Check Your Skills Before Looking For That Retirement Job

The process for getting a job is different than it used to be. The pandemic changed every thing. Employers and companies are selecting applicants with the right skill set.

Studies done by consulting company McKinsey & Company found in 2020 that 87 percent of companies were either experiencing skills gaps now or expecting to face them within the next few years.

Skills gaps could mean an opportunity for older, more experienced workers. While in the past employers might have been focused on whether an applicant had this or that degree, now they just want people who can do the job. Skills that you had in your old job might not be relevant these days.

So how do you evaluate the skills you have against the skills you might need? Do you have a LinkedIn account? Improve your profile. Add your skills, and use their tools.

What skills are employers looking for these days? Skills fall into 2 categories- soft skills and hard skills.

Soft skills are communicating with others, leading teams and projects, problem solving, mentoring newer workers, and critical thinking skills. Hard skills are the more tech like skills- computer skills, social media skills, etc.  Employers are much more interested in soft skills than they used to be. Before it was all about what degrees you might have, now they just want people who can do the job.

You might be tempted to just focus on your strong points, but learn new skills to make your self more valuable. Pathfinder- a LinkedIn tool can help you identify the skills you might need for jobs you want and help you find resources and courses to help you develop them.

I would strongly suggest you make sure your computer and social media skills are us to date. Older applicants are seen as not so tech savvy, so make sure you have those listed as well as the soft skills.

AARP is another place to go to check and improve your skills for you future or Retirement job. Their Skill Builder For Work offers information and courses to help build these abilities, and many of these courses are free. 

Once you've got the skills, get them on the resume. 

Focus on the skills they put on the job posting to see what is most important to your prospective employer. The skills that are repeated over and over are what you are looking for. These are the "key words." If you have years and years of experience, you might want to highlight the jobs where you have experience in the skills that the new job requires and don't go into so much detail in the jobs or areas where you didn't should you used these skills.

Image by 💙♡🌼♡💙 Julita 💙♡🌼♡💙 from Pixabay