Overcome Weakness

If you are having trouble finding a job, but have a lot of experience in the field you are looking, the problem may be what else is on your resume. You may be showing liabilities that you are not aware of, which are painting you in a bad light to bosses who decide if you are the person for them.

One such liability could be age.

Today there are many dozens of either young or vibrant industries. And, in these industries there are thousands of recently formed companies with young management, and their emphasis is definitely on youth. Despite that, you are likely to fi nd most of them have at least two or three senior professionals who are highly valued.

Don’t forget that several studies have shown senior employees to be more reliable. Many are just as quick to pick up new

information as other age groups. Young management teams often realize that they need to be balanced with the wisdom that extra experience brings, and will prefer an older candidate for functions such as legal, finance and administration.

Another daily reminder should be to review your beliefs and attitudes. Here is a well known fact among psychologists who study such things. We are limited or not limited according to our beliefs about ourselves and what is possible for us, and that generally we are treated by others in accord with our expectations—about how they will treat us.

Because we tend to get what we expect, and because people tend to refl ect back to us the beliefs and attitudes we are projecting, you need to examine your beliefs about yourself and about what’s possible “career wise” at this stage.

If your beliefs are limiting or negative, start working on them. Recognize that all of us fi lter reality through our attitudes and beliefs, so what we perceive doesn’t necessarily reflect reality, but just the way we are seeing it at the moment. If you have held some limiting beliefs related to age, it’s very likely that your “fi lter” has been distorted toward the negative, and has been reinforced by many of those around you. So, consider writing down your beliefs in this area, not as fact, but as beliefs. Start each one with the words, “I believe.”activities require physical exertion, mention them.

If any of them are negative or limiting, then write a corresponding positive version. As you may know, any belief can be justified by the facts, depending upon which facts you focus upon. Use “selective perception” to focus on and write down all the events that support the positive beliefs and ignore any negative ones.