Age 40+? Most Of Your Interviews Are Fake And How To Get Real Ones

It's got to be frustrating to read this, but if you're an age 40+ job seeker, most of the interviews you land are fake.

They may not seem fake, but you know they haven't progressed. A common reason most of your interviews haven't progressed is because they don't represent real jobs.

Let's first describe the types of fake interviews you're getting and then describe how to find interviews that represent real opportunities.

When you apply to jobs, most of the interviews you get don't represent real jobs, especially when you're age 40+. This includes when you apply through job boards, LinkedIn, company career pages, Applicant Tracking Systems, and through recruiters/HR. It also applies to networking after the job has been posted (Ex: contacting your network asking if they know of openings, or to get you to a hiring manager for a job you saw online).

Instead, these are the types of fake interviews you're getting:

• Compliance: Compliance interviews are chosen by HR to inflate numbers they report to government. These are interviews that HR chooses because the candidate is from traditionally discriminated groups (ex: over 40) or unemployed, and sets up an interview with the hiring manager to interview. Because the hiring manager didn't choose you and you were chosen because of demographics rather than fit, these are interviews that waste your time and give you zero chance of a getting an offer.
• Comparison (and Courtesy): Most companies require hiring managers to do basic due diligence before making offers. By the time you've applied (even if you apply immediately when a job is posted), the hiring manager already has identified top choices. HR picks comparison interviews so the hiring manager can meet due diligence requirements, even though the hiring manager has already identified their own top candidates. You hope that your comparison interview progresses to backup.
• Backup: Sometimes, the hiring manager's top choices all turn down the job, so they need a plan B candidate. This backup candidate may get to a finalist round, but rarely lands the job ... unless all the top candidates turn it down. To boil it down, you're trying to come in 4th place, hope that candidates 1-3 all turn down the job, and you win by default (against terrible odds).

The way to avoid these types of fake interviews are to avoid the HR hiring process - Stop applying after the job is posted (either online or through networking). Instead, learn how to find jobs in the same way hiring managers find almost all of the people they hire.

You would already be doing this if you knew how ...

If you're sick of fake interviews, failing to progress in the hiring process, and being screened out because you're over 40, let me teach you more effective ways to beat ageism during my next free webinar. I'll show you many of the things you're doing now (things you think will work) that instead cause you to lose opportunities.

I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including job search acceleration, getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, unemployment, "bouncy" recent career path, job search turnaround, seeking raise/promotion, industry in decline/consolidation, long term gaps, family leave, or other of the most challenging job search issues.

Join me for my next free Resume Webinar (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/register for no charge) and learn how to accelerate your job search, so you can find your next job faster in 2024.

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