40Plus More
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Our new mission statement reads:
The mission of 40Plus of Greater Washington is
to help experienced professionals know and effectively communicate their value
with confidence in securing a new position or changing careers.
Here’s why we are focusing on these
characteristics:
Value
Value is at the heart of
any successful effort, whether it is running a successful business or working
for someone else. Throughout our career, we held our previous positions because
we provided value. And we will gain our new roles based on the value we have
demonstrated in the past.
Yet, as we gain
experience, we often lose the ability to see our own value. Our experience
teaches us that our successes are often part of a team effort. It becomes
difficult to separate out our specific contributions. And as our skill levels
increase, we find that what we do well is easy for us, but assume that those
tasks are just as easy for others.
40Plus provides several means to help
experienced professionals understand their value. We schedule speakers
throughout the year that provide insights into the many ways that people
provide value. Problem/Solution/Result exercises provide us with success bites.
These are concise success stories that we can use to identify and quantify the
value we have provided in the past. And our course fosters relationships and
frequent interactions with others of different backgrounds. These enable fellow
students to see their value as others see them.
Communicate Effectively
We need to understand our value to make any
progress in our careers. But knowing our value isn’t very helpful if we can’t
communicate that to others. We need to be able to communicate value to
co-workers, potential employers, and anyone who may help us along the way. And
we need the ability to communicate value both in writing (resumes and LinkedIn)
and verbally (interviews, and networking).
One primary communication tool 40Plus
emphasizes is “Tell me about yourself” – TMAY. The TMAY is a 30-second to
one-minute introduction that provides a clear statement of value and leaves the
listener saying “Tell me more!” 40Plus develops this and other speaking skills
through our weekly speakers and training course.
Communicating value through resumes is a
sizable challenge for today’s job seeker. The challenge comes from needing to
satisfy both automated systems and people. And the challenge is then compounded
because you often only have 10 seconds to get the attention of the reader. The
40Plus program provides speakers that offer general resume-writing guidelines.
More thorough instruction is available through workshops and our training
course.
Our society has a growing reliance on written
online communication through social media. 40Plus keeps our audience informed
about the latest recommendations for these platforms.
Confidence
A successful candidate for any position must
have confidence. After all, if we aren’t convinced that we can do the job, how
will we convince a potential employer? Knowing our value and communicating it
clearly form an essential foundation for confidence. The right mindset is
needed to present ourselves to others as the one they can trust to do the job
and do it well.
40Plus helps our audience grow in confidence
in a variety of ways. We include speakers in our Monday morning series to
present on mindset. We promote an environment where our participants receive
encouragement from others. And through the relationships developed in our
training course, our students learn to see themselves through the eyes of
others.
So, a successful career is built on value,
communication, and confidence. 40Plus exists to help our audience grow in these
areas and present themselves as those that others can rely on throughout their
careers.