Your not-so-secret weapon: technology
Learning more about tech can push you to the head of the line.
One of the ways you can take yourself out of the running as an older job seeker is to show that you are uncomfortable with technology.
Here are some ideas to help you stay current. Some of them might seem a bit out there, but just give them a try. For each tip, I’ve listed a YouTube video to start you off. YouTube is an amazing resource if you’re trying to learn pretty much anything.
1. Be comfortable with Zoom.
I’ve written about this recently. In the era of COVID, it’s important to get used to having interviews and other interactions online. Zoom is the most common platform, but there’s also Google Meet, Skype, and others. In addition to understanding how the systems work, a Zoom interview is a special animal that needs cultivation and care.
How to ace your job interview over Zoom
2. Up your LinkedIn game.
I’ve written about this too. Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn is the most important for job seekers. The great news is that there is a ton of good advice out there about learning LinkedIn and taking best advantage of it.
How to use LinkedIn for beginners
3. Learn more about presentations.
In addition to learning the systems for presentations - PowerPoint, Keynote and others - practicing and developing presentations helps you think through your positions and communicate effectively, which means a lot in any profession.
How to avoid death by PowerPoint
4. Learn how the web works.
I’m not talking about becoming a web developer. I just think understanding more about the foundations of our connected world can only be an advantage in any field these days. The web is our shared ecosystem.
5. Google yourself.
Searching yourself on Google is a great exercise in a world where, as Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend said in “The Social Network,” the internet is written in ink. Prospective employers will be doing it, so you should too to see what’s out there about you. Being invisible online can be just as much a problem as being too exposed.
What happens when you Google search yourself?
6. Write online.
I’ve talked about how writing is a superpower when it comes to job hunting. So I wanted to include that in this list. Writing about your passions and your field can be a great leg up with prospective employers. It reinforces your expertise and communication skills.
How writing online made me a millionaire
7. Research the social media of your industry.
Reviewing the company website of a prospective employer is a standard tactic mentioned by every job search guru. But I would also recommend looking at their social media presence: Twitter, LinkedIn, even Instagram. This is more up-to-date information and teaches you how they view and use the internet.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, of course. Would you like me to write more about technology as it applies to job hunting? (I love tech. My first computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80.) Let me know, and if you have tech questions, just leave them in the comments.
Also: I have started using Substack’s recommendations system to recommend other job search newsletters I think are worth checking out. Do you have any resources, online or off, that you think would be useful to the community? Let me know by replying to this email or leaving a comment. Thanks!
Great tips!
I worked at Macromedia/Adobe (which bought Macromedia) for fourteen and a half years. I got in there almost by accident in the middle of the dot-com boom, with little technical expertise. The whole time I worked there I kept thinking they'd find out how non-technical I was and fire me! ;-) As it turned out, they wouldn't even lay me off, and I had to quit when I decided to make a career change into clean energy.
Even though I'm not a super-technical person, I was actually emailing and chatting (though we didn't call it that) back in 1978-79, my last year of high school. Like me, many people likely have some exposure to technology that we don't even realize we are absorbing. Being around it more gets you more comfortable with it, so the key is to not be afraid of it and get more used to it. You may find that you know more than you realize!