"It seemed like most of the positions available are junior," many of my Candidates observe. "The ads say, 'Must have ten years-plus years' experience and a boat load of different technologies and languages.' That's the mask that the job market puts on itself through the screening process. You've expanded your target market and sought out jobs that were not quite "the right" level, but still get rejected and sometimes told that you're "overqualified," the more politically correct version of too old.

The Careerpilot

The current job market has increasingly become a talent-deficient marketplace, even with the current unemployment levels. That anyone in this market would say that, "I want somebody under-qualified or just on par would be pretty silly."

Silly or not, older professionals often hear that answer during interviews. But such job seekers can adopt strategies to cope with these rejections. Further, coming to grips with the age issue in your career is a vital part of both resume development and your career FITness.

Coming across as the old guy (or gal) at work can cost you when it comes to raises, promotions, and layoffs. There's no upside to appearing stale -- much less ancient -- in today's workforce, where job security is as elusive as the gophers Bill Murray stalked in "Caddyshack."

 If you saw that movie in a theater, you fit the Careerpilot’s chrono-age profile!

Sure, many companies value older workers for their organizational knowledge, industry expertise, network and mentoring capacity. But you can't rest on those laurels in a rapidly changing workplace.  Not that it's easy.  It’s natural to be intimidated by the high tech savvy shown by younger colleagues... or their "new" way of doing things.  Who doesn't occasionally think that previous ways of doing things were better?   Do you sometimes find yourself hoping to muddle through till retirement?

It's okay to think these things -- you just don't want to be projecting them in the way you talk, dress, or do business. Watch for these signs that you're adding to your work age…

TECHNOLOGY Usage in Your Career

You look old if: you think only birds tweet

Social media isn't a flash trend, it's part of a tech-tonic cultural shift. Increasingly such tools are being used to do business -- and even to generate revenue, so get with it!  You're missing a lot if you haven't yet figured out Twitter; same for Facebook and LinkedIn.  Not learning to exploit social networking is like being the aging person who never turned on the TV.  75% of Gen Y workers have profiles on social-media sites,  while only 30% of boomers do, a recent Pew Research Center survey found.

Solution: Become part of the Twitterati: Go to twitter.com, and sign up for an account. The point of this real-time microblogging site -- which caps posts at 140 characters -- is to "follow" people to see what's making news in their worlds.

From a career development point of view, you want to follow thought leaders in your field. An easy way to do that is to identify a few people you really respect in your profession and see who they're following. By reading them you'll stay current, and by repeating -- or retweeting -- what you learn, your newfound edge will show.

Once you're ready, you can post interesting things you're doing or links to articles that got you thinking. If you haven't already done it, create profiles on both Facebook and LinkedIn and add "connections."

These sites are changing the way people think of community. Spend an hour or so a week exploring the features, which are always changing. Time spent being sucked into the vortex of LinkedIn is time well spent in your own personal career development.

Read the original article…

How to age-proof your career  Additional reporting by Lauren Kelleher and Beth Braverman contributed to this article. 

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