If you’re 50-something and not having a lot of luck in your job search, it may well be due to the fact that you’ve got a killer resume: a JOB KILLER resume that is! 

Step #1: Make absolutely sure that the information on your resume is relevant to today’s market place.  The chances you’ll land a job as a typesetter are remote to none, so get with the times and learn how to function in the new digital world!

 Step #2: Employers aren’t interested in what you did in 1969: they want to know about your recent accomplishments: last month, last year.  So take out the cashier positions at your local Burger King and be sure to highlight what YOU consider your greatest accomplishments.  Did you: design a new way to conduct inventory, saving the company a ton of money?  Create a print flier that generated gazillions of dollars in sales? Implement an internship program for your firm?  Whatever your achievements, SHOWCASE them on your resume! 

STEP #3: Refrain from putting down the fact that you graduated from Klutz Kollege in 1972. Even math-challenged employers can do THAT math, and you’ll end up getting passed over. But: be sure you include the fact that you have a B.S. in Chemistry or whatever. 

STEP #4: don’t talk about your ‘extensive years of experience’ on the job: it will only make you sound like the boss’ grandfather and he’ll NEVER hire you! Also, delete references to outmoded or obsolete technology. Saying that you were an ‘accomplished telex operator’ doesn’t buy you a thing when virtually no one in the work force today has even SEEN a telex, let alone USED one!

 STEP # 5: If a prospective employer feels compelled to ask what it is you did in the early days of your career, have a full-blown copy of your resume handy to show him.  Likely as not, he doesn’t care so don’t shoot yourself in the foot by belaboring experiences to which he can’t even relate!

 Finally, if you’re applying for a job requiring you to write, for goodness sakes, bring a writing sample.  If you’re applying for one that demands the latest in organizational skills, provide information on the innovative ways in which you organized your last job.

 In other words: By giving the employer what he wants instead of a lot of extraneous detail, you’re bound to go further faster!

If you’ve ever had a chance to speak with business people who have ‘made it,’ chances are one of the first things they will tell you that it’s all about the 4 P’s: Preparation, Patience, Planning, and Perseverance.

 Just as you wouldn’t leave home on a camping trip without packing food, water, blankets, flashlights and camp gear, so too, you shouldn’t leave details about your career unattended either. After all, if you’re not sure where you’re going it will be hard to get there. 

 Take a good look at your skills and abilities.  Are you a computer repair technician? If you want to get to the next level of professional responsibility, you might want to think about passing your Microsoft certification tests. If you work in the field of design, you may want to learn a new graphics package. In addition to any self-help manuals you may find at your local library or bookstore, see what your local community college has to offer. 

 It goes without saying that you won’t be successful over night. (What’s that saying? all good things come to he who waits? So true, so true! A little patience will go a long way. Once you determine what it is you need, don’t let anything sway you from accomplishing your objectives. 

If you don’t think you’ve got the mental stamina to get through, find yourself a close friend or colleague who will stand by you and hold you accountable during your process. If not, keeping a journal of your experiences, thoughts and frustrations can be quite helpful as well. 

IN the final analysis, it’s all about organizing your priorities, ideas, expectations, and experiences to accomplish your desired goals.

For many people, ‘cold-calling’ ranks right up there along with giving a speech, which is to say that most people absolutely hate it!  If you approach it correctly, however, there’s a good chance that you can learn to love it. (Well, maybe ‘love’ is too strong a word but, you get the idea!)

Don’t worry if you aren’t initially successful. It takes a while to feel comfortable talking about your product or service to people you’ve never met! Practice is key here, and believe it or not, the more cold calls you make, the better you’ll become at it.  (who knows: you might even learn to ENJOY the process!)

The most important thing is to be perceived first as likeable, and second as non-threatening.  It won’t help you if the person on the other end of that line thinks you’re reading from a script. You will get an automatic hang up if you sound like a robot. Put some personality into what you’re saying.  Be enthusiastic and energetic!

It is said that you can ‘hear’ a smile over the phone.  Practice your presentation in front of a mirror until it sounds natural to you. Then, recruit a couple of good friends and ask if you can call them to get their impressions. At the end, ask them what their honest opinions were. Were you….Engaging? Entertaining?  Cheerful? Optimistic? Informed? Intelligent?

Did you falter while you were speaking, or did you include a lot of ‘um’s. ah’s and ‘ya knows’? Did you sound literate and articulate? Most importantly, did you come across as though you knew what you were talking about?

 Sad but true: there is no quick fix for improving your public speaking ability, except PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. However, there is an excellent group called Toastmasters that can help you bolster your self confidence and improve your abilities.

Established in 1924, the group’s purpose is to ‘develop public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback.’

Check them out today at www.toastmasters.org

For many women, being assertive doesn’t come easily.  For the most part, for the first several hundred years of our existence as a society, women were accustomed to putting their own feelings aside and taking orders from fathers, brothers and husbands. And, for the first couple hundred years this wasn’t a big deal. 

However, things have changed now and it IS a big deal: a VERY big deal—especially if you are looking for a promotion!  First of all, what do you think of when you hear the word ‘assertive?’ Most people think of someone who is confident and competent and who doesn’t hesitate to express her thoughts and feelings. 

Depending upon your personality, this is often easier said than done. It may be that you’ve spent so much time in your family or your marriage ‘smoothing things over’ that it is almost impossible to break out of your shell.  And, it is virtually impossible for an assertive personality to avoid occasional conflicts with those around you.  (The other choice is to simply give in and let others walk over you: an option, certainly, but not a very good one!) 

If you are reluctant to state your opinion in the face of disagreement or if you don’t want to ‘rock the boat’ think about the top echelon of your company: the President/Vice President/Managing Director and so on who don’t express their point of view or who refrain from becoming involved in controversial situations. It’s doubtful you’ll find many of them!  Success isn’t generally achieved by failing to express your point of view or by retreating from your position when things get rough and company execs rarely exhibit these tendencies. 

If you’re having problems in this area, consider taking an Assertiveness Training class: it could well be the most important new tool in your arsenal of skills!

It’s a well-known fact that women make 25% less money during their lives, and yet they live 7 years longer on average.  Therefore, when retirement comes around, they frequently have greater difficulty caring for themselves than do their male counterparts.

In the past, this problem was often compounded by the fact that women typically did not assume the role of financial planners for their family. That is a role which was reserved for the male—be it a father, brother, uncle or son.  As a result, they did not spend a lot of time learning about smart investing or about the stock market. When called upon to make financial decisions, they often didn’t know which way to turn.

Fast forward to the 21^st century, and we find a considerable difference. In fact, there are now some 10 million women-owned businesses that generate an astonishing $2.5 billion dollars in revenue each year. Furthermore, women are starting businesses twice as often as men.

If the renowned business management consultant and author Tom Peters is to be believed, most money decisions are actually made by women these days.  According to him, some 80% of all checks are written by women, 61% of all bills are paid by women and 53% of all stock is owned by women investors.

Increasingly, women are turning to the plethora of information available on the internet to become educated on how to handle their finances.

Yet, according to a Merrill Lynch survey, as a whole, women are still not doing what they should be in order to achieve financial independence.  The theory is that as a group, women are not as apt to take the kinds of risks as are men, which means that they frequently miss out on the big money earning opportunities.

As the saying goes: “You’ve come a long way, baby”….but the road is still a long one ahead.

For anyone who is trying to sell a product these days, it’s all about an effective internet presence. You can either build a site yourself, using the rudimentary templates that come with almost any internet service or utilize the services of a professional site developer, having a site is a must.

In addition to having an easily-navigable and attractive website, don’t forget about the inherent value in linking your site to others. It goes without saying that you’ll want to link to complementary sites such that if you sell painting supplies, find a home renovation firm to which to link.

Blog about your product and your company on your social networking site and mention it whenever you get the chance. By writing informative articles about your industry, you will quickly position yourself as an expert. If you own a bicycle shop, write something on the best trails for mountain bikes or the joy of biking. What you’re trying to avoid is writing something that is clearly self-serving.

Opt-in e mail newsletters can be especially beneficial as well. Just be sure to provide a way to opt out, too!  As a general rule, it’s best to make your newsletter short and to the point.  Not a writer? Well, you’re in luck: there are a number of internet companies that would be delighted to create content for you—for a price, of course. And…..if your talents lie in other areas, you might just want to consider spending the extra bucks and let an expert perform this task for you.

Finally, be sure to populate your site with special offers and promotional pricing. Yes, this takes lot of effort, but over time, the rewards can be quite significant.  However, be sure to change the content of these ads on a regular basis.Visitors to your site are not likely to be impressed to see the same old promotional pieces each time they log in to your site.

Instead, they want to know that you are paying attention to your business and your services.