Middle Aged professionals: How to keep yourself relevant in the job market
Alex Beattie has been a volunteer for LocalHood since over 3 years.
He works in the recruitment field with Sara Beattie Appointments, matching Companies & Candidates creating successful partnerships that have lasted to this day.
We asked him to give some pointers on what steps the Middle-aged professionals can take to keep themselves more competitive and relevant in today's times.
1) LocalHood: What is the Number One problem older candidates are facing today?
Alex@ Sara Beattie Appointments:
A lowered level of value of one’s skillset
Technology plays an almost over encompassing role in our daily lives and corporate lives. We are able to communicate easily, improve our performance and deliver better outcomes. The pandemic has only further heightened this and has supplemented some roles and created a huge demand in some very new areas of technology.
Companies have adapted quickly enabling their employees to work from home with the support of technology to complete tasks. This also means that workers have had to learn to use new technology and to change to a completely new way of work.
Some tasks have been fully replaced by technology thus transforming job functions or making them redundant altogether as companies restructure to the new market. Middle aged and older candidates have found this change difficult as companies adopt a permanent hybrid work style. This kind of gap in the market has meant older candidate’s skills are being surpassed by younger candidates.
Education
Skills are outdated or do not match their educational background, over 90% of candidates at least have a bachelor's degree, but not everyone has a degree corresponding to their job field
What to do?
· Always advisable to continue your studies at any stage of life as the world is ever changing and the pace of change only increases as technology continues to advance exponentially. Create a lifelong learning attitude and be curious about the new and unexplained
· Pursue a certification related to your current career to enhance your abilities and show your value to your current or future organizations. If you have decided this is going to be your specialization then continue to study in that area and see what new updates there are in this field and ensure you stay abreast of industry trends
· Companies today are supporting their employees to further their studies by means of study leave and even in some cases study allowance. Seize this amazing opportunity when you can as further studies can be expensive
· Enriching your qualifications will help you stand out from the crowd. A unique yet transferrable skillset is what makes you highly employable with organizations
2) LocalHood: What are according to you, further steps to be taken?
Alex@ Sara Beattie Appointments :
Start focusing on soft skills
Tackle what machines and technology cannot learn quickly. We enjoy technology's convenience as business owners, but without the right employees to manage that technology your business will go nowhere.
See how you can improve problem-solving, leadership, teamwork and people management abilities as these are needed in any organization in any capacity.
Understand current market trends
· Be familiar with daily tech in the office, such as virtual meetings, task management, project management and cloud data management software
· Have some understanding of big data and analytics and how it relates to your job function
CV & Career Profile
· Update your CV for relevant years to highlight achievements in each position
o Make sure they are measurable as it is easier for companies to quantify your value in numbers
· Structure your CV to showcase how your skillset is going to increase a company’s revenue or save them money
· Be sure to get exposure to different industries, companies and positions. It is so important to get a diverse range of experience today as being too focused in one company does limit your industry knowledge and exposure
· Keep your CV at an easy-to-read length! It doesn’t matter how much experience you have keep it at around 2-3 pages max. Readers will lose interest very quickly. Estimate that people will only spend the first view at about 10-15 seconds
· Job candidates should customize their CV to each position they apply for, as each company is looking for different characteristics. Also, study the company background and job nature.
Networking
· Build a LinkedIn profile and maintain it. Start connecting with people in the related field, and get to know who the leaders are
· Keep yourself updated with what is new and up and coming in the industry. Be aware of changes and technological advancements to familiarize yourself and keep yourself a leader in your profession
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Sara Beattie Appointments is a specialist Recruitment firm that has been serving Hong Kong companies for over 57 years since 1964. If you think you need help finding the right candidate or want some help on finding your next role talk to us today!