職場老兵怎樣找到新工作？
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????親愛的安妮：您和您的讀者能否考慮一下我的現況。我在一家《財富》500強公司（Fortune 500 ）工作了20多年，期間不斷得到升職。2008年，我帶領一個小部門扭虧為盈，之后我就一直在負責那個部門的工作。但現在，作為公司重組的一部分，我的部門將與另外一個部門合并。公司給了我一筆非常慷慨的退休金，我也很愿意接受，可我現在還不想退休。我如今才61歲，身體非常健康，我感覺至少還能堅持以高效率工作10到15年。 ????但我擔心的是，潛在雇主們會這么想嗎？有人說，我“比實際年齡要年輕”（當然，這肯定是言不由衷的恭維話），我還有市場嗎？有些日期是否不應該出現在我的簡歷中——比如我的畢業年份？您對此有什么建議嗎？——SK ????親愛的SK：獵頭公司Witt/Kieffer的總裁兼CEO查爾斯?沃德爾認為：“只要你擅長自己的工作，年齡就不是問題。看看巴菲特。他已經82歲了，可沒有人說他應該退休。”確實如此。伯克希爾-哈撒韋（Berkshire-Hathaway）的投資人和其他人或許都恨不得能克隆出另一個巴菲特來。 ????Witt/Kieffer公司的獵頭們發現，雇主對于擁有幾十年成功履歷的管理者的需求日益增加。比如：在2012年，公司安置的CEO約有14%超過60歲，比十年前增加了3%。高管方面的比例也基本相同：13%的人超過60歲，而2002年僅有3%。 ????這種巨大的變化并非意外。據美國勞工統計局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）最近的統計數據顯示，美國失業率隨著年齡增長而呈下降趨勢。上個月，25至34歲年齡段的失業率為7.6%；35至40歲為5.9%；45至54歲為5.7%。而55歲以上年齡段的失業率為5.3%，是所有年齡段中的最低水平。 ????當然，如今的水平遠遠高于危機之前的2007年，當時55歲及以上年齡段的失業率僅有3.1%。但從另一方面來看，將這一水平與應屆畢業生（20至24歲）的情況進行對比，我們就可以證明一點：經驗才是王道。應屆畢業生失業率高達驚人的13.5%。 ????你能帶領一個有問題的部門扭虧為盈，這在任何時候都是一個非常好的賣點。沃德爾認為，這一點在當前動蕩不安的經濟形勢下尤其可貴。因此，你的求職過程肯定會一帆風順，只要你做到小心謹慎。首先，從當前公司爭取到愿意為你的成就作擔保的推薦人：“在你這個水平，同事和上司的強力推薦至關重要。” ????其次，沃德爾建議，在與招聘人員和雇主交流時，“明確每一位雇主的需要以及自己的技能如何滿足這些需要。關鍵是要確定，你能為新崗位帶來的東西，正是雇主們所需要的。”拿出時間和精力來找到最適合的崗位，可以避免招聘經理們給出“條件太好”這樣的評價。 |
????Dear Annie: I wonder what you and your readers think about my situation. After 20-plus years rising through the ranks at a Fortune 500 company, I turned around a small division and made it profitable in 2008, and have been running it since then. Now my business unit is being merged with a different operation, as part of a restructuring. I've been offered a very generous retirement package, and I'm willing to take it, but I'm nowhere near ready to stop working. At 61, and in excellent health, I feel I have at least 10 or 15 highly productive years ahead of me. ????My concern is, will potential employers agree? I've been told I "don't look my age" (a backhanded compliment, for sure), but how marketable am I? Should I leave dates off my resume -- the year I graduated from college, for instance? Do you have any advice for me? -- Still Kicking ????Dear SK: "If you're good at what you do, age isn't an issue," says Charles Wardell, president and CEO of executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. "Look at Warren Buffett. He's 82, and nobody's saying he should head out to pasture." True. Berkshire-Hathaway (BRKA) investors, among others, probably wish they could clone him. ????At Witt/Kieffer, headhunters are finding that employers increasingly want managers with a decades-long track record of success. Consider: In 2012, about 14% of the CEOs the firm placed were over age 60, up from 3% a decade earlier. For C-suite jobs overall, the figures were about the same: 13% over age 60 vs. 3% in 2002. ????Those big jumps are no fluke. According to the latest stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment declines with age. Last month, the jobless rate stood at 7.6% for 25-to-34-year-olds; 5.9% for ages 35 to 44; and 5.7% for the 45-to-54-year-old cohort. The jobless rate for people 55 and up, at 5.3%, was the lowest of any age group. ????Granted, that's much higher than the unemployment rate for people 55 and older in pre-recession 2007 -- a tiny 3.1%. But on the other hand, for proof that experience is king, contrast that current 5.3% with the rate for new college grads (ages 20-24): a whopping 13.5%. ????Since you turned around a troubled division -- a highly marketable skill anytime, but especially in this still-shaky economy -- your job hunt should be pretty smooth sailing, as long as you approach it with care, Wardell says. First, line up references at your current company who will vouch for your achievements: "At your level, strong recommendations from colleagues and higher-ups are crucial." ????Then, when you speak with recruiters and employers, "get very specific about what each employer needs and how your skills fit," Wardell suggests. "The key is to make sure that what you bring to the job is exactly what they're looking for." Putting in the time and attention to find precisely the right fit can prevent hiring managers from bringing up the dreaded "O" word (for "overqualified"). |
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