Job search, especially for senior executives, are challenging. Senior executives often experience varying stages of transition. After all, they get to do things they haven’t done for many years and sometimes, even decades—that is, look for a job. Especially in this current economy that went through Depression in 2008, hundreds of job openings narrowed down to a handful. Senior jobs had become few and far between. Companies wanted to do more hours with less headcount now.
Executive Baby Boomers are one of the largest generations moving through and out the workforce today. If you are a Baby Boomer and unwilling to retire just yet, here are some of the things you might encounter while searching for a next job.
At first, you will be confident. You had been a great manager in your old company. You had achieved so much and worked your way to the top. That ought to speak for itself. You are confident that you will get accepted soon. It is only a matter of time. While losing your job made you feel as though you had a tarnished image and embarrassed for the meantime, you are still pretty confident that you can land a next job. You are used to making very important and big decisions and had a major impact back in your old company.
However, consider this. You will more than likely be competing with people younger, sometimes half your age for the same jobs. There is a wide range of acceptance from executives when it comes to working with or for someone younger.
Also, ten years ago we had 3% unemployment and everyone got a job. Most companies did not ask for college degrees, and they were not concerned with frequent job changes back then. But in 2014, the number of companies requiring a college degree has increased substantially, and organizations seek executives with a history of work stability. Companies begin to look for qualifications that they hadn’t been looking for back in the days you were looking for a job. Suddenly, you find your qualifications and past achievements to be insignificant to what is being demanded right now.
Social media and LinkedIn profiles have become a must, too. In fact, a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 77% of employers are using social networks to recruit, a sharp increase from the 56% who reported doing so in 2011. Among the recruiters using social tools, 94% said they use LinkedIn.
Another thing, you haven’t had to show anyone a résumé in years. So you throw something together and think it’s clear to anyone who reads it how amazing you are, how top of the line, award-winning spectacular. But not everyone even knows the significance of your accolades.
You begin to discover that there are skills such as day-to-day administrative tasks, organization, details, logistics that you are not accustomed to. With an already steep competition, companies would more likely choose those who already know how to do certain tasks in order to maximize efficiency instead of taking the time to train a new employee. Sometimes, you begin to encounter the term “technology impaired” and to your shock, this is mostly said to you. When had the world changed so much?
This is where doubt begins to dig its hooks and settle in. You start to think that this may not be as easy as you once thought it was. In fact, maybe this will take longer. Suddenly, you are 27 weeks in and you still haven’t found a job. Not only does this sink your morale but fear begins to creep up on you. Fear of not making ends meet because money is about to run out soon.
You begin to fear reaching appropriate contacts. It is starting to dawn on you that there is a higher barrier of entry. It is most difficult to get through senior executives’ gatekeepers. Jobs you are eyeing are filled internally at high levels. Staff members have been paying dues for years at the company and are already in line to get top jobs. Another factor is that companies often do not want to take a risk in bringing an outsider into such an important position. Employers most definitely do not want to spend money in conducting a search for an outside senior executive, favoring internal candidates.
Fear begins to leave an acrid taste in your mouth. You begin to have mind games with yourself, doubting and fearing questions searing into your mind. Having come from a high-paying job, you want your next job to pay equally as well. But you soon find that the more desirable the position, the more people are fighting for it. Fear makes you cloud your judgment, hindering you from taking on that challenge.
It is difficult to command a large salary, especially in this bad economy. Having gotten used to bigger lifestyle and bigger bills that your previous salary covered, you realize that you might not be able your previous lifestyle. You might be forced to take on simpler and less extravagant way of living.
Insecurity begins to blossom. Your failure seems greater because you were higher up on a corporate ladder. You are not being taken seriously as a job candidate while others project their own fears onto you. Some people will try to shame you while others will be in denial or act dismissive of your crisis. People will oftentimes act like you are contagious. As if you can pass on unemployment as if they too are vulnerable to losing their jobs the next day.
There is also age discrimination. Let us acknowledge it. No matter how progressive we think we are, there still exists the concept of age discrimination. You find yourself being perceived as too old or “washed up” by employers. Companies fear that you won’t last long at the company and they have concerns about investing in you. Most will think that you may be “too expensive” and not worth it because they doubt that you will be able to keep up with a fast pace or have the necessary technology skills to thrive in today’s work environment.
From that insecurity stems hopelessness. You lost all that confidence and you now consider the horrifying option of not getting another job and forcefully retiring earlier than planned. You keep sending out resumes, go on interviews, spending all these extra time networking and yet nothing seems to be happening. Bills are piling up and money is running out. Your confidence took a hit. Doubts and fears began to plague you with insecurities. You begin to see yourself as old and unable to compete with your younger counterparts. You begin to make compromises and lower your asking price. The salary you wanted is twice or thrice the amount you are currently asking for.
All that despair will eventually lead to inertia. Inertia is defined as a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. “I don’t have what it takes to do what I want.” You start to hold fast to this belief and stay stuck in frustration and the feeling that you are not living up to your potential or doing meaningful, enjoyable work, which causes you pain and isolation. You look around and see other people thriving, succeeding, making impossible dreams happen. You become so frustrated that you remain in a state of inertia—unchanging and unevolving.
Gender bias in the workplace is something all professional women are hyper-aware of, and age discrimination lawsuits are becoming more common as the baby boomer population ages. Some women senior executives feel their gender and age compounding against them when looking for jobs. They feel discriminated against not just for age or for gender, but both.
Women over the age of 50 are finding it very difficult to get hired even if they have adequate experience. In fact, experience is posing a significant hindrance in their job search. Studies show that employers are less likely to request interviews from women over 50 than those between 35 and 50 with the same amount of experience.
A glaring difference between men and women is that men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. This finding comes from a Hewlett Packard internal report, and has been quoted in Lean In, The Confidence Code and dozens of articles. It’s usually invoked as evidence that women need more confidence. As one Forbes article put it, “Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list.” The advice: women need to have more faith in themselves.
Job search for senior executives is a long, hard and oftentimes, frustrating experience. Stages of transitions are harder for female executives ages 50 and above since first and foremost, they are pit against the archaic discrimination of not only age but gender also. Compared to their male counterparts, they do not have enough confidence, to begin with. Old female executives are therefore more susceptible to doubt, fear and insecurity.
It is a fact that women are more selective and will only apply for jobs that they think suit their skills and personality and fit 100% of the requirements for. Men are not influenced by the use of masculine and feminine traits in the job description, however, women are commonly deterred by typically masculine terms such as ‘assertive’, ‘independent’ or ‘aggressive’. They are much more likely to respond to terms such as ‘dedicated’ or ‘responsible’.
This stark difference plays a big role regarding stages of transition in the job search. Old women executives have a harder time looking for jobs as compared to their male counterparts. They have less confidence which would narrow down the jobs they would apply, even more, making them more susceptible to hopelessness and despair.