Job Hunting During Covid: Interview Advice For Older Candidates, From "Shark" Daymond John

As we all know, job loss has been one of the incredibly unfortunate byproducts of the Covid-19 pandemic. But if anyone has invaluable advice for job seekers, it's businessman, author, motivational speaker, and of course, a well-known investor on the hit ABC show, "Shark Tank," Daymond John. 

Question: "I've worked in the advertising industry for over 30 years but lost my job due to Covid. It's been almost a year now and I still don't have a job. I have plenty of experience but feel like I can't compete with younger candidates. My question is ... What's the best way to pitch myself in an interview, knowing I'm the oldest guy there?"
– Ted, viewer 

Daymond's Answer: "The main reason I went on 'Shark Tank' is because if I wasn't on 'Shark Tank,' I would've been doing business the old way all my other colleagues are doing it — making a shirt, maybe a store buys it. I learn more on 'Shark Tank' now. Here's the best thing — you do have experience, and just like the 'sharks,' we all know the fundamentals of business, so now we're just trying to find the younger generation or people [to help us] execute in a different way. When you're walking in the room [or a virtual interview], are you educated on the new way of advertising? You know the fundamentals of it, but do you know digital marketing? Do you know content creation? During this pandemic, I have a 28-hour course that I've been going into for digital marketing, because even though I have great marketers around me, I want to know myself. I want to keep educating myself. So I think that that's probably what you should do. Take these digital courses out there on digital marketing, on Facebook advertising, on pay-per-click. Then, be able to go into the room and speak like the young kids, but with 30 years of experience — and then you're invaluable."

Need some help finding digital courses to take? Our editors have you covered! (Bonus: some of the courses below are FREE.)

1. Wordstream's PPC (Pay-Per-Click) University (FREE)

2. Udemy's Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing MASTERY 2021 ($179.99, on sale for $25.99)

3. Google Ad Grants Online Marketing Challenge (FREE)

4. Digital Marketing Institute's Digital Marketing Course ($1955, on sale for $1368 — or you can pay in installments) 

5. Constant Contact's Social Media Quickstarter (FREE)

6. University Of Illinois' Digital Marketing Specialization (7-day free Coursera trial, then $79 per month to continue learning after trial ends*)
*Coursera estimates that the specialization will take about 8 months to complete.

7. Alison's Diploma In E-Business (FREE)

8. Udemy's The Complete Digital Marketing Course ($169.99, on sale for $23.99)

9. General Assembly's Online 10-Week Live Digital Marketing Course ($3950 for full tuition; you can divide tuition into two, three, or four payments, as low as $988 per installment in some markets OR see if you qualify for a loan to get monthly payments as low as $206 at zero interest for 18 months)

OR

Take this on-demand class (with 12-month access) for $950. 

MORE: How Understood.org Helps Parents of Kids With Learning Differences During Remote Learning—For Free