With mandatory retirement becoming a thing of the past, more of your older clients may choose to work past the age of 60 or even 65. And they may find themselves fighting the bias that “older” means slower, less flexible and less tech-savvy. So, how can you help your older clients participate successfully in the workforce?

Sixty-plus clients are likely to stay in the workforce for a number of reasons. Some may turn their hobbies or interests into new careers. Others may need to generate income. And many simply won’t want to spend all their days on the golf course. To them, being useful and productive will mean putting their skills and experience to use and being paid for it.

But employers will also need those older workers.

“Smart organizations have woken up to the fact that they need to attract and keep their older workers in order to compete in their industries,” says Barbara Jaworski, president of the Workplace Institute, a Toronto human resources consultancy that specializes in mature workplace issues. “Almost half the workers in North America are now over age 40. Companies that shy away from older workers will find themselves understaffed. And if you can’t staff your company, you’re in big trouble.”

In booming Alberta, says Jerry Stilson, a partner at Calgary-based career consultancy Cenera Inc. who teaches post-retirement career planning: “Employers pretty well beg their older workers not to leave.”

But in many other parts of the country, employers don’t realize the effect demographics will have on their companies, Jaworski says. In order to get hired in these locations, older clients searching for jobs may have to fine-tune their campaigns.

Stilson suggested you encourage your job-hunting senior clients to adopt a sales mentality. “Help take an inventory of the person’s job skills and decide which he or she wants to use,” he suggests. “At this time in life, your client may be able to make some choices.”

Then, clients should find out if there is a market for these skills. If there isn’t, new skills may have to be acquired. “Clients who are still working may want to upgrade their skills so they can do something else in retirement,” Stilson adds.

If clients find there are employers who want their skills, they will have to be ready to sell themselves. “Get out and sell your skills, not your age,” Stilson recommends.

One advantage in looking for work when over the age of 50, he adds, is that you know significantly more people of influence than a 30-year-old. “Ninety per cent of work today is found through contacts,” Stilson tells his clients. “Look for people you know, and start from there. You may have hired them in the past. Even if you’re going into a new line of work, there may be people you know there. Go hot, cool, then cold.”

If your client is approaching a company cold, the first step will be to send out a cover letter and resumé. Computer usage is integral to most jobs today, so a job candidate should be comfortable with computers, e-mail, the Internet and programs specific to the work being sought. If necessary, you can suggest your client take a crash course.

Both letter and resumé should stress job achievements, which are powerful ways of showcasing abilities, rather than job responsibilities. The letter should state the position being applied for. Your client can then describe some related job achievements and how those resulted in improvements, solved problems, generated revenue or saved money for the company in question.

“The resumé should be focused on the job for which your client is applying,” Stilson says. “But at the end, he can briefly discuss other accomplishments, such as volunteer work or planning the itinerary for a trip around the world. Your client might be considered for something very different from the job he or she is applying for, such as planning the company’s executive travel or assisting executives who work outside Canada.”

To turn the focus away from the applicant’s age, Stilson suggests a functional or hybrid resumé centred on achievements rather than a chronological list of positions held. “You don’t need to list your first job in the industry,” he says. “You can say, ‘Previous to this I did… ’ and generally sum it up.”

@page_break@In the job interview, your client’s age will be evident, so it is important he or she project a healthy, enthusiastic, energetic image. “He or she should come across as flexible and eager to learn,” says Jaworski, “and be specific about the experience that can help this company.”

Opinions differ about putting age on the table in the job interview. Some consultants think a job candidate should bring it up as part of the reason why he or she fits the employer’s needs.

Stilson doesn’t agree. “If the interviewer doesn’t have a bias against older workers, you don’t want to give him ideas,” he says. “You don’t want to be explaining your age instead of your skills.” IE