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????親愛的安妮：我閱讀了您最近關于彌合工作場所年齡差距的專欄。這觸到了我的傷心處，因為坦率地講，如果我能夠找到一份工作，就算老板比我年輕，我也樂意。我今年53歲，去年下崗了，之前我曾是一家銀行的高級營銷管理人員。幸運的是，雖然我一時半會兒還找不到工作，但我的積蓄短期內還足夠維持我的生活。 ????最近的一次求職，一切都進展順利，但在面試的時候卻出了問題。面試官是一位30歲出頭的招聘經理或人力官。他一見面就對我說：“哎呀！抱歉，我們已經招到了合適的員工，但還是謝謝你來參加面試。”我寧愿相信這不是因為我與大多數50多歲的人一樣，頭發已經花白，眼角也有了魚尾紋；但是我很難想出還有什么其他的原因。您和您的讀者有什么好的建議嗎？——不服老的人 ????親愛的N.D.Y.：雖然看來這種安慰起不到任何作用，但是現在求職時間長是再正常不過的現象，特別是那些希望獲得高級管理職位的求職者。ExecuNet總裁馬克?安德森指出，“上一份工作職位越高，獲得新工作需要的時間就越長。” ExecuNet是美國的全國性職業網絡，為薪酬在10萬美元及以上的經理人提供就業指導。 ????ExecuNet的研究表明，與41至45歲的副總裁相比，50歲以上的副總裁求職時間要多出20%。但年齡只是一部分原因。管理職位求職者需要的平均時間最少是10個月，安德森表示，造成這種現象的主要原因是，“公司招聘的持續時間延長。招聘管理崗位員工的許多公司并沒有填補職位空缺的緊迫感。” ????安德森指出，ExecuNet最近的一份調查顯示，只有16%的公司計劃在未來的半年內招聘高管人員，與今年初30%的比例相比，呈現出大幅下降之勢。職業指導人塔克?梅斯和鮑勃?斯隆表示，如果50歲以上的高管在此前的職業生涯中一直平步青云，好工作不斷，一旦失業，他們的求職之路將會異常困難，因為他們幾乎沒有推銷自己的經驗。 ????斯隆和梅斯是總部位于康涅狄格州達里安市的培訓公司OptiMarket的創始人兼負責人。該公司主要業務是幫助年長的高管迅速找到工作。此外，他們還是《50歲下崗：如何克服高管求職中的最大挑戰》（Fired at 50: How to Overcome the Greatest Executive Job Search Challenge）一書的作者。他們提出四點小竅門，確保你的求職之路不會 “永遠看不到終點”（雖然表面看來確實如此）： ????1. 主動挑明年齡問題。“如果你的年齡在50歲以上，那么這將是一個顯而易見的問題。你是試圖隱瞞，甚至不希望提及年齡，還是一直等到問題浮出水面時再解決呢？”斯隆問道。答案是：二者都不可取。“所有優秀的銷售人員都清楚地知道，應對意料之中的反對意見，最好的辦法是主動出擊。” |
????Dear Annie: I read your recent column on bridging the generation gap in the workplace between young bosses and older employees. It struck a nerve with me, because, frankly, I'd be delighted to work for a young boss if I could just get one to hire me. I'm 53 and I was laid off last year from a senior marketing management position at a bank. Luckily, I have enough savings to live on for a while, since my job hunt seems to be taking forever. ????All goes well until I show up for an interview with a 30-something hiring manager or HR person, and then I hear, "Oops! Sorry, the position has been filled, but thanks for coming in." I'd like to think this isn't because, like most people in their fifties, I have a few gray hairs and laugh lines, but it's hard to draw any other conclusion. Do you and your readers have any suggestions for me? — Not Dead Yet ????Dear N.D.Y.: Cold comfort though it may be, a long job hunt is perfectly normal these days, especially for anyone seeking a senior management job. "The higher your rank in your last position, the longer it takes to find a new one," says Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet, a national career network for $100,000-a-year-plus senior managers. ????ExecuNet's research shows, for example, that a vice president over age 50 takes 20% longer to get hired than a 41-to-45-year-old job seeker at the same level. But age is only part of the story. The main reason it now takes the average management job candidate at least 10 months to get hired is that "companies are taking longer to fill positions," Anderson notes. "Many companies who have management openings are not aggressively looking to fill them." ????He points to a new ExecuNet survey that says that only 16% of employers plan to hire executives over the next six months, a big decrease from about 30% earlier this year. ????Job interviews can be especially difficult for executives over 50 who have spent their careers moving up through the ranks, or being recruited for better jobs, and thus have had little or no practice at selling themselves while unemployed, say executive coaches Tucker Mays and Bob Sloane. ????Sloane and Mays are the founders and principals of OptiMarket, a Darien, Conn., coaching firm that specializes in helping older executives find jobs quickly. They also wrote a book, Fired at 50: How to Overcome the Greatest Executive Job Search Challenge. They offer four tips on making sure your job hunt does not, in fact, last "forever" (even if it seems that way): ????1. Preempt the age issue. "If you're over 50, your age is the elephant in the room. Should you try to sweep it under the rug and hope it doesn't come up, or wait until it does and address it then?" asks Sloane. The answer: Neither. "All effective salespeople know that the best way to counter an anticipated objection is to address it first." |
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