Job searches are often difficult enough without throwing curveballs into the equation like age. But age is definitely a factor, even at the executive level where one would think that expertise would be valued over all else.

If you’re over 50 and are running into problems being considered for positions at the executive level, you’re not alone. The good news is that you don’t have to fall victim to it. Instead, you can utilize some great tips to showcase your viability in your chosen industry.

Let Them Know You Know People

One great way to convince a hiring manager that you’re the right person for the job is let him know that you know people. While there are some pretty impressive young overachievers out there who run to networking event after event to meet everyone in their industry, it’s still difficult to build solid relationships in a short period of time.

This is where being you becomes a bonus. If you’ve been a heavy-hitter in your industry for 25-plus years, it’s hard to match the number of solid business connections you have. You most likely have the “right” people on speed dial and can ask for a favor quicker than anyone else in your city. There’s no doubt that connections like these are vital to your existence as an executive. So if you have them, flaunt them – you can bet your younger counterparts can’t do the same.

No One Can Match Your Wisdom

Some employers like the idea of having a young face representing their company at the executive level, but could this young face have 25-plus years of wisdom under his belt? Likely not. In fact, it’s possible that when you were first getting started in your industry, your younger counterparts were just starting kindergarten.

So yes, you have a lot of wisdom and leadership that simply can’t be matched. You’ve encountered tough situations and have utilized superb problem-solving skills to get through them. In other words, you’re not a spring chicken. You’ve been around the block a few times. If you make it to the interviewing stage – where you may suddenly be judged for your older appearance – this is the time to tell some stories of achievement no one’s able to match.

Remember, You Can Make the Company Look Good

Another benefit of you being over 50 and having many years of experience is the credibility you offer the company. While the employer may be superficially looking for a young face, clients and potential partners will likely feel a great deal of comfort in knowing that the senior executive they’re working with is not wet behind the ears. It doesn’t hurt to humbly express this in your cover letter, as well as your interviews.

When you’re approaching executive-level positions as an over-50 candidate, it’s important to remember that confidence is key. If you walk into a situation feeling that you’re over-the-hill, or simply aren’t a viable candidate anymore, it will be hard for a prospective employer to disagree with you. So as you conduct your job search, never forget who you are: a top-level executive with enough connections, expertise and wisdom to blow those young whipper-snappers out of the water.

Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. Compare the top executive resume writing services in the industry at http://resumelines.com.

With unemployment now exceeding 10 percent in many states, the thought of working abroad is appealing to a greater number of jobseekers. Expanding a job search beyond the United States is certainly not for everyone. However, for those who love learning about other cultures, can communicate in multiple languages, or have specific in-demand skills, working in a foreign country can be a tremendous career opportunity.

With unemployment now exceeding 10 percent in many states, the thought of working abroad is appealing to a greater number of jobseekers. Expanding a job search beyond the United States is certainly not for everyone. However, for those who love learning about other cultures, can communicate in multiple languages, or have specific in-demand skills, working in a foreign country can be a tremendous career opportunity.

Excluding military personnel, there are nearly 7 million Americans currently living in over 160 countries – many of whom relocated because of career opportunities. While lots of overseas employment assignments are government positions, there are also a growing number of jobs within companies that require a global workforce.

Of course, landing that perfect overseas job does entail somewhat more effort than simply dropping into a local employer and filling out an application. Instead, a multi-pronged strategy is needed to ready yourself for the global job market, seek out employers, and prepare for the transition to another country. While there are certainly more hurdles to overcome when deciding to work overseas, the rewards can be significant. If you’re ready to start an international job search, here are five strategies that will help you on your journey to success.

Create a Plan of Action
Start by creating a plan that highlights the industries or types of businesses that match your skill set and the methods you’ll utilize to find jobs. Consider whether you want to exclusively look for positions within the government, public companies, or private firms. You will also want to determine what corporate culture you are looking for and what geographic regions that you will focus on.

Overseas job hunting does require more effort and research. Take the time to investigate citizenship and work eligibility requirements and to assess your own cultural adaptability, foreign language skills, work experience and education. Don’t hesitate to fine tune skills or obtain additional education or training if necessary. For those who are still in school, investigate distance education, foreign exchange programs, as well as internship abroad opportunities.

Prepare for the Global Job Market
Regardless if you’re job search is domestic or international, you will need clear, concise job-search correspondence that markets your skills and background effectively. Most employers outside of the United States will require a curriculum vitas (CV), as opposed to a resume. In general, a CV is a longer, more detailed, chronological overview of your entire academic and professional history; usually longer than two pages.

A well-written cover letter is another must for any jobseeker. Take the time to write an attention-getting introductory paragraph explaining why you’re interested in the position. Make sure to weave into your text your most relevant skills and accomplishments. Don’t forget to close the letter with a request for an interview and always address the letter to a real person (hiring manager, human resources director, or other decision-maker).

Start Your Search
Thanks to the Internet, searching for international jobs has become substantially more efficient than before computers became a ubiquitous career development tool. There are many, useful job search sites that list open positions and provide helpful information such as employment trends, salary comparisons, CV writing assistance, and career advice. The Internet is also an extremely useful tool for researching companies, their competitors, and specific industry information.

Networking should be an equivalently important component to your job search. Consider all of your networking sources, including college connections, professional or trade organizations, and personal contacts. Utilize online networking sites such as Linkedin and ZoomInfo to alert others of your job search and to receive potential leads.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to companies, recruiters, and hiring agencies in the countries that you’re targeting by calling them directly. Fortunately, with the use of an internet phone service such as MediaRing Talk, you can make free and low-cost PC to phone calls directly from your computer.

Get Ready to Interview
Most likely, you will have preliminary interviews via phone or video conferencing. Make sure that you’re prepared to communicate effectively given a variety of interview methods. If the interview will be conducted in another language, be confident about your speaking skills. Take the time to understand cultural differences that may be apparent during an interview and have the ability to show enthusiasm while discussing your skills, accomplishments, training, and education. Preparation is truly the key to having a successful interview. Be ready to talk articulately about the company and their industry and have questions ready to ask.

Follow up is another necessity. Write thank you notes post-interview and don’t hesitate to inquire about the status of the position or other positions within the company if they haven’t followed up with you.

Plan Your Move
While you can certainly find a job overseas from the comfort of your own home, you will dramatically increase your chances by meeting your employers in person. If you do have the financial capabilities, you may want to consider moving to the country where you want to work to ramp up your search efforts. Once you’re in your desired location, you can take advantage of face-to-face interviews, networking opportunities, internships, volunteering, and other activities that will help you on your career path.

Although overseas jobs are not an option for all jobseekers, they are a smart choice for individuals who want to enrich their lives with the unique experiences that go hand-in-hand with living abroad. There are career opportunities for those who are prepared to meet this unique career challenge and a wealth of new opportunities available to them.

Pursuing Your Passions
by Jonathan R. Taylor

Envision for a moment, doing what you truly love and getting paid for it. Having a hard time? Most people do, unfortunately, because they’ve been conditioned to think of work as something that’s unpleasant, but necessary.

These days, however, fulfilling your passion in the workplace is becoming more of a reality. What if you have a love of the outdoors? I have a friend who turned his passion for hiking and camping into a profitable summer business as an independent guide for week long hiking trips. Another friend of our family recently took her interest in health and fitness and used it to build her business as an independent trainer.

In their excellent book, Finding Your Perfect Work, Paul and Sarah Edwards give several examples of people who have taken their unique gifts and passions and turned them into a livelihood. For example, Bob Bell and Ted Seibert started their company, The Sand Castle, from a love of building sand castles. Of course, their sand castles don’t get washed away, because they build their two story castles in shopping malls, trade shows and fairs throughout the country. Stephen Yoke took his hobby of collecting miniature toy cars and turned it into a business selling them at car and toy shows. Within months of quitting his old job as real car salesman, he was bringing in over $200,000 in sales.

What passion do you have that could be turned into a profitable business? Whether it’s painting, writing, teaching, speaking or anything else, all it takes is some motivation and creativity to get started. Check out Dan Miller’s Turning Passions into Profits for more ideas.

To access the links in this article, visit www.careercalling.com/Archives.htm and read edition June 03, 2005.

About the author: Find out why Dave Ramsey recommends the program that we teach. Visit www.careercalling.com!

Change Your Life In 48 Days
by Jonathan R. Taylor

We’re all creatures of habit. When we drive home in the afternoon from work, rarely do we remember all the traffic lights and turns we encountered along the way. We always seem to take the same route each day, so naturally it becomes programmed into our brains. Other aspects of our lives are much the same way from the time we get up in the morning until we retire to bed at night. We all have own little way of doing things for just about every part of lives. Any break in that routine can often cause tremendous stress.

I met with a client recently who wanted to change careers desperately, yet as we talked about moving in a new direction, she began gripping the armrests on the chair tighter and tighter. You could sense the anxiety in her voice at the thought of changing what had been a comfortable (though miserable) routine in her life.

The truth is, 90 percent of our normal behavior is based on habits. What’s hard to do, is develop new habits. Change in routine is stressful for so many people. Think about it for a minute- why do most New Years resolutions go unfulfilled? Because change is tough! Not only that, change takes time. No one develops a new habit overnight. Ask anyone that’s ever tried to quit smoking.

Research shows that it takes an average of 21-30 days to change an old habit, depending on how deeply entrenched it is in our lives. Most people, however, never get past the first or second week.

In order for a person to make a serious change in their career, they will need to make some habit changes. It doesn’t have to be enormous change all at once either. Many people change old habits incrementally. For example, if you normally watch three hours of television (which I don’t recommend) each night, and you simply take one of those hours to devote to reading, studying, or developing new skills, you’ve spent nine 40-hour work weeks in a year on developing new skills that might change your life forever. Enormous change begins with incremental steps.

Make it a goal to start systematically improving one behavior at a time. Remember the famous quote by Einstein- “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

To access the links in this article, visit www.careercalling.com/Archives.htm and read edition June 24, 2005.

About the author: Find out why Dave Ramsey recommends the program that we teach. Visit www.careercalling.com