First of all, I don't think a 42-yr-old 'A' level holder can be unemployed. I have gotten many job offers and have signed up for jobs in sales, F&B and service industries in general. I don't understand how a determined job search for 3 months can lead to unemployment. However, I must say my sales acumen has helped me land jobs quite often. Yes, I know that sales acumen don't get you interviews often. You can't sell if you can't get the interviewers' attention, true. But that is where a career coach is crucial. Beyond that, you need to ace all interviews. In fact, you need to start rethinking how you can make every encounter in life positive, not just for job interviews! Here is how you can do it...
I am writing this to encourage all who think that joblessness starts at middle-age, either due to retrenchment or long hiatus from work. Think for your potential employers (as crooked as they may be), and you will find jobs anywhere.
Before you think that I have a fantastic resume, you need to know that I am a hacker since my teenage years. My records are littered around the world.
Now, before I shove my seemingly offensive optimism onto you, I do admit I have many things going for me. Yes, this is where I relieve the suspense regarding my sponsored degree programme. ;-)
Bear in mind that all of these "things going for me" can be acquired. Acquire them yourself. (Or look me up and "steal" them from me; I have natural flair for encouraging positivity and courage in people.)
Language. If you listen to me, you will find that I sound like I have been around the world. USA English. Singlish. China. Taiwan. HK. Australia. Spain. France. Germany. And so on. The ear can be trained for phonology. Nobody knew that was my trick! Just about every interviewer I spoke to was determined to brand me as cosmopolitan! The tongue can be trained by "over-compensatory drills". Sounds complicated. It's not. China folks can pass USA naturalization tests within 3 months. Yes, courtesy of yours truly. ;-)
Love. I'm human and I make mistakes during interviews. However, my genuine concern for the interviewer and potential employer lets me "sell" them all the time! Love the interviewer, and your mistakes will seem much less noticeable.
Life. Yeah, I'm 42. But my body age had been thrown back to my 20s. Body fat below 18% by now, visceral fat index of 5 (50 is high). Don't just work out until you get exhausted. Instead, work out for only 30 minutes (with 15-minute warm up and 15-minute warm down, please). In that 30-minute session, move like you are hunting for food and survival. Do it daily. Watch your body grow. And witness atrophy disappearing.
So these are the things you can acquire. Language (expression). Love (socialization). Life (verve).
And with those, I aced a sponsorship interview and got sponsored for a degree programme.
Act like you are alive, and you will be alive.
And here are the boring details of my life. At 5 (or younger?), I was bound with ropes and beaten with metal bars and canes until I pass out; my mother did it. My bloodied body would be left in some remote place so I can't find my way home. Whenever the police catches me on the streets, I would lie and say I was just strolling along; I was taught not to reveal my home address on pain of death. I played the piano in churches and taught Maths in temples to get accommodation, but had to move often because accommodation was so expensive in Singapore that I often outlived my welcome. I developed a severe inferiority complex due to the abandonments, by parents and by my temporary hosts both.
The only way forward is love. Even as my father now wants me to die and leave him the flat I bought with him and for him, I love him and want the best for him. A life worth living is one that is lived for others.
Now, which employer doesn't want somebody useful like that? ;-)
Live for your family, your children, your parents, your community. Create value for this world.
Jon
TRS Contributor