Kerry E. Hannon - Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies

Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Portions of this material originally appeared in Forbes, Love Your Job: The New Rules for Career Happiness, Whats Next? Finding Your Passion and Your Dream Job in Your Forties, Fifties and Beyond and Great Jobs for Everyone 50+ and on NextAvenue.org and AARP.org . Reprinted with permission.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015945226

ISBN 978-1-119-02284-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-02286-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-02285-5 (ebk)

1. Table of Contents

Welcome to Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies, your guide to finding rewarding employment when youre over 50. This book supplies you with what you need to know to find a job today. From building an online presence to revitalizing your rsum to negotiating a salary, this book has you covered, from cover to cover!

Many reasons may have brought you to this book. Perhaps you are just coming back into the workforce or have been laid off and need to find work. You could be looking to make a career change or want to pursue your passion and find more meaning in your work. You may be relocating, or want a job that gives you more flexibility.

The fact that people are living longer, healthier lives opens the doors to possibilities of a variety of work you may want to pursue. Think of it as a bonus chapter of your life. Its a time when, perhaps, the big-ticket items are behind you paying for childrens educations maybe, or a mortgage and youre free to seek work thats more meaningful and, if youre lucky, not so focused on the size of the paycheck.

Whatever your reason, you want a job, and you want it now.

The job market has changed considerably since your first job-hunt, as has the process for finding and landing a job. In the past, you filled out paper applications, printed and sent rsums and cover letters, and networked over the phone and in person to find the right job. Those things are all still necessary no matter what type of job youre seeking. But mostly theyre now done online, thus requiring some technology know-how. In addition, your ego could feel the sting of having to prove yourself to employers who may be half your age and not nearly as qualified as you.

This book provides information on things you may not have a lot of practice in (such as online applications) or things you may need help updating (like interviewing skills). Im over 50. I get it. Its tough out there. But, with some guidance, you can attain your goals.

Think of this book as your road map to get to where you want to be. You hold in your hands all the direction and resources to help you find and land the job you want, along with instructions on how to use the latest technologies to your advantage. I explain everything from how to bring your rsum into the 21st century to how to network and market yourself online so youre an attractive target for recruiters and employers nationwide.

Within this book, you may note that I followed certain conventions. I often use boldface text to label bullet items and other content, so you can easily skim for the information you need. Italicized words and phrases represent unfamiliar terminology I define in context. Some website addresses break across two lines of text. If youre reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the address exactly as its noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesnt exist. If youre reading this as an e-book, youve got it easy just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

The fact that youre reading this book tells me that you either dont have a job or dont have the job you want. Perhaps youre struggling to figure out where and how to look for jobs and how to make yourself an attractive candidate. Other assumptions Ive made about you include the following: