Career Savvy at Age 40+!

QUESTION: I'm considerably older than my employer,and although there's been no open acknowledgment, I feel that my agesometimes intimidates him. What can I do to make things morecomfortable for us both?

ANSWER: Age differences are going to bemore and more of an issue for baby boomers, and understandingsuccessful strategies will go a long way. The demographic reality isthat, at some point, we're all going to be managed by younger people.

The most difficult issue of dealing with an age difference isthat you're older, you're wiser and you may fall into the "mother" role(or that of an older-and-wiser sibling) without being aware of it. Thatcan be diminishing and annoying to your employer.

You need to be really conscious of howyou're communicating, which in this case is as important as whatyou're communicating. When your mother says something to you, it's allin how she says it, right? You have to be very careful not to bepejorative to someone that is your senior in the workplace, yet yourjunior chronologically.

It's also important to be conscious of how you are perceivedat work. If you appear to be vibrant, active and engaged, people aren'tthinking about your age; rather, they are thinking that they want towork with you!

Finally, we always think of a mentor as being someone that'solder, but it's time to change that. Build a network of mentors thatare younger -- a cabal of people that can correctus and guide us so that we don't sound diminishing or like know-it-alls.

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QUESTION: I had a very successful career inthe financial services industry, but took a 10-year hiatus to focus onraising my children. Now I'm ready to go back. Can you give me sometips for re-entering the workforce?

ANSWER: Although you have a specializedbackground, the issues you're facing are universal.

One barrier to entry is the rapid change in technology sinceyou've left the workforce, which means that you'll need to do your bestto get up to speed on new developments, products and services.

More importantly, if you can demonstrate how you can bringrelationships to a company or firm, you are considered an asset. It'sall about driving business, whether you're an attorney, accountant,insurance salesperson or marketing executive.

This is also a key time for networking. It helps to go backaround to your former colleagues; they know your strengths andabilities, and they trust you, which goes a long way for an employer.Additionally, engage and incorporate your network as a parent -- thepeople you know from your children's schools, sports events and thelike.

You should also focus on what kind of organizations have areputation for bringing people in for their "second acts." If a companyis known to have a very young management team, or to value youth andenergy over experience and wisdom, you're not going to find a readyfit, no matter how fabulous and amazing you are. Put your effortstoward researching organizations that value experience over otherqualities, and focus on them when sending out your resume.

About Sunny Bates
Executive search, career and networking expert Sunny Bates is the CEOof retained executive search firm Sunny Bates Associates. Sunny is theauthor of How To Earn What You're Worth, published by McGraw-Hill inFebruary of 2004.