Workplace

With two decades of experience at Merck & Co., biologist David Weinberg seemed to be an ideal candidate for a middle-management position at a small biotech firm, said Joann Lublin in The Wall Street Journal. Yet Weinberg didn’t even make it to the interview: Hiring managers at the 20-person firm worried that the big-company veteran wouldn’t be able to adapt to the fast-paced environment of a start-up. “Smaller employers often assume big-company veterans prefer a highly structured workplace, plentiful perks, and extensive organizational support.” So Weinberg isn’t the only Fortune 500 alumnus getting the cold shoulder.

Job seekers can easily debunk the stereotype of coddled executive, said Eilene Zimmerman in The New York Times. First, make sure the job descriptions used in your résumé are current and relevant to the position you’re seeking. You never want to lie on a résumé, but you can downplay jobs or hobbies that seem stodgy. Instead, emphasize experiences that suggest you’re an energetic, roll-up-your-sleeves self-starter. It’s also “crucial to show potential employers that you are comfortable with technology.” Sign up for software classes, pay for a well-designed professional website, and get on the social-networking bandwagon. The best way to show that you can adjust on the fly, in other words, is to start doing so.

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