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What do older workers have to offer employers?

Of course, there are the years of experience. One of the things that I hear time and again is that, when an older per­son retires, it often takes two to three younger people to re­place them. That's because they've learned how to be very efficient and productive in their jobs. They are also much more likely to stay with an employer longer than a younger

person. In the past, we’ve seen younger people staying in jobs a couple of years and moving on to the next experi­ence, whereas, if you hire an older worker or you have an older worker on staff, they are much more likely to stay with your organization. So any kind of investment you make in training gives you a really good return on investment.

Employers have certain stereotypes about older workers.

How would you deal with that if you were looking for a new job over the age of 50?

I think it is important for workers to take a good hard look at themselves and make sure that their first impression is a positive one. So, that means things like making sure that they’re wearing an up-to-date suit, and not something that they’ve worn for the last 20 years. Depending on the job, they should make sure they’re indicating to the employer that they're energetic and that they're familiar with technol­ogy. For example, they may carry a piece of technolosv into the interview and turn it off in front of the employer. They should talk to the employer about their experience, but not dwell on it. People don’t necessarily want to hear all of the things that a potential employee has done in their past. They want to know how they are going to contribute in the future to benefit the organization. Research tells us that older workers are much more interested in seeing the organ­ization succeed. They are much more focused on those kinds of goals than younger people.

Is starting your own business a good option?

It’s a good option if you’re prepared to market yourself and your product and be a salesperson. It’s very difficult to start your own business without having a real interest in market­ing and sajes yourself. It may be that you have skills in some other area. Unless you can combine that with being able to sell to other people, it may be difficult for you to start a business.

Do you have one piece of advice for workers over 50?

My advice to people who are 50 is to see themselves as working for another 30 years. People are beginning to think about what this means for them. Does that mean they are going to stay in what they are doing now? Does it mean they are looking at starting their own business? It’s a real oppor­tunity to explore something that you’ve wanted to do and there’s still plenty of time to do it. People can go back to school, for example. You can completely reinvent vourself. It’s not really a winding down, as we’ve often thought in the past. It’s really an exciting time.

Assignment 10. If you still can't find a job and choose to be self-employed, Marty Nemko, who is one of America's top career coaches, will tell you why it is better to be an employee rather than self-employed. He will also recommend you what to do to find a job.