The Millennial Interviewer: How Executive Women Can Confidently Handle Age Disparity in the Interview Process

Young workers entering the workforce for the first time often report feelings of intimidation during the interview process. They complain that being interviewed by someone twice their age can be a frightening experience, and they struggle to be taken seriously by those whose careers span decades.

That intimidation factor is certainly understandable. And today, as the younger generation gets older and moves up in their careers, they're finding themselves on the other side of the interview desk.

On the flip side, facing the millennial interviewer can feel just as uncomfortable for the baby boomer generation, a group of men and women who are used to being in charge.

So how can executive women succeed when being interviewed by a millennial? How can they overcome their feelings of intimidation, or worse, resentment and put their best foot forward? How can they turn the interview process around and wow the millennial across the desk? Here are some timely tips for those entering the executive job search arena.

Focus on Accomplishments Instead of Experience

As an executive with a long and successful career, you may be anxious to talk about your many years of experience, but the millennial across the desk may not be as impressed as you hope. If you have been working for 30 years, your millennial interviewer may have been in kindergarten while you were busy climbing the corporate ladder.

Focusing on experience alone will not win you any points. So focus on your accomplishments instead, including specific ways you helped past employers boost their profits, diversify their operations, and build a better company.

Understanding the career values of millennials such as social impact, ethics, and diversity will go a long way as well. Bring examples of what is meaningful to your interviewer, because the mere fact that you have been working since before they were born, likely won't matter as much as the impact you've had on those you've led or the change you've made in the world.

Know that Company Loyalty May Be Viewed as a Negative

For generations past, company loyalty was a given. Entire careers were spent at a single company, with generous pensions the reward for decades of hard work. But for the millennial generation, this kind of loyalty is unthinkable, and job-hopping is the rule and not the exception.

If you're being interviewed by a millennial, know that longevity with your current employer may be viewed as a negative instead of a positive. The millennial across the desk may assume you stayed because there were no better options, or that you stopped growing and learning once you had the job.

Point to what you have accomplished, who helped you and whom you've helped move up the ranks, and the changes you have witnessed over the intervening years. Even if you’ve been with the same employer for decades, the company you are working at now is surely different than the one you walked into on your first day of work. Talk about how you’ve championed diverse talent, talk about change, for the better.

Show Off Your Technological Chops and Social Media Savvy

Members of the millennial generation were virtually born with a smartphone in their hands. For these digital natives, technology is something they take for granted, and that can make life tough for older executives.

The millennial across the (virtual) desk may assume that you do not know an Android from a Kindle, or that you have no clue how enterprise software works. If you want to succeed with your millennial interviewer and land the job, be ready to show off your technological skills.

Also, be ready to correspond about your interview over text without judgment.

67% Of Tech Leaders Say Their Companies Text In Hiring Process

Be sure to build a solid presence on social media, including the emerging platforms where younger people tend to congregate. Having a profile on professional sites like LinkedIn is a given, but you may want to branch out to platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp as well. You can bet your millennial interviewer will do a thorough search, so make sure they like what they find.

It also helps to point out how you use technology in your current position, including which software packages you interact with and what kinds of platforms you have worked on. As an executive of a certain age, it is up to you to prove that your generation can hold its own with even the most tech-savvy millennial.

Being interviewed by a millennial might feel challenging, especially for executives who are making moves. Even so, don't let the age intimidate or limit you. Instead, find ways to build bridges and connect and know the millennial interviewer is most likely highly ethical and caring.

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