What You Know and Do Matters
There is a saying that it’s not about what you know, but who you know when it comes to securing almost anything worth having, including a job. While there may be some truth to this statement, who you know means nothing if you get into a job and cannot do the job.
A recent ASTD Workplace Learning Report notes that one-third of U.S. students do not graduate from high school. The same report goes on to note that the U.S. has only 14 percent of the world’s college graduates, a declining number from the previous high of almost one-third of the world’s college graduates just 30 years ago. A Washington Post article goes on to note that 31% of the graduates we do produce have poor literacy skills. From these few statistics alone you can see the pool of qualified candidates is becoming increasingly narrow.
• Why does this matter? Those approaching 50 begin to panic that they’re aged out of the qualified candidate pool, citing ageism as a growing concern. For those clients over 60, it’s nearly always their top concern. Hiring managers are starting to paint a completely different picture. Older candidates are highly desirable because they tend to have a lot of what employers want: education, experience, good communication skills, and solid work habits. This is great news for the aging labor force that wants to stay employed.
• The bad news is that this same population of employees tends to believe they’ve paid their dues and that they do not stay current in the areas that matter in today’s workplace, including technology skills and changing business models and measurements. In some ways, they actually kick back a little and rest.
• Employees, regardless of their age, will remain employable if they stay current in their industry, stay up on basic technology changes (sorry mom, there are very few real live telephone operators anymore), and continually polish their interpersonal skills. Laurels are only for the ancient Romans.
Sharon DeLay is a certified career coach with the goal of helping people find jobs they love and love the jobs they have. Visit www.permanent-ink.com or e-mail Sharon@permanent-ink.com for more information or to subscribe to her twice weekly blog or twice monthly ezine. (c) 2008 Permanent Ink Professional Development Services