- Communication Skills. Word skills can help you get a job and solidify your position on the job. Communicating includes writing memos, proposals, and letters that are clear and grammatical. It is the ability to give a speech, address a meeting, or explain a technical subject clearly and concisely. It is a technique to sell a manager or peer a new idea. An often overlooked communication skill is listening. Learning to listen can help pave the road to success.
- Creative / lnnovative Skills. Today more than ever, companies are seeking ways to compete more effectively in the marketplace, reduce costs, improve productivity, and develop new strategies that will increase profits. The creative person is one who can handle several projects at once and improve them as they develop.
- Interpersonal Skills. The ability to get along with peers and superiors and clients, to work with a group or on a team is essential in today's workplace. Many innovative organizations use the team approach to research and solve problems and speed products to market. This is a concept that will continue to grow.
- Leadership Skills. There are never enough leaders to deal with the problems and challenges facing organizations today. True leaders have a vision of where they want to go. They know they can't do the job alone and delegate responsibility to subordinates. Leaders bring diverse groups of people together and encourage and inspire them to work toward an objective. Men and women who have leadership skills are prized in the corporate world.
- Problem-Solving Skills. Finding new ways to do things and correcting problems before they get out of hand can save companies time and money and make a difference between profit and loss. The problem-solver can help an organization compete more effectively by improving productivity and reducing costs.
In this decade the emphasis on education will continue. The industrialization of U.S. plants will increase the use of robots, which means that more highly skilled, but fewer workers will be employed in such facilities. Jobs for those with lower skills will be reduced. The use of computers will continue to increase, making it possible for companies to hire fewer people to perform more work. Computer literacy is a must in today's work world. This is the decade of the knowledgeable worker.
In view of the changes taking place, there are both advantages and disadvantages for the over-50 job seeker. One advantage is that the labor shortage is here to stay, and as time goes on, more and more companies will be forced to consider hiring both older workers and minorities to solve their full-and part-time employment needs. The mature worker also brings specific skills and experience to the workplace, attributes that are not always easy to find in younger employees. Progressive companies are devising ways to retrain and employ such people.
The disadvantages include convincing an interviewer, who may be half your age, that you are qualified for the job. This will require confidence and flexibility on your part, and the ability to create comfortable rapport with the interviewer.
- Diversity in the Workplace. Multicultural management is another consideration for today's professionals, especially for those age 50 or older who are returning to the job market. A scant 20 years ago, corporate corridors were inhabited almost exclusively by white American males. Today women and minorities-blacks, Asians, and Hispanics-are well represented in America's corporations.
- Opportunities. The changes taking place in the work world open the doors of opportunity to the 50-plus professional seeking employment, retirees returning to the job market, or homemakers reentering the workplace. Take advantage of the opportunities they offer in terms of your experience and know-how.
