Learning more interview skills and getting hired in today’s economy isn’t easy, and men and women over 50 often have an extremely rough time. Some employers assume these candidates are overqualified or out of touch...making your job of learning interview skills for the over 50 ever more important.
You may want to say..."Heck yeah, and I've been doing your job BEFORE you were born!"
...of course you would NEVER say that, at least if you want to find a job. However, the chances are very high that you will be interviewed, by someone, younger, less experienced and perhaps threatened by you -- yes threatened.
THAT may be one of the biggest obstacle that you may need to overcome; along with showing the interviewer that you are in tune with and comfortable with today's technology and communications (both tools and the unique form of language social media comes along with).
You might say something like this:
You can answer this question by showing that you are capable of staying on top of things in a rapidly changing workplace. First talk about these constantly evolving challenges, then follow with examples of how keeping up with technologies has helped your productivity.
You might say something like this:
Use facts. Be honest. Say something like this:
Then move the conversation forward to what’s most important to the interviewer:
When learning more interview skills it's best to interject your questions during the interview to show interest and help you to engage in a nice rapport with the interviewer, but always have three or four questions in your back pocket to end the interview on.
This will show the interviewer that your on top of things...t's your turn to now interview the interviewer.
5 possible questions:
1. What skills and experiences would make an ideal candidate?
2. What is the single largest problem or challenge that your staff is facing, and how will this role play into solving them?
3. What have you enjoyed most about working here?
4. What constitutes success at this position and this firm or nonprofit...what does that look like?
5. Do you have any hesitations about my qualifications? (I love this question because it's gutsy. Also, you'll show that you're confident in your skills and abilities).
Read the employer’s website or company literature or go on LinkedIn and don’t ask questions about information provided there.
Learning more interview skills is about showing your prepared for the interview. Know the nature of the organization or company to show you have done your homework.
Responding with very specific questions will allow you to impress your potential employer with your knowledge and interest in the industry while also determining if this is the right job for you.
Do you have a great story that will help others or an embarrassing job interview moment others can learn from?
I invite you to share your experiences so that others can learn...The idea here is help and be helped...let others learn from your experiences.
Thank you for your contribution.