The Over 50′s – An emerging market
The over 50′s have the money!
It’s taken marketers and advertising agencies a long time to get over their obsession with the “youth” as being the main target market. Now the attention is shifting to where the dollars really are – the “grey dollar”.
There is a lot of interest, too, in the longer-term marketing implications of the apparent “war of the generations” being discussed internationally by savvy business leaders now, and two issues jump out:
- If millennials really are significantly delaying some of the traditional milestones of adulthood – marriage, first job, first kids, first home – then this throws into disarray the “consumer life cycle” model on which so much of traditional mass marketing is based.
- If multi-generational families, or “grandfamilies,” are an important emerging niche, then this, too, throws into disarray the traditional model of which consumers make the key buying decisions at which stages of life. All of a sudden, grandparents may become important purchasing influences over kid’s products, for example.
The over 50′s have the experience!
In the job market this has been the case for some years, it’s just that the “youth-culture” focused businesses have not seen it coming.
They are calling it the “grey workforce”, and they bring a stabilising influence and experience to a workplace and, more importantly, they bring an understanding of other workplaces and cultures. There’s an appreciation that “grey” workers often have decades of skills, and tend to be more loyal to their employer. These are all positives that the employing business can leverage and benefit from.
In late April, the Federal Government announced that it is offering to pay $1,000 bonus to 10,000 employers who recruit and retain a worker aged 50 years or over for more than three months. That’s a great incentive, but not the only benefit an employer is going to receive by employing a 50+ person.
It is expected that the numbers of “grey” workers will grow in the coming years; they will be employed and cashed up, making them a marketing target for savvy businesses.
Refer to http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/Programs/ExpPlus/Employers/Pages/Overview.aspx#1 for more information about the Federal Government Jobs Bonus.
What are ‘soft skills’ and how to present them to get a new job
7 soft skills and how to use them
Soft skills are the personal qualities that will make you a great person to work with, and are usually universal for all employment positions. While many jobs require specific qualifications, trade certificates, or skills that are relevant to their industry, soft skills are the more general qualities that will help you work productively, contribute in the workplace and be a valued member of a team.
Soft skills can cover:-
Soft Skills #1 -
Values & Motives – an individual’s work ethic and personal motivators within a business environment.
Your employer will want you to have the right personal values and the right character to fit well within the team. Your personal work ethic, the things that motivate you to succeed, and your overall personality and attitude will determine if you have the right soft skills that will make you the right person for the job.
Soft Skills #2 -
Cultural Fit – the match of an individual’s attitude and value system with the overall company culture and value system.
Soft Skills #3 -
Personality – the personality fit with team dynamics and management/ leadership. Employers are always seeking someone they can work with easily, without fuss and complications. They will seek to hire someone who has the soft skills of being both a leader, and a follower. In the workplace you will need to alternate easily between these roles, and have an amicable personality that makes you pleasant to work with.
Soft Skills #4 -
Future Potential – the career potential, highlight areas of strength and areas for development.
Soft Skills #5 -
Cognitive Abilities – an individual’s aptitude for learning and their ability to apply new and abstract information including comprehension skills and spatial awareness. A potential employer will also want to know that you will grow well within the company, and strive hard to improve yourself and your status within the company. They want a team member with soft skills who is committed to on-going learning and someone who can adapt to a variety of roles and responsibilities.
Soft Skills #6 -
Reliability & Character – the reliability and character of an individual. An employer wants to know that you are emotionally stable, and are prepared to work hard, be reliable, be amicable, and get the job done. These are all valuable soft skills.
Soft Skills #7 -
Confidence – is another of the soft skills that is often overlooked in resumes and job interviews. Confidence does not mean over confident. You don’t need to be fake or too self-assured. An employer simply wants to hire someone who can make confident and quick decisions, displays an impression of competence, and is an all-round positive person.
In the workplace you will need to have confidence in your own abilities, and also in the company you work for. Your confidence will transfer onto your colleagues, especially if you are in a management position, and also to your company’s clients and customers. Your confidence will be used to promote the company you work for, and is one of the valuable soft skills. You can list this quality in your resume, but most importantly, your confidence will truly shine during the employment interview, where you can maintain eye contact and answer their questions clearly and competently.
Demonstration of Soft Skills
You can demonstrate these soft skills by giving examples of your previous conflicts or social challenges, and explain how you successfully solved them, so the situation was win-win for all involved. You can provide these details, along with other soft skills, in your cover letter, but also refer to them in a job interview if it relates to one of the questions that the interviewer asks you.
How to use Australian Online Job Agencies
Finding and applying for vacant positions in Australia has never been easier, with the use of online job agencies. In a traditional setting, a job agency will have a physical office that you need to visit with your resume, and attend an interview there. During the interview you would talk about your preferences for a job, and the skills and experience you have to offer a potential employer. A job agency seeks a win-win situation for both the employer and the employee, and works to match the best person for the best job and vice versa.
The traditional method still exists, and while it can be more personable, in our busy world, we don’t always have time to register face to face with numerous job agencies, especially if we are currently employed in a position, or if we live in a remote area and interviews require long distance travel.
Online job agencies take the fuss out of searching for and applying for vacant positions, and you can provide your personal details, and search for positions yourself from the comfort of your own home. You can even receive real-time e-mails that keep you updated when a suitable job is posted, and you can check the latest updates from the convenience of a mobile phone.
Online job agencies, can just be used as basic job boards, but if you use them correctly and are proactive about getting the right job for you, you can use them to their full potential. An online job agency lets you create an employee profile that can include everything from your photograph to a full resume that is keyword enhanced. While you are able to search for jobs yourself, an employer can also search for the right candidate and contact you because they have been advised of your suitability and have already checked out your credentials.
Another feature of online job agencies is the ability to apply for positions directly through the website. At the bottom of most job advertisements, you will find a link that says something similar to ‘apply now’. Following this link will allow you to upload your resume, cover letter, and any other relevant attachments, and notify the employer that you are interested in this position. From an employer’s perspective this prevents their own corporate e-mail address from being filled up with applications. From a job hunter’s perspective, this process provides convenience, and a smooth transfer of information in a matter of clicks.
When you join an online job agency, make sure you learn how it works, and what you need to do to use it to its full potential. Read through all the information provided to support job hunters, and ensure that you complete your full profile accurately and professionally, just like you would for a face to face or hand-delivered application.
Links to the top Australian online job agencies
- www.careerone.com.au
- www.jobsearch.gov.au
- www.seek.com.au
- www.mycareer.com.au
- www.aussieemployment.com.au
- www.byronemployment.com.au
If you need assistance completing an online resume for submission to any of these online job agencies, contact a Successful Resumes team member in your area.
What is a selection criteria and how to complete a selection criteria
When an employer advertises a position, they will often include selection criteria in the job advertisement. While smaller businesses may not follow this protocol, if you are applying for a position with the Australian government, the selection criteria will be an essential part of the employment process. Sometimes even large corporations require a formal response to selection criteria.
Selection criteria is used for a number of reasons. Primarily selection criteria is used to ensure the right candidate is chosen for the position, but selection criteria is also used to ensure consistent communication with all applicants, promote fairness, and it is also used to explain the exact expectations of the organisation, so applicants can work out themselves if this is the right job for them.
When an organisation decides they have a position vacant, the first thing they need to do is decide what exactly they need the person fulfilling it to do. Vacant positions occur because an organisation has a specific need, or task that needs to be completed. Selection criteria outline what a person needs to know or be able to do, to complete the job requirements successfully.
Many positions will also have industry standards or require specific certification. As an example, if you are applying for a position as a medical doctor, you need to have the appropriate qualifications and certifications for the state and country you live in. If you are applying for a position within the Australian Government, there may also be legal requirements that you are an Australian citizen, or don’t have a criminal record. These requirements may be included in the selection criteria, so you know exactly what to expect before submitting your resume and application.
Selection criteria is often broken up into two sections, essential selection criteria, and desirable selection criteria. The essential section covers the qualities, skills and experience that you must demonstrate before you can be employed, and these conditions are not negotiable. These may ask for examples of your real life work experiences and involvement in complex scenarios down to something as simple as having a current driver’s licence or your qualifications.
Desirable selection criteria does not need to be met, but if you do it will be highly respected and you’ll have a much better chance of gaining the position, over someone who doesn’t meet this selection criteria. Examples of desired selection criteria may include previous experience in a similar role, the ability to speak a different language, or other qualities that could help support you in doing a better job.
When you complete your job application, go through each of the criteria carefully and systematically. Ensure that all evidence is included in your resume, but also addressed in your covering letter. When writing your cover letter, address each point and clearly explain why and how you satisfy this. You can also ask a friend or family member to read over your application, and tick off the evidence you provide as it matches with the employment selection criteria.
If you would like assistance, the team at Successful Resumes has had many years experience helping job applicants complete and comply with selection criteria. Click here to locate a Successful Resume team member in your area.
How to Change Career
Australians should expect to change career at some point in their lives.
There are many reasons for this, and common reasons include a desire for new challenges or a more versatile lifestyle. We don’t stay in the one job for most of our lives, like we did in past decades, and to change career is a common practise.
Individuals with family commitments may choose to depart from a demanding corporate career and change career, as they seek employment that is flexible and can be conducted around child raising duties. Relocation to a new geographic area can also require individuals to leave their current position, and seek employment that is specific to their new local area. This is a common situation for families who are seeking a rural or more relaxed lifestyle away from the city areas. At first, these challenges can be sudden and daunting, but with some careful and intelligent decisions, the process to change career can be smoother than you’d expect.
If you want to change career, or need to change career because of influences that are out of your control, the first step is assessing the skills, knowledge and experience that you have already acquired in your previous positions. Many abilities are universal to all careers, and can assist you to change career.
As an example, if you have experience working in retail, you should already have excellent customer services skills, be competent at basic accounting and be well presented. You should be well organised, trustworthy, and reliable. If you would like to change career to an office related position, all of these qualities are highly desirable. You may have different duties, but a large percentage of the experience you gained working in retail, will still be relevant, and when you are looking to change career and write your resume, it will be your job to explain this to the person in charge of hiring. If you need assistance you can appoint a professional resume writer from the Successful Resumes organisation to develop your resume for you.
In some cases, if you want to change career, you will need to re-educate yourself to ensure you meet the specific standards of your industry. As an example, if you have been working in the police force, and would like to become a primary school teacher, you will need to attend university and complete the legal requirements of a teacher in your state of residence.
This study may often be completed part-time via distance education while you are still employed in your current position, before you change career. You could even gain credits from your university from previous study or experience you’ve gained in the workplace. Ensure you investigate this option if you are planning to change career and need to study, as doing so could greatly reduce the time you spend studying. Try not to be overwhelmed by the new challenges, take everything step by step, and never disregard your current skills, and abilities.
The Benefits and Business Opportunities to Earn an Income from Working from Home
Working from home running your own business has many benefits, and you can probably name a few yourself.
Benefits of Working from home
Working from home is often cheaper. Depending where you live, you may need to travel great distances for suitable employment, and this comes at a cost as you’ll spend both time and money doing so. If you have family commitments, holding down a full-time permanent position with a local company could be too restrictive. Working from home is often easier!
If you are a parent with the primary child caring duties, you will understand how difficult it is to be employed in a position, and take time off when your child is sick, or needs you to attend an academic or sporting event. While some parents choose not to work at all, many families need a double income, and if all your children are in school, you may actually be seeking the personal satisfaction of getting back to work, as long as it has convenient and flexible hours. Working from home, really does have its advantages.
While parents often do understand the ease of not needing to travel to a permanent job every day, they don’t always have the answers on how they can actually make working from home a reality. If they start their own business there will be a financial outlay, and they also need to ensure an income is going to come in. Working from home by starting a business is tricky for many people, and is a challenge that seems overly daunting to most people.
Working from home with your own business
One solution to ease the process in working from home and running your own business is to buy into an existing group. The real benefit of this is that you are joining a system that is already proven, established and will always provide you support on the best way to run and grow your business. You will have other professionals around you to provide you with knowledge and support, and you know already that the business opportunity or franchise is a viable business solution. You can ask many questions before you purchase the business opportunity, and once you do, you can get started at working straight away in your business.
Tips for choosing a business opportunity and working from home
- Talk over your decisions with your family and your friends.
- Complete your research, don’t rush in; follow your head, not only your heart.
- Choose a business opportunity or franchise that you will enjoy and be good at.
- Assess the skills and knowledge that you have already. Consider a business opportunity or franchise that can utilise these in new ways.
- Consider the lifestyle you’d like to achieve for yourself and your family. Match these desires with the working from home business opportunity or franchise that you intend to establish.
Australian business opportunity resource
- www.successfulresumes.com.au – professional and resume writing business opportunities
Australian working from home resources
How to prepare for a job interview
Job interviews can be very daunting, and some of the most important meetings of your life. Getting it right is essential for success, and even if you are nervous or not confident, you can still use some simple strategies to prepare for a job interview, and give the best impression possible. Many people believe that the most important part of getting a job is their resume. This will definitely let the prospective employer know that you have the right credentials, but you can hire someone to put together an impressive resume. Your real chance to shine is in the job interview, where you can demonstrate your ability to think on the spot, communicate effectively and present yourself as a confident well-groomed professional.
Preparing for a job interview
The best way to prepare for a job interview is to practice with a friend or family member. Ask someone you trust and who is confident themselves, to pretend to be the person interviewing you. Get them to ask you questions and encourage you to talk about yourself, and your professional experiences. If you don’t have someone to help you practice, some Successful Resumes branches offer an interview coaching service that will help you prepare for the job interview.
Job interview questions
Some of the job interview questions you could practice could come from the job description itself. If the selection criteria says that you need to be a great team player, a suitable question might be ‘can you please tell me about a situation where you needed to work in a team?’ These days, recruiters know that they need to ask for real-life scenarios during the job interview. You probably won’t be asked to list your credentials in a job interview, as these are all outlined in your resume. You will, however, at the job interview be asked to talk about situations where you performed well, or overcame difficulties in your previous positions. You may also be asked about your plans for the future.
Many candidates don’t take the time to think about these responses before they attend the job interview, but thinking and practicing with a friend or coach is a great way to activate your mind and prepare for a job interview. It is essential that you know about yourself, your values, your personality, and the things you do best. A job interview is designed to assess qualities like communication skills, self-confidence, decision making and personal presentation.
Dress for the job interview
To prepare for a job interview, ensure that you have the right clothes for the position. Even for trade positions and those with a casual uniform, you should still present yourself in the best way possible, and often business attire is more appropriate. Dress better for your job interview than you would for the job itself. Take care with the fine details, including your hair, nails and personal hygiene, in short dress to impress.
You should also look yourself for the job interview, be relaxed and comfortable, so if you aren’t used to dressing up, you may need to practice wearing your interview clothes around the house a few times. You don’t want to arrive on the day and find that your clothes don’t fit or irritate you through the entire event. Work these complications out early, so you can prepare for a job interview, and give the right impression on the day.
Tips for finding a new job in the New Year
It’s often a hard decision to make the break from your current position to find a new job or career path.
The New Year is often a time of contemplation that leads to numerous resignations, especially in the early months of the year, as people revaluate their career goals. This could provide you with an opportunity or opening to make the decision to find a new job or career.
Here are a few tips that will help you find a new job in the New Year.
Preparing to find a new job
Get prepared with all the items you will need to find a new job:-
- refresh your resume including personal profile, professional assets, achievements, professional development, skills and experience;
- check your referees are still current;
- have an appropriate outfit ready to go in case of interviews at short notice;
- renew your portfolio and gather actual work samples and examples, if appropriate;
- revise your LinkedIn Professional Profile and join groups to start to make new connections in the industry you would like to find a new job;
- research any training or courses that will help you find a new job.
Researching for a new job
Before you start looking for a new job, you will want to research:-
- type of position you are interested;
- a list of companies you would like to find a new job with;
- your wage or salary requirements and expectations.
Salary consideration
Make sure you consider the salary and benefits when comparing new jobs. What might seem a better paying job, might not be when considering salary alone.
Networking to find a new job
Use your connections to help find a new job by speaking with friends, family and other contacts and let them know you are interested in finding a new job. Many jobs never make it to the advertisement stage and employers are very happy to have new employees referred to them by people they trust. Remember, in the competitive arena of job hunting, it’s often who you know and not what you know that will help you find a new job. If you are still employed, it would be prudent to use discretion when networking to find a new job.
The interview
It’s important to make a great first impression when you are attending interviews:-
- appearance is important, dress appropriately;
- rehearse answers to common interview questions, eg “why do you want to find a new job”;
- take relevant material to the interview;
- look the interviewer in the eye and speak confidently.
Getting help to find a new job
Job hunting is time consuming so developing a professional relationship with a recruitment agency may be very beneficial.
Getting help from a Resume Professional
Engaging the services of a professional resume writing service, such as Successful Resumes, will help you ‘stand out from the crowd’. We can help you prepare your resume as well as prepare other documents such as selection criteria and cover letters. Successful Resumes can also assist with interview coaching. Locate your closest Successful Resumes professional at http://www.successfulresumes.com.au/branch_locations.html
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Tips on How to Get the Job Offer
To get the job offer, you must prove that you can identify, prevent and solve problems in a specific area of “technical” expertise.
We often have job seekers ask us why they don’t’ get the job offer they are applying for. They are confused as to why they apply for so many jobs, yet they never get the job offer. Is this happening to you? Here is an article that may help you understand how to get the job offer that you are applying for:
“I can do the job, so why don’t I get the job offer?” Being confident in your professional skills and being able to transfer that confidence in your competence to recruiters and hiring managers are two very different but equally important skills.
Who will get the job offer? The people who turn job interviews into job offers with the greatest ease are the people who are able to identify and discuss the recurrent problems that lurk at the heart of their work, these people are seen to get the job in ways that other candidates don’t.
Take the problems that plague every Accounts Receivable job: if the ongoing challenges associated with getting customers to pay their bills aren’t addressed effectively, then ultimately the employer isn’t able to make payroll and everyone gets laid off. Consequently, an Accounts Receivable professional (or anyone else) who talks about and asks questions about the problems that are at the everyday heart of his or her job will always be seen as superior to other candidates.
Everyone gets hired to do the same job. Essentially, you are hired for your perceived ability to prevent problems arising within your area of expertise, and to solve problems expeditiously when they do arise. When you cut right to the heart of any job, we are all hired to be problem identifiers, problem preventers and problem solvers, within our specific areas of “technical” expertise.
To turn your job interviews into job offers, if you think of your job in terms of the problems you are there to solve and the problems you are there to prevent, you have isolated the areas of concern that every interviewer really wants to talk about.
Interviewers hate to interview. Hiring managers hate to interview, they invariably see conducting job interviews as a distraction from their real work, this is something that can be used to your advantage. Whenever you walk into a job interview, that interviewer is secretly hoping that you are the one. All you have to do is make it easy for them, by showing that you get the job and that you relish dealing with the issues (problems and challenges) that lie at that job’s heart.
Use questions to sell your capabilities to get the job. You transfer confidence in your competence to recruiters and hiring managers as much by the questions you ask, as the answers you give. Because when you ask questions that go to the very essence of your work, you demonstrate a degree of understanding most other candidates will never approach.
When you show yourself to be someone who “gets” the very core of that job and someone who recognizes and can handle the problems that it serves up every day, you are much closer to turning that interview into a job offer.
Good luck…btw, it’s something that happens when preparation meets opportunity
Author
Martin Yate CPC, is the NY Times bestselling author of Knock em Dead The Ultimate Job Search Guide, and Secrets & Strategies For Success. As Dun & Bradstreet says, “He’s really just about the best in the business.”
Courtesy www.simplyhired.com
Your Physical Appearance Can Affect Your Job Interview
Will my appearance affect the outcome of a job interview?
This is a common question that is asked when we coach our clients for a job interview.
The question of the affect of your appearance on the outcome of your job interview is like so many others; it is often situational. But the common answer is “yes”, a pleasing physical appearance can enhance your chances of a successful job interview.
The article below discusses new research by the Rice University:
How Looks Can Influence A Job Interview
By RICK NAUERT PHD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 10, 2011
A new research study finds that facial disfigurements can cause individuals to receive poor scores in a job interview.
In one of the first studies of its type, researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston discovered how scars and other facial disfigurements may result in worksite discrimination.
Investigators found that interviewers recalled less information about these candidates, which negatively impacted evaluations of the applicants.
“When evaluating applicants in an interview setting, it’s important to remember what they are saying,” said psychologist and researcher Dr. Mikki Hebl. “Our research shows if you recall less information about competent candidates because you are distracted by characteristics on their face, it decreases your overall evaluations of them.”
Hebl and co-author Juan Madera, Ph.D., performed two studies. In the first, the eye-activity of 171 undergraduate students were tracked as they watched a computer-mediated interview. After the interview, they were asked to recall information about the candidate.
“When looking at another person during a conversation, your attention is naturally directed in a triangular pattern around the eyes and mouth,” Madera said.
“We tracked the amount of attention outside of this region and found that the more the interviewers attended to stigmatized features on the face, the less they remembered about the candidate’s interview content, and the less memory they had about the content led to decreases in ratings of the applicant.”
The second study involved face-to-face interviews between candidates who had a facial birthmark and 38 full-time managers enrolled in a part-time MBA and/or a Master of Science in a hospitality management program. All members of this group had experience in interviewing applicants for their current or past staff positions.
Despite the increase in age, experience and education, the interviewers had a tough time managing their reactions to the stigma, Madera said. In fact, the effects of the stigma were actually stronger with this group, which he attributed to the face-to-face interview setting.
“It just shows that despite maturity and experience levels, it is still a natural human reaction to react negatively to facial stigma,” Madera said.
Both Hebl and Madera hope the research will raise awareness about this form of workplace discrimination.
“The bottom line is that how your face looks can significantly influence the success of an interview,” Hebl said.
“There have been many studies showing that specific groups of people are discriminated against in the workplace, but this study takes it a step further, showing why it happens. The allocation of attention away from memory for the interview content explains this.”
Their study, “Discrimination Against Facially Stigmatized Applicants in Interviews: An Eye-Tracking and Face-to-Face Investigation” is published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Source: Rice University
Interview photo by shutterstock.
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