With the anticipated retirement of a significant tranche of the workforce and a lack of suitably skilled or experienced professionals to fill the void, there is a growing realization among many HR professionals that sending older employees out to pasture despite the expertise cited in their resumes isn’t such a good idea after all!
Not so long ago Statistics Canada stated that the number of persons aged 65 years and over doubled between 1981 and 2009 and is expected to double again by 2036. They also stated that there will be more seniors than children (under 15 years) in Canada for the first time ever, at some point between 2015 and 2021. Given the anticipated shortfall of skilled labour, it would seem that there is a clear need to develop strategies aimed at retaining employees approaching retirement age.
So what do you do if you are an older employee who has been released by your employer? In my experience, the older generation have tended to stick with the same company for many years, sometimes decades. In situations like this, there often has never been a need to have a resume. Taking a step back from a 20-30 year long career to contemplate what you have to offer a new employer can be a daunting task. Of course, the fact that you have worked for one employer for so long, in itself, solicits questions at interview as to how you will adapt to working with new processes, policies, procedures, products and people.
How do you structure such as resume? Clearly, you do not want spend 3 pages explaining your day-to-day work activity as it was 20 years ago. You will have to edit your career down to two, high-impact pages of successes. Not an easy task for most people. Nonetheless, if you intend for your resume to be read, that is what you must accomplish.
Working with a professional to develop a coherent personal brand, high-impact resume strategy, and perfecting your interview skills can go a long way to helping you understand what you can offer, what you want, and the best way to go about getting it.
