Taking it to the (Cyber) Streets

For 50 plussers, job search in the 70's, 80's and early 90's meant creating a paper network, phone network and community network. What does that mean? You would create a resume, print it on a laser printer (or head off to Kinko's or the pre-Kinko's version of a print shop) on "Buff" or "Linen" or a lovely watermarked paper with a beautifully typed cover letter and send it off to the company or companies you had identified as your target employers.

When you were in active job search, you'd identify 100, 200, 400 targets and send different versions of your resume and cover letters to each one. You'd then sit back and wait for the phone to ring. If it didn't ring, you'd call the companies, one by one, and ask to speak to the Human Resources Director. Usually you'd get through to a live voice. Sometimes, you'd persuade them to let you come over for a quick chat.

You'd attend networking groups, small business breakfasts, city meetings, political and arts fundraisers. Basically, you'd try to create your own version of "6 Degrees of Separation." Within 4 - 9 months you'd land a new job. If you didn't have a copy of "What Color is My Parachute?" you were NOT in the know.

Job search and job posting has completely changed as of the late 90's. Instead of walking the beat, taking the subway, MARTA, BART or tube to the downtown core, we now surf the web. And this new form of job seeking is very scary for the 50 plus crowd. We built our job searches on relationship building and the new form of job search is all a matter of personal branding and blatant self-marketing, email and voice mail.

If you haven't visited Gen Plus yet, you need to take a quick look at the samples of interviews and resumes on our Work page. It will give you an idea of what Employers are looking for. Over the next few weeks, we'll explore the areas that you can control to give you an edge in your job search.

For employers that visit this blog, you too, will agree that finding the right candidate has become exceedingly important. Areas that are measured are time to fill, turnover, cost of training just to name a few. And getting the right person in quickly changes the way you are viewed as a performer in your HR team or company.

We've been attracting media attention in the heart of America (www.14WFIE.com) and through HR sites such as Interbiz. Gen Plus is a good place to start as we are targeted to the 50 plus demographic. While I'm going to be covering more specifics over the next few weeks, feel free to send your questions and I'll try to answer your questions on the blog so that other readers can benefit from the responses.

In the meantime, read the past few postings and get started on pumping up your resumes so that you can determine your personal brand.