Breaking Through the "Silver Ceiling"

There are a plethora of articles instructing older, more mature workers on how to apply for jobs. But, does this always lead to success? Typically, the answer is “no”. The information doesn’t help if it doesn’t include encouraging senior workers to transform their approach in preparing and applying for open positions. Currently, many seniors who find themselves voluntarily or involuntarily unemployed face many challenges including re-establishing themselves as viable job contenders to hiring managers.

Labor trends and systematic barriers have formed what is now a “Silver Ceiling” for the older job seeker. “We used to…” doesn’t apply to how successful job attainment is accomplished any longer. In general, many of today’s employers view the more-senior job candidates as “rigid” and “un-trainable”. The competitiveness of the entire unemployed cluster for any available job makes this a view that older workers must change to prevail over their younger counterparts.

In my initial career coaching interview, I emphasize to more senior clients to begin thinking about how they can fashion a more “contemporary” presence for potential employers. Although acquired transferrable skills are very important for any job seeker, older workers must underscore their capacity to acclimatize to and utilize new technology, and their ability to work in a diversity rich employment setting.

Through a series of questions directed at self-reflection, many older workers can establish the areas which require transformation without changing who they are and where they have been.

Do I have current skills, transferrable skills, and work-related behaviors to pursue employment in today’s market?
What worked well for me in my past jobs and is it applicable today? What didn’t work?
Can I articulate a realistic, forward-thinking employment goal by letting go of my past expectations and employment experiences?
What type of employment is now most suitable for my skills and ability level?
How can I grow, improve, and expand myself to be more viable and marketable today as a job candidate?

As a final note: Workers who have experienced the “Silver Ceiling” or other analogous employment barriers, and have been unemployed for three months or more, may want to consider becoming employed by taking on contract, temporary, or interim opportunities through local staffing agencies. Although temporary work used to hold a stigma, things have changed in the employment sphere and working in these positions is now considered to be “contemporary and vogue”. Additionally, these job opportunity modes are going to transport well into the future genre of employment, because they allow individuals to control their careers. Employers are also fervent to employ these opportunistic workers because it reduces their corporate benefit and tax expenses, allowing them long term staffing flexibility.