What does it take to pass a job interview?

AW618

Twenty five years experience in basic admin jobs is not necessarily a good thing.  Many people will be looking for someone who has potential to move on from that.  It is much easier to get a lower level job when young.

soraya55

Well my last feedback said i came across confident and professional but I didn't have the experience necessary. They had lots and lots of applicants so I guess there is always someone more experienced.
The jobs in which I have worked have always had in-house systems so the concomitant skills are non transferable which doesn't help.  I could and have tried to go for office manager jobs but again I am not classified as experienced enough even though my last job was more or less being the manager of the office.  It just seems that, especially at the moment, there are hundreds and hundreds of applicants for one job and the odds are getting higher in attaining even a entry level position.  I am applying for all levels though just to try to get to the interview stage.

Sandtree

soraya55 said:

I didn't have the experience necessary. They had lots and lots of applicants so I guess there is always someone more experienced.

If you dont have the experience after 25 years I'd question when you will.

Have you asked for more explicit feedback in terms of what areas they don't feel you have experience in? Is just general Office packages? Is it a particular system they use?

As you say, most companies either have inhouse systems or customised off the shelf offerings and unless they are rehiring a former employee then they'd be expecting to have to do some systems training. Plus really there are only so many ways to skin a cat, I've seen dozens of insurance claims systems over the years and whilst each was unique (even each implementation was unique) having worked extensively with one it didnt take long to pick up all the others.

If it is a generic package like Office or a common off the shelf system it may be worth seeing if there is a short course you could do to further evidence your skills. 

Slinky

Deleted User said:

It it could be an age thing. I’ve come across a couple of ad’s more in these times asking specifically for people of 24 years to apply

This needs reporting as discriminatory.

Doshwaster

AW618 said:

Twenty five years experience in basic admin jobs is not necessarily a good thing.  Many people will be looking for someone who has potential to move on from that.  It is much easier to get a lower level job when young.

I would say that any admin experience from 20-25 years ago is fairly irrelevant in a modern office.Employers are more likely to want a millennial "digital native" rather than someone from the days of fax machines and filing cabinets.

soraya55

I am okay at computers even being "old" I am pretty up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint and can pick up new systems fairly quickly but yes you are correct if there is a choice between a candidate in their 40's who will most likely be set into a certain way of working or a malleable 20 year old that a company can mould into whatever they are looking for then they will go with the younger candidate.  Ageism will always exist unfortunately...

AW618

soraya55 said:

I am okay at computers even being "old" I am pretty up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint and can pick up new systems fairly quickly but yes you are correct if there is a choice between a candidate in their 40's who will most likely be set into a certain way of working or a malleable 20 year old that a company can mould into whatever they are looking for then they will go with the younger candidate.  Ageism will always exist unfortunately...

It's not that they are malleable,  it's that in 25 years you have not moved on from entry level jobs.  If they take the 20 year old they might get someone who will add a huge amount more to their company.  They might not, of course. But they know you won't.

lincroft1710

soraya55 said:

I am okay at computers even being "old" I am pretty up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint and can pick up new systems fairly quickly but yes you are correct if there is a choice between a candidate in their 40's who will most likely be set into a certain way of working or a malleable 20 year old that a company can mould into whatever they are looking for then they will go with the younger candidate.  Ageism will always exist unfortunately...

I agree.

I think it is an "unconscious" ageism. Employers obviously want the person who best fits their needs and on many (but not all) occasions this will be the one who they believe they can mould exactly as they want and has no or few preconceived  ideas and this will usually be a younger candidate. But this can be a very short sighted approach.

Emmia

AW618 said:

soraya55 said:

I am okay at computers even being "old" I am pretty up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint and can pick up new systems fairly quickly but yes you are correct if there is a choice between a candidate in their 40's who will most likely be set into a certain way of working or a malleable 20 year old that a company can mould into whatever they are looking for then they will go with the younger candidate.  Ageism will always exist unfortunately...

It's not that they are malleable,  it's that in 25 years you have not moved on from entry level jobs.  If they take the 20 year old they might get someone who will add a huge amount more to their company.  They might not, of course. But they know you won't.

I'm not sure this is entirely true - the odds are though, that whether you are or are not fixed in your ways, the employer may be working on the basis/supposition that older applicants = inflexible

Doshwaster

soraya55 said:

I am okay at computers even being "old" I am pretty up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint and can pick up new systems fairly quickly but yes you are correct if there is a choice between a candidate in their 40's who will most likely be set into a certain way of working or a malleable 20 year old that a company can mould into whatever they are looking for then they will go with the younger candidate.  Ageism will always exist unfortunately...

It can be difficult but you need to make age and experience an advantage. A 45 year old with 25 years experience of "basic admin" doesn't look very attractive compared to a 21 year old fresh out of college but it is unlikely anyone would employ a 21 year old office administrator  or facilities manager as they would be looking for someone with more maturity.