Hope for Mid-Career Workers

If you’re a mid-career worker, I’m telling you to not give up hope regarding your career. It has seemed that this generation is being overlooked, discarded and forgotten. But that’s only if you read ‘the news’ that’s out there.

Mid-career workers have an abundance of knowledge and experience to offer an employer that is lacking with newer ones, just by virtue of the years they’ve spent in the workforce. This is just a fact-of-life. Younger workers have years ahead of them to hone their knowledge and skills; it’s the path of evolution.

I was very heartened at a recent panel discussion I served on, where the topic of older workers being ‘viable’ came up. The consensus across the board is that mid-career workers are still valued and needed. It was also encouraging that one organization in the audience asked for the best way to recruit them – yeah!

Some advice that came from the panel:

• the language to recruit mid-career workers needs to change and be more appealing in addressing their knowledge and skills, which is what they value most
• go where they ‘hang out’ – meetings, alumni associations and the like to market your organization
• hold open-house hiring events to encourage them to come to you
• be open to allowing them to apply in person (the old way) and have a designated person who can speak to them, which can expedite long hiring processes that often discourage them
• change the overall view that seems to only focus on hiring younger workers, which will encourage mid-careers to apply; this also will create more diversity within your organization
• change the perception that mid-career workers are not technology-focused – highlight those skills you do have to change this perception with employers by highlighting skills you do have (if not, go take a class to learn more). This seemed to be one of the biggest detriments to hiring/keeping them.

Mid-career workers are, and will continue to be, vital to the work force. Their success is contingent on both sides – employer and worker. Changing perceptions and focus won’t be easy but is desperately needed as new generations enter the workforce. The viability and success of your organization is dependent on this.

If you’re a mid-career workers and need help entering or continuing successfully in the workforce, let’s talk. Contact us today at http://www.cyscoaching.com