There is a tendency to assume that employers veer towards people with less experience in the market place. Why is that? Do they consider the mature applicant to be less flexible, less driven and less technologically aware? It would be naive to think that age isn't taken into account, when employers are looking at a prospective applicant. However the number of people working beyond the age of 65, is, apparently, rising by a third, according to the 'office of National Statistics and so the competition for challenging senior roles will increase; this is especially true of the 'Interim Management' market place.
A great many 'purchasing' activities are 'project' driven - therefore it would follow that the older one is, the greater the experience on a diverse range of projects. Functional projects such as business process re-engineering, information technology, financing of new product launches, franchising and licensing agreements, critical commercial negotiations, export development and sales improvement etc.,
In an increasingly competitive business environment, mature 'Interim Managers' would be required for their length of experience for short-term needs arising from acquisitions or sudden take-overs; relocation and expansion or consolidation of facilities in the office or manufacturing environment; privatisation issues; start-up or close-down of a company, subsidiary or division; productivity, efficiency or profitability improvement needs. The list is endless. Many organisations managing 'change' find the best way to ensure success and of course avoid costly mistakes is to appoint a senior interim manager who has the necessary skills at hand to quickly establish what needs to be done; that well-trodden path of maturity and experience is required to ensure that these needs are translated and understood properly and very importantly to ensure it all happens on time.
Often project times are in fact cut dramatically leading to considerable competitive advantages and substantial budget and cost savings.
In today's climate as companies have down-sized-thus causing the loss of a senior executive, for whatever reason, this can often cause a very negative impact on many organisations. Therefore experienced interim managers 'come into their own' during times of crisis, filling gaps caused by sudden departures of key executives, for reasons of sickness, resignation or death; for dismissals, both planned and unplanned; protracted recruitment difficulties, caused by scarcity or unusual market factors; maternity leave cover etc., It is vital, therefore, given these scenarios, that speed is of the essence. Having gained this enormous wealth and breadth of experience, the more mature applicant is sensibly overqualified and has the ability to be able to step in at a moment's notice and has the 'know how' to make a virtually immediate impact on the defined tasks, to fill the vacuum of leadership, to be a self-starter and to literally 'hit the ground running!'
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