American Chamber of Commerce discussing an ageing society

We took part in an interesting discussion at the American Chamber of Commerce on a national strategy for an ageing society.

Some thoughts shared by Laura Duksaitė-Iškauskienė:

• Finding a job is a job. And the managers who are in demand for this job often haven’t done it. Because they were of a marketable age, in a marketable profession, with excellent competencies for the times.
• When you suddenly lose the attractiveness of these criteria – age (over 50), competence (you don’t know how to do something), and sometimes even the company or the whole industry you used to manage – it’s a shock.
• Because the skills to look for a job and attend job interviews have not been developed.

Then it cuts deeply into self-esteem, into self-confidence. And the longer that period lasts without a new career offer, the harder it is. The people who are most stuck in their job search are those who have simply never had to do it before.

So the advice is simple: think about what I might need in my management career not only in 5 years, but also in 10, 15 years, and how I will acquire those skills. Including job search skills, should I need them.