Over 50? You Can Still Land that Primo Sales Job

In this tough economy, landing a good sales job if you’re over 50 can be a challenge. Seems all companies want are young sales pros. The buzzwords HR people and recruiters use to filter out the “grey hairs” are “energetic” and “fast paced.” They don’t care that you once “walked between the raindrops.” As far as they’re concerned, the northbound end of your hourglass is almost empty. What to do?

It’s not what you did, but what you know.

If you’re pushing five plus decades, HR people and recruiters advise against bulking up you resume or interview pitch with “acres of experience.” What you did many moons ago may not be relevant today. "Experience is history," says Troy Harrison, president of SalesForce Solutions, a Kansas City-based recruiting firm. "Skills and traits tell me what's you can do tomorrow and next month."

It’s not your smile, it’s informed salesmanship.

Older salespeople tend to place too much emphasis on their charisma and persuasive powers. They push their “grey fox” personna—or “I can sell anything to anyone.” In some older salespeople, this overconfidence leads them to ignore the importance of how technology has changed their industry and the products within it. Recruiters also advise older salespeople to match what they’ve sold in the past with what the job they’re applying for involves. In other words, don’t overemphasize your pharmaceutical sales experience if you’re applying for a job selling commercial real estate.

It’s how you use computers.

Social media, mobile computing, smartphones—they’re important in today’s selling process and you should know how to exploit their power. "I've seen many older sales people who have not kept up with developments in computer technology," said Harrison. "And I'm not even talking about newer things like social networking. I'm talking about CRM systems, the ability to communicate via email and text. But most of the time, that's the only way to reach out to clients."

It’s how much you’re asking.

Many of today’s employers are on a budget crunch and aren’t willing to pay for your decades of experience. They’re looking for the best HR value. If you insist on a big salary and comp package, it could put you out of the running. Stephen Schwartz, president of New York City-based Management Recruiters at Gramercy notes that employers will couch their reason for rejecting high salary, big perks sales pros. "Less experienced candidates, by definition, save money. Of course, employers aren't going to come out and say that. But it'll be couched in terms like, 'Oh, they're over-qualified,' or something like that."

There’s no sugar coating it, landing a primo sales job when you just short of joining AARP won’t be easy. The key is to repackage yourself, and to stay more affordable compared to the B school MBAs with just a few years experience.

Image courtesy of Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.