Personal Injury Law

Experience Matters! People Over 40 Now Have A New Resource In the Job Market

By Wayne Parsons

Putting meat on the bones of the old phrase "experience matters", a group of seasoned entrepreneurs and administrators are creating a place for people over 40 to learn how to avoid the job scrapheap.

I blog'd recently on a lawsuit against AT&T for age discrimination - AT&T Charged With Age Discrimination in Lawsuit By Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) - and that put me in touch with a n interesting gentleman named Jeff Winters from the Silicon Valley Area. He and several other successful businessmen and women are putting together something for the alarming tendency of jobs to disappear for people after they reach 40.

Sixteen percent of the eligible American work force is over 55. I am one of them. In Hawaii where we have great health, the productive work life could easily stretch into the 80's.

Our Experience Counts is an organization that is going to take the problem on head on and here is how they describe what they do.

OurExperienceCounts.com was founded by mature, experienced members of the working community to support our fellow mature, experienced members of the working community in creatively extending their careers or making career transitions. By providing specific tools, we enable them to compete successfully in a market often geared toward younger generations. As our economy spirals into recession, companies require considerable expertise, and quick creative solutions to execute their plans. Wisdom and experience will be at a premium, but the conditions have changed since many of our potential members have last conducted a job search. Without proper guidance, it will be difficult for them to get noticed and land that next job.

There are many websites where you can search through thousands of opportunities. There are many websites that, for a few hundred dollars, will write a resume for you. There are even websites that specialize in opportunities for older workers. What differentiates us is that we will train our members in the necessary job search skills, proper communication techniques, and even how to negotiate the right salary.

Our Experience Counts is not just a job website. It is a group of mature, experienced professionals who have approached a problem in our country - age discrimination - from a practical point of view and are creating a community of experience to help guide someone who has lost their job _ and perhaps their confidence _ because they had the audacity to get older.

By the way, My definition of "old" is 10 years older than I am ..... try it, it works.

So what does Our Experience Counts have to do with My law office and the Injury Board? Well I'm not sure from a business point of view but this is certainly a human issue of significant meaning to people and in the end it is people that matter. I see the issue also as a matter of civil rights and one worth thinking about seriously regardless of your age or situation. I look forward to hearing more about this unique venture and hope that anyone who uses Our Experience Counts to let me know about your experiences with them. Good luck to Our Experience Counts and the people who use the tools they provide.

Full post as published by Honolulu Personal Injury Lawyer on August 24, 2009 (boomark / email).