The Age Barrier Myth in The Flash Community
A very interesting question, or rather comment, was raised a few weeks ago in a LinkedIn discussion titled,
“Why Am I in Demand?” - Personal Branding for Mature Workers
The problem with this question, other than being a blatant grab for eyeballs, is that it’s not targeted in the least towards the Flash community. But it does underlie a perception I’ve noticed amongst some Flash designers & developers who may be just starting out, or are looking at stepping up their profile in the community and the job market.
I’ll save you the tedium of watching this video blog: according to the author, there are 5 questions you need to ask yourself:
1. What makes me tick?
2. What can I deliver?
3. How do I make my workplace better?
4. Why am I in demand?
5. Why should you hire me?
First, if you’re interested in becoming an office drone, with a job as exciting as the monotone delivery of the author’s video blog post, then by all means answer these questions. But if you want to have a kick ass job or a freelance business that you’ll love, ask yourself this:
1. How well do I communicate, verbally and on paper?
2. Do I have the chops to get the job I want, and if not how do I acquire them?
3. Do I care about sharing my discoveries and fostering a sense of community?
Second, the very idea that a person would be reading a blog dedicated to “Personal Branding for Mature Workers” is just wrong. I’ll tell you why:
It doesn’t matter how old you are in this industry. That’s a myth.
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