Boomer Workers’ Biggest Edge? Phone Skills
According to MarketWatch (08/29/13) Matthew Heimer, some Baby Boomers may want to consider adding “comfortable on telephone” to the skills section of their résumés, a skill that could give them an edge in the job market over their younger, cheaper millennial competitors. Some managers, especially in sales-oriented departments and professions, complain that the lack of basic telephone skills among their under-35 employees is hurting their financial performance.
Those younger workers are often comfortable with text messages and online chat, but many admit that they feel awkward and unconfident on the phone, or that phone conversation simply annoys them. Managers say it is hard to build a rapport with clients, customers, or co-workers via the written word alone. Many employers are eager to develop the gift of telephonic gab. Mary Jane Copps, a 55-year-old “phone-use consultant,” says she is able to bill employers $1,800 a day for her phone-conversation workshops.
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