I own a recruiting company as well as teaching the Fearless Job Seeker and what I can tell you from experience is… the over 40′s who can’t get a job are the most confused, frustrated and pissed off job seekers out there. And, THEY SHOULD BE.

There is a tonne of advice to be had out there and the truth is it’s aimed at traditional job searchers. You know, the 25 – 35 year old’s in the “prime” of their career. Most of this advice doesn’t take into account that you were probably at the top of your game, have over 20 years experience and have a completely different motivation to get back to work. It doesn’t help the “mature” people out there get a job.

The common wisdom out there that bothers me the most has you trying to be whatever the company with the job wants you to be. Bending and twisting yourself to become something you’re not to try and get a job.

They say to get a job you should try:

Getting to know the hiring manager, what they do in their spare time, if they have a family, are their kids in college. You know relate to them.
Find out what the company’s “problem or challenge is” and explain how you would fix it.
Tell a hiring manager what they want to hear in an interview. Really think about the answer they want to hear and give it to them.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but none of this works, it’s complete crap. Spending all of your time researching a potential hiring manager and then guessing what they want you to say! Not only is it completely unfair (to you) it just doesn’t help you get hired. You come off vague, disingenuous and lacking passion. How can you be passionate and detailed when you are taking a shot in the dark

Here is the best advice I can give you to reclaim your confidence and control of the hiring process. Stop wasting your time learning about everyone else and put that time and energy into YOU! Get to know your self on a deep level. Get to know what you love and want to do, why you want to do it, where you want to do it and how you plan to do it. it’s like they said on Seinfeld, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”

There are lots of ways to discover who you are. I have my own “Get Your Edge Self Assessment” that I out people through to get them focused and get a job and I will start outlining some of these exercises in future articles. Here is a pretty cool article 5 Quick Buddhist Practices – The Missing Element in Your Job Search? Personally I like this kind of philosophy and it can definitely help “zen you out” and gain some focus.