By PAUL NATINSKY
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People in their 50s and 60s are arguably more vital and capable than they have ever been. Advances in medicine, the popularity of health conscious lifestyles and modern vibrant images of people playing life’s back nine have endowed this group with new possibilities.
But these same people often date themselves with aged perspectives, archaic references and ancient anecdotes. Despite their continued energy, industry knowledge and people skills developed outside of the digital veil, older professionals have a tendency to talk about old, better ways of doing things and drop cultural references lost on 30-year-olds.
Fortunately, there are solutions. One is to keep your frame of reference focused on the past 10 or 15 years. You will be thinking, talking, working and socializing in the same space as mid-career colleagues.
When a situation calls for it, you can always reach back to that case study from the ‘90s that contains a pearl relevant to the current crisis and be the sage wise man for a moment.
The knowledge and experience gained by working in an industry as it ages and matures does not have to reside on the surface. It can inform a modern approach and work quietly, rearing its head only when needed.
This tactic is critical in the current work environment as resume sorting algorithms and prejudicial attitudes about age present thorny barriers for older workers, despite competing fresh images of the same group.
In a long and interesting conversation with a friend who is a Fortune 500 executive veteran, we discussed the value of what we used to call in government legislative circles “institutional knowledge.” That is, a treasure trove of case studies that provide guidance on how to handle current situations that present similar scenarios and challenges.
His principle example was the current problem of finding professionals to manage the technical end of cloud storage—apparently, they are in short supply. He said there was a dynamically similar situation he faced in the ‘80s that he borrowed from to come up with some creative solutions. This is something a 30-year-old would not be able to bring to the table.
Institutional knowledge resident in experienced professionals is also often seasoned with strong, well-developed interpersonal skills that are much in decay in professional circles.
Still, employers seem to continue to clamber toward green recent graduates and inexperienced professionals who demand high salaries and rarely seem to stick around long enough to justify the investment.
At any age, the onus falls to the job seeker, as it should. All candidates, young and old, face stiff competition for the best and most interesting jobs. Older applicants simply face a different obstacles.
Fortunately, selecting from life’s many chapters can help construct a strong personal value proposition, if you keep the focus current.