your confidence. One of the drawbacks of traditional job seeking is that it saps self-belief because it takes control away from the job seeker.

The processes suggested in this book are designed to boost confidence. Every chapter is purposefully designed to help you build self-assurance. Certainly, it tells you how to create convincing résumés and prepare winning answers to interview questions and all the other aspects of a successful job search, but boosting your confidence underpins everything.

And to be confident, you need to feel that you’re in control.

A proactive, enterprise-based approach when job seeking puts you firmly in the driver’s seat. It encourages you to think of yourself as a micro-business, a consultant or a contractor, and to reach out to prospective ‘clients’ using proven marketing strategies. This requires hard work and treats the job search as a full-time job. At times it can be daunting, but you will enjoy the feeling of being very much in control.

With this approach, you don’t need to rely on trawling through job boards to find jobs being advertised. You know what sort of work you want to do and you can identify the organizations which offer that sort of work. From there you can develop an effective marketing plan for your services.

This approach also ticks all the right boxes for displaying the qualities which make you worth employing. Through it, you demonstrate a strong work ethic; you are motivated because you feel in control as you are working for yourself. This encourages you to display determination and persistence, energy and drive, a can-do attitude — the attributes most highly prized by employers.

Through networking, you exhibit good communication and interpersonal skills as well as a willingness to learn and change. Arranging and attending meetings shows your organizational skills and reliability. Your research, emails and social media presence demonstrate clear evidence of your IT competence. And networking in this way is a known confidence booster.

When you adopt an enterprise-based approach to your job search, people already working for your prospective employers will get to know you and, should a vacancy arise, they’ll put in a good word for you. It doesn’t happen every time, but it happens much too frequently to be ignored. Job seekers using this methodology are often invited to attend an interview before the job has been advertised. When this happens, there are no younger applicants competing for the position.

So, why not give it a go?

CHAPTER 1

Establishing You & Co

So, you’re over 50, you’re looking for a job and perhaps you’re worried that no one will want to hire you because of your age. This book shows how you can avoid age discrimination with your own well-planned, proactive job search campaign, one which dispels any concerns employers may have regarding your age.

At the same time, a well-planned, proactive job search emphasizes the many benefits that your maturity and experience will bring to the workplace. This approach shows you how to run your campaign and gain the sort of employment you want. Whatever your age and situation, if you use the strategies outlined in this book, you could have the sort of employment you are looking for, and usually within a relatively short period of time.

Concerns employers have regarding older applicants

Some employers have concerns which are based on mistaken stereotypes of older applicants. Because these stereotypes are so prevalent, they are widely accepted without question. This means that older job seekers need to clearly demonstrate that these stereotypes do not apply to them. The entrepreneurial approach to the job search, described in this chapter, is an effective way of achieving this.

The misconceived stereotype of mature workers is that they may have health problems; that they lack the energy and stamina of younger workers; that they are stuck in their ways and unwilling to learn and adapt to change; that they are unlikely to work well under a younger supervisor or relate well to younger co-workers; and that they are not up-to-date with technology. All of these have been proven to be fallacies and yet they are still believed by many.

Unfortunately, because they are so prevalent, these stereotypes often affect how mature job seekers view themselves. Instead of seeing the benefits of their experience, they start to believe in the popularly accepted but ill-founded perception of age-related decrepitude.

The benefits older applicants bring to the workplace

In spite of continuing discrimination against older workers, there is strong statistical evidence that many employers would prefer to hire workers over 50 to those under 30.1 According to a survey by Adecco of 500 hiring managers, 60 per cent answered that, given the choice of hiring a Millennial or someone over 50, they would hire the mature worker.2 The reasons for this are that older workers are seen to have a good work ethic; they are more reliable and responsible, and that, because they have experienced difficult situations and crises in the past, they are good problem-solvers and are able to help and mentor their younger colleagues.

One 2017 study published in Forbes found, ‘An older worker’s experience increases not only his own productivity but also the productivity of those who work with him.’3 Another article, also published in Forbes just two months later, showed that productivity does not peak until age 50 when it is 60 per cent higher than that of the average twenty-year-old.4

While ‘mental power’ — the ability to quickly grasp new facts and ideas — seems to decline after the age of 30, knowledge and expertise keep increasing well into old age, according to research quoted in the Harvard Business Review in 2019.5 The report states that knowledge and expertise are the main predictors of job performance. Older workers retain interest and curiosity to trigger new skill acquisition and, as they learn new techniques beside their younger teammates, because they bring understanding gained in different situations, the learning experience for all is the richer.

Far from being a health risk, mature workers statistically have fewer sick days than younger workers, according to a report in The Independent.6 Corinne Purtill writing for Quartz at Work (2018) states that older workers also tend to have greater loyalty towards their employer and their team.7

Debunking the misconceptions

A proactive, full-time job search campaign can clearly demonstrate that you do not fit the negative stereotype of an older worker. It can show your employability and how you would fit into a workplace. Your energy, work ethic, motivation, communication and interpersonal skills and your IT competence can all be on display. If you believe that your fitness level could be better, make regular sport, the gym or an exercise routine part of your campaign. If you believe that you need to update your skills, include in your campaign relevant training and development. Do some volunteer work to demonstrate your adaptability, your work ethic and your ability to work with younger people.

The entrepreneurial approach

One of the biggest frustrations faced by job seekers is that so much of the process seems to be in other people’s hands. When you mount a reactive job search campaign, when you rely solely on finding advertised positions, you are putting yourself into a position of dependence on factors which are outside your control; you are at the mercy of recruiters and employers. The accepted method of trawling through job boards and applying for possible positions leaves you feeling powerless. You are relying on employers to advertise positions and to read your application. And there’s not much you can do when they don’t get back to you.

To regain the initiative, mount a job search campaign where you are in control, where you proactively go looking for jobs which have not been advertised.

Be entrepreneurial, not in the sense of starting a small business, but through accessing the hidden job market8 and managing your job search campaign as if you were a micro-enterprise looking for prospective ‘clients’. This is not a new concept. However, it’s not as widely practised as it should be, despite its proven success.9

Australian entrepreneur Rebekah Campbell, in an interview with Business Insiders in 2018, said: ‘People should think of themselves as entrepreneurs rather than as employees. That doesn’t mean that everybody is going to necessarily start a business. But it means everybody is the CEO/founder of their own business, which is their own career.’10

Once you take control of your job search in this way, you will experience a welcome boost to both your confidence and your self-esteem. These are both essential ingredients for job search success.

Because this approach requires continuous effort, it will demonstrate your work ethic. And because you’ll regularly be communicating with and meeting people, your interpersonal and communication skills will also be shown, convincing not only employers of your worth, but yourself as well. An energetic, proactive, well-organized job search campaign will boost your belief in yourself and will persuade employers to believe in you too.

And one final and great advantage is that when seeking jobs this way, you are usually the only applicant. There will be no younger candidates to compete against you.

Establishing You & Co

The first step is to convince yourself that you and your career do constitute a micro-enterprise and that to manage your career and your job search campaign as a micro-enterprise will give you the greatest likelihood of success.

One very simple strategy which some job seekers have found helpful is to create a certificate stating that you are the CEO of You & Co11 and put it on the wall above your desk. Choose a name for your business, one that best represents you and the type of work you want to do, for example ‘Linda Heatherton, Tour Guide Contractor’ or ‘Tom Matlock, OH&S Consultant’. Make it look as good and as realistic as you can. Certainly, it may just be a bit of aspirational swagger, but it will keep reminding you to manage your job search campaign as a business until this becomes second nature.

A more substantial strategy, one which every job seeker should adopt, is to establish an honorary advisory ‘Board’ for You & Co. This might consist of perhaps three to five people you know and trust, people who would like to help you and provide support, people you can draw on for advice and encouragement. Job seeking can be a lonely occupation and you will find that having this sort of support will make a huge difference to your confidence and feeling of wellbeing and, therefore, to the likelihood of your success.

Meet with these people regularly, not necessarily always in a ‘Board’ setting. Let them know what your ideas are, the progress you’re making and the problems you’re facing. Bounce ideas off them or ask for their advice about a strategy you are considering.

Another strategy you might find useful is to find a ‘virtual mentor’. A virtual mentor could be a famous person, living or dead, or a character from a film, television series or book. The important thing is that your virtual mentor is a character you admire and would like to emulate, someone you think you know well and understand, and someone who acts in a way you believe you need to, in order to find the job you want.

When you face a challenging situation or difficult decision, mentally ask this virtual mentor for their advice. If you know the mentor well you will be able to determine what they would say, and that could be just the advice you need.12

Another important strategy which we will discuss in the next chapter is composing a ‘mission statement’ for your job search campaign. Like the certificate, your mission statement should be visible, maybe not on the wall but in your diary or job search action plan; somewhere you will see it on a daily basis.

Managing your own micro-enterprise means working at it full-time. To make the best use of this time, you should plan each day. What do you need to do today to progress your business? Put it in your diary now or make yourself a Daily Action Planner (see Chapter 11). You might be hesitating to get started, not quite sure what to do first, so here are some ideas to get you started:

■Create a certificate stating you are the CEO of You & Co.

■Contact someone you would like as a member of your ‘Board’ and discuss your plans.

■Select the precise sort of position you are seeking. This could include a variety of roles if you are aiming for a mix of employment options, so try to be as precise as you can be for each job option (see Chapter 2).

The last word

Once you have taken just one of these actions, you have started. Don’t give up. Yes, things will probably get difficult at times, you will almost certainly have to face some challenges on the way and there are times when you might feel uncomfortable or unsure. But keep going. Keep your goal in mind. It’s your future which is at stake and that is worth working for. Congratulations! You’re on your way.

CHAPTER 2

A permanent job, the gig economy and other options

The first chapter showed you how to start your job search campaign by establishing You & Co and adopting an entrepreneurial approach. If you want to be successful in your job search, you need to have a clear plan just as you would need in business. A clear plan means knowing exactly what sort of work you are seeking. You will probably know the occupation you want to follow, but you might not have thought about how you want to work.

Do you want permanent, temporary or casual employment? Full-time or part-time work or some mix of the options available? If you haven’t considered alternatives to permanent full-time work, this chapter discusses some of the benefits and downsides of different employment structures, including the gig economy, to help you decide.

It makes such a difference to the enthusiasm you will bring to the job search if you are looking forward to work which will bring you a sense of fulfilment. Look for something which satisfies your interests and values and you will almost certainly find employment sooner than if you just go for any job. And having a clear picture of the sort of work you are seeking will make planning your campaign that much easier and, importantly, your ultimate success so much sooner.

Helping you analyze your interests, values and personality type is outside the scope of this book. This chapter explores different ways of working to help you decide what sort of employment format would best suit your current circumstances.

Permanent full-time or part-time work

The advantages of a permanent position, whether full-time or parttime, are that it is relatively secure and includes benefits such as paid holidays, superannuation, workers compensation insurance and sick leave. A permanent role could also offer you training and a chance for advancement within the organization. Some people see routine and lack of flexibility as disadvantages, but others thrive in a predictable environment.

Because employers invest more heavily in permanent employees, it might take a bit longer to get a permanent position.

The gig economy

The gig economy has been defined as a free market system where organizations such as labour hire companies, online gig platforms and independent workers engage in short-term work arrangements.1 For those approaching retirement, or if you are retired and want to get back into the workforce, the gig economy offers great flexibility, allowing for extended holidays or days free to follow other pursuits.

While the term ‘gig economy’ is new, it encompasses many jobs which have been around for decades. These include seasonal farm work, locum doctors and relief or substitute teachers. Casual workers, including those employed by labour hire companies, are seen as gig workers. Agency nurses, engineers hired on a temporary basis through platforms such as Upwork, freelance journalists and writers, Uber drivers and Airbnb hosts — all of these are now considered part of the gig economy. Tom Amos, CEO and co-founder of the gig platform Sidekicker, highlights the benefits of the gig economy:

The gig economy can be used in a range of roles, whether it is junior admin roles and hospitality right up to highly skilled workers, developers and designers and marketers. [The gig economy] is also valuable at the executive level — CFOs, CTOs can be really effective on a gig basis as it’s an opportunity to bring in intellectual property (IP) if the business is lacking in a certain area.2

How gig platforms work

Gig platforms are a cross between an online labour hire company and a job board for temporary work. They may charge the worker fees and/ or take a commission from the worker’s earnings.

To find the platforms which best suit your circumstances and the type of work you are seeking, research them carefully. Once you have chosen a platform, create a profile to attract buyers, but don’t just leave it there. To make it work for you, you need to actively search your selected platforms for gigs which match your skill set, then tailor your responses to both the advertised role and to the enquiring organization.

Opportunities and pitfalls in the gig economy

The gig economy comes with both opportunities and pitfalls. It arrived so fast that governments have been unable to keep up with it and the businesses it has spawned have perhaps grown too quickly. This has sparked some criticisms of inefficient management and failure to listen to feedback. Some have found that it lacks security and provides lower pay with fewer benefits. For others, however, it has provided greater earning power and lifestyle flexibility. Many gig roles are not covered by insurance, and sick pay and holidays may not be offered. However, many workers in the gig economy have no desire to be tied down to being an employee in a 9 to 5 job and are happy to arrange their own insurance and set aside sufficient money to cover sickness and holidays.

One big pro for the job seeker is that you can often pick up a gig role comparatively quickly. Those seeking a more permanent position could find it helpful to have a temporary role or gig to augment their income during the job search.

Benefits of the gig economy for older workers

While the gig economy is very appealing to young people who value their freedom and flexibility, it is also popular with older workers. ‘Freelance careers also appeal to those in life transitions,’ says Sara Sutton Fell. ‘Stay-at-home parents who want to dip their toes back in are able to re-enter the workforce without the commitment. Similarly, experienced retirees can take on projects at their discretion, and displaced workers can use freelance work to make contacts and get their foot in the door.’3

Research by Queensland University of Technology’s Paula McDonald in 2019 found that 7 per cent of working Australians are finding work through the gig economy.4 This is likely to increase rapidly over the next few years. A survey by Small Business/Gallup in August 2019 reported, ‘Over one-third of US workers (36 per cent) participate in the gig economy, either through their primary or secondary jobs.’5

So with all the opportunities it offers and all its imperfections, the gig economy is here to stay. It may, therefore, be wise to consider it in your job search plans, whether it be to help cash flow while you look for a more permanent position or as an ongoing part of your future career.

Creating a portfolio career

A portfolio career or modular work is when you have a mix of work types and income sources. You might have a permanent part-time job with one organization and a casual position with another. You might mix that with rideshare or renting out visitor accommodation and freelancing using one of the gig economy apps or platforms.

This concept often appeals to a number of older job seekers, not only because they get work sooner than going for more permanent positions, but also because they enjoy the flexibility it allows. Portfolio careers are gaining popularity as people seek to improve their work–life balance and boost their enjoyment of life and employment.

This ‘bundle’ of income sources, and interaction with your community, can include at its centre an option for a sort of paying hobby, something which you may want to do because you love it rather than for whatever income it might bring you. It could be art or writing, dressmaking or restoring old cars for resale, music or maintaining a small market garden. The important thing is that it is something that you really love doing. This is because it could develop into a cottage industry and give you a very satisfying life. There are people in their seventies and older who make a handy little income crafting wooden souvenirs or tending people’s gardens. A cottage industry or something similar has the treble benefit of being enjoyable, making money (albeit not a fortune) and is low risk in that it usually doesn’t cost a large initial outlay.

Portfolio career — a way to build a career in the gig economy

The dollar signs in the diagram indicate the scale of income provided in the particular work area — bigger signs indicate a larger source of income, while the smaller ones indicate little or no income.

When you’re starting off, it’s usually best if your paying hobby or potential cottage industry is something you can do at any time, so that you can fit it in between other, better paid income sources, which might not be so time flexible.

A portfolio career can give you the flexibility to take a day off when you need to look after the grandchildren or take a short holiday. It might not give you the opportunities for promotion that a permanent, full-time position would and your income may differ from week to week; however, you would enjoy increased employment security simply because you don’t have all your eggs in the one basket.6 If you lose one income source, you will still have the other sources to tide you over until you can create a replacement source.

Volunteering

If you are considering a portfolio career, you might also consider including non-paying roles, such as working in the Men’s Shed or a local charity, involvement in sport or community organizations including service clubs like Rotary, and volunteering. As you will see in Chapter 12, any of these roles can significantly boost your confidence and self-esteem and help you avoid the social isolation which can result from job loss. Social isolation can have a profound impact on your sense of independence, achievement and purposefulness which, together with confidence and self-esteem, are so essential to your job search success.

Volunteering or community-based activities can be a valid part of your job search campaign as long as you see them helping you achieve your employment goal. They can help you meet people and demonstrate your energy, helpfulness, personal traits and employable skills. These qualities will encourage people to like you and to want to help and encourage you. They can be a great source of referrals to relevant people who could assist you in the job search. I’ve had clients who have won seriously good professional positions through volunteering. The important thing is to include it as part of your plan before the distress of unemployment gets a stranglehold.

Work at the job search as if working for yourself

No one is going to just give you a job; it’s up to you to convince an employer that you are worth hiring. And to do this you need to develop a well-planned campaign.

Whether seeking a permanent position or a gig, you will be undertaking many different tasks during the job search, researching organizations, setting up meetings and talking to different people in different places. To manage your time, you will need to be well organized and efficient. To market your services and to negotiate with prospective ‘clients’, you will need to be very business-like, and you will be in control, in charge of the whole operation. It will be just like running yourself as a small business. To be in control you need to have a plan, and the rest of the chapter is devoted to helping you create that.

Deciding which way to go

The table below shows some of the pros and cons of permanent, fulltime employment compared to those of making a living from a mixture of gigs. If you are wondering which way to go, you may find the table helpful, but before you fully make up your mind discuss the pros and cons with those closest to you or members of your ‘Board’. Bouncing ideas like this and thrashing out the issues will clarify the factors that are more important to you and make the decision easier.

PERMANENT, FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT VERSUS GIG EMPLOYMENT

Permanent position (full- or part-time)

Gig economy/casual/portfolio career

Steady income

Several income streams

Set salary or wage rates

Sometimes below set pay rates

Superannuation, workers compensation insurance, paid leave

Employment benefits may not be provided

Tax deducted by employer

May need to make own tax arrangements

Continuity in role

Often need to find new gigs

Little control over work-life

Great control over work-life

Career management requires little organization

Need to be very well organized to manage the different roles

May take longer to find work

May find work sooner

Setting yourself up in small business

Setting yourself up in small business is another option, but it’s a significantly different option. Unlike the cottage industry idea we discussed earlier, starting or buying a small business that will provide you with a decent income is a big responsibility and can be a big gamble. ‘Founding your own small business is unlike any other job you may take on. It’s a pathway to a totally different lifestyle — so much so that you’ll have to ask yourself whether you’re ready for a complete commitment to the success of your business,’ writes Courtney Abud for the Hostway Blog.7

And it’s not that different if you buy or take over a small business. You have a large commitment and, if you’ve had to get finance, you may find yourself working for the bank rather than for yourself. Most small business owners, especially in the early years, work very long hours, often working on the business, doing the accounts or stocktaking, rather than in the business, providing the goods or services they want to provide.

On the other hand, owning a small business can be exhilarating and it gives you a greater chance to make good money — but also a greater chance to lose it. To minimize the chance of serious financial loss, limit any borrowing to an absolute minimum and seek business advice before committing yourself. And as your ideas develop, discuss them thoroughly with the members of your ‘Board’.

Running a small business can also be a lonely occupation. Having a partner to share in the decision-making process, as well as the initial capital outlay, can be a great help. However, it is also possible for good friends to fall out in this sort of situation. Go for it by all means if you’ve got a really good idea and bags of energy, but be careful.

Writing your job search mission statement

An important part of the planning process is writing your job search mission statement. It defines the end-goal of your job search campaign and it can make a big difference to the likelihood of your success, according to Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.8 Covey’s mission statements describe the purpose for a whole life while a job search mission statement defines the purpose driving your job search. This is what will help you stay focused on the end-goal as you navigate the turbulent waters of the job search.

Your mission statement is more than a job search goal because it includes your reasons — the ‘why’ behind your chosen path. You may have heard it said that the key to success is to know your ‘why’. The ‘why’ is important because it provides your motivating force. A good mission statement isn’t just a slogan; it’s the foundation of the strategy you will use to achieve job search success — the basis of your plan.

Writing a mission statement isn’t easy and you’ll probably want to rework it more than once during the job search, and that’s fine. But it’s important to write something quickly now to keep yourself motivated and focused on the job search right from the start to maximize the likelihood of success. When writing your mission statement aim to include four elements:

1.What you want to do.

2.How you will do it.

3.Why you want to do it.

4.The date by which you want to be employed.

You can broaden your statement by expressing or implying within those elements your strengths and core values. Here are two examples: ‘I enjoy illustrating and I want to use these skills to help small businesses and so build a satisfying, flexible and creative work-life generating $X per month within six weeks.’ ‘My mission is to build a satisfying career using my communication and interpersonal skills to improve the marketing of thingamajigs and making them more widely available. I will achieve this role by [date] through a proactive, full-time job search.’

Set the end date to a Monday six weeks away. This is the date by which you want to have started work. Ambitious? Yes, but realistic. In most circumstances, this full-time, proactive approach to the job search can achieve success in six weeks or less. Besides, an ambitious target date will help you to plan and give you something to work towards. The light at the end of the tunnel will be well and truly lit. And as your campaign evolves, you can always modify the mission statement to accommodate new circumstances.

The last word

Write your job search mission statement now. As already stated, you may need to modify it as circumstances change, but whether or not you change it in the future, composing a mission statement right now boosts the likelihood of job search success because it gives you something to aim for immediately. And because there’s a target date, an endpoint is in sight and this will have a positive impact on your confidence. You will feel more in control.

The next step is to identify the best ways to start promoting your services. This is the subject of the next chapter.

CHAPTER 3

The résumé — a ‘business proposal’

A résumé or CV1 is a business proposal for a particular position in a particular organization. It is not a brochure for mass distribution. It markets you for that one specific job and it shows how you would benefit the organization you are applying to.

Each résumé you write must be specifically tailored to the position you are applying for. Unlike a brochure, a résumé is for the one recipient only — the hiring manager of the organization you are approaching. The more accurately the résumé portrays how your attributes match the requirements of the position, the more effective it will be. A so-called generic résumé is considered junk mail and discarded or deleted.

Job seeking is not a numbers game. It is the quality of the application that wins you the job, not the quantity of applications you send out. Five well-written résumés are much more likely to get you the results you want than 50 not-so-carefully tailored ones.

Please believe this maxim from the start: the candidate who wins the job is the one who makes the best application. By this I mean the whole application process: the résumé, interview, research and networking. The résumé is an important part of the process and you can’t afford one that is second-rate. Yes, it requires hard work, but a well-written résumé gets results. And it’s a successful outcome that you want.

This chapter and the following two will explain just how to make your résumé a winner. This chapter explains how to structure your résumé (the skeleton), while chapters 4 and 5 show you how to flesh it out and write the text. All three chapters give many examples from the specimen applications in the appendices.

Know your audience

As for any piece of effective writing, you need to know your audience. You need to know the employers and what is most important to them. To do this, you need to research the organization and the role you are going for, and then address their needs throughout your résumé.

To be successful, your résumé needs to grab the employer’s interest within the first few lines and then hold that interest through to the end. It can only do this if every line helps the employer envisage how you would perform in that particular role and how your skill set would meet their specific needs. As you research the organization, you will learn what is most important to that particular employer.

ATS-compliant résumés

What if the first audience for your résumé is a robot? Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software uses artificial intelligence to screen job applicants. It is now used by many employers around the world and ATS robots don’t read like humans. How to know whether your application is likely to be screened by ATS software will be discussed shortly.

What ATS software is looking for are keywords. These should be shown in your application in exactly the same way as the keywords in the position description (PD). Make sure that they are in but don’t over-use them because that too can cause the ATS robot to reject your application.

As well as keywords, the software is also looking for reasons to eliminate your application and age is a prime example. The software could eliminate you if you include your date of birth. This is why an ATS résumé does not contain a Personal Information section.

ATS-compliant résumés are designed to be easy to read for the ATS software and therefore their layout is not so enticing to human eyes. ATS-compliant résumés generally look more uniform than résumés destined to be read by a human. Type is uniform in size except your name and perhaps the title of the position you are applying for, which might be two points larger. Narrow margins and lack of white space are often preferred to get the whole résumé onto one page and the typeface should be sans serif (that is, without the small decorative ‘feet’ (serifs) at the end of the letters) and one that is standard on most computers, such as Calibri or Arial.

The software can be tripped by fancy formatting, such as tables or columns, and it can’t read headers and footers. Some ATS software can’t read a PDF document either.

Text differences between ATS and human-eye résumés

There are a couple of areas where the wording may differ between ATS and human-eye résumés. First, section headings can vary between the two formats and secondly, in the ATS-compliant résumé the Core Competencies/Qualifications/Skills and Achievements section may just have an outline of key skill areas, leaving the cover letter to provide more detail. These differences are not major and they’re not mandatory. While ATS résumés normally fit onto one page, ATS software doesn’t measure length and it is programmed to read to the end.

When you look through the specimen applications at the back of this book, you will see two distinct styles of résumé — one destined for human eyes and the other for ATS software. Although they look different and require a different format, the principles for writing them are the same.

Human eyes or robot: which will read your résumé?

An ATS-compliant résumé is the better bet if you are:

■applying for an advertised position, especially one for an organization employing 100 people or more and based in a major city

■applying online, perhaps through the company website

■applying through a recruitment agency

■applying for a job where you think that there might be a large number of applications.

If, on the other hand, you are applying to a small organization, especially one in a regional area and where no recruitment company is involved, your résumé is likely to be first assessed by human eyes. And if you have found the position through networking, one which hasn’t yet been advertised, it’s almost certain that a résumé designed for human eyes would be the better choice.