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#YourCareer : Career Change At 50: It’s Not Too Late. Question- How Did you Manage the Change? Welcome your Comments.

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Are you feeling stuck in your career as you enter your 50s? Do you dream of trying something new but worry it’s too late to make a major change? It’s not as crazy as it may seem. While some professionals are settled into their careers by 50, the possibility of a reset is now evolving in a very positive direction.

Many 50-somethings find themselves burned out or longing for more purpose and fulfillment at work.

“We 50-somethings are focused on refreshing our skills and working alongside (and for) younger people for what could be another few decades of meaningful work,” says Marci Alboher, VP at CoGenerate and author of the Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life.

The days of working for one company for your entire career, getting your gold watch and retiring to Florida are long gone. People are living longer and stronger. And most professions have experienced unusual twists and turns in recent months. Working in the same industry or job function for your entire career is getting rarer.

 

“Why not explore doing something else?” says leadership speaker and bestselling author Fawn Germer. “You may be stuck in your comfort zone, but the land of comfort is no longer a safe place in a workforce that is so driven by change. You may surprise yourself when you discover that your greatest success hasn’t even happened yet.”

 

With careful planning, it’s feasible to successfully launch a new career later in life.The Benefits Of Changing Careers At 50

The Benefits Of Changing Careers At 50

Here’s a taste of the potential payoffs and pathways:

  • Pursuing meaningful work that’s aligned with your values and priorities
  • Launching a passion project or social cause that has been on the back burner forever
  • Leveraging your expertise, experiences and confidence that you built over decades
  • Taking advantage of financial security. You saved. You invested. Now it’s time to benefit.
  • Easing into retirement by shifting to work that provides more flexibility and less stress
  • Recharging after feeling that you have plateaued or you’re burned out
  • Being your own boss through entrepreneurship or solopreneurship
  • Finally pursuing that long-held dream—maybe the career you were dissuaded from when you were just starting out

The key is to be motivated to run toward an opportunity because it aligns with your purpose, not running from the parts of work that are frustrating. It’s essential that you know what your values are.

Of course, there are risks like ageism, establishing yourself with a new audience, and potential income drops. Weigh the pros and cons carefully, along with the risks and rewards. Seek input from trusted colleagues and from people who currently have the role(s) you are considering.

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit us @ www.firstsun.com  OR Ask for a Quote for Services at  info@firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

How To Make A Career Change At 50

Once you make the commitment to make the change, follow these steps:

  • Identify passions and transferable skills from your experience
  • Research growth fields that excite you
  • Invest in professional development to fill any skill gaps
  • Update your resume, LinkedIn profile and elevator pitch
  • Network extensively, sharing your career transformation goals
  • Try internships or volunteering to test out potential new roles before committing
  • Ensure your finances are in order—including your health insurance—so you don’t create fiscal stress as you pivot
  • Stay patient and persistent during the transition. Any major career transition takes time.

 

The Best Jobs And Industries To Break Into When You’re In Your 50s

For 50-somethings, the most promising encore careers for leveraging professional strengths include healthcare, education, consulting, hospitality, and technology roles focused on AI, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Consider those as you craft your career leap strategy. Alboher suggests that you “think about roles that benefit from the age-enhanced attributes—specifically your emotional intelligence and the ability to synthesize and see patterns.”

With courage, planning, and perseverance, you can find success in a Chapter 2 career that’s tailored to your strengths and passions. It’s not too late to live your purpose and do work that truly matters.

 

Forbes.com | November 14, 2023 | William Arruda

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 9K Reads! The Secret to Getting a Better Job After 50. Even in a Hot Hiring Market, it is Tough for Workers Over 50 to stay Competitive in Workplaces that often Value Youth over Experience.

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Even in a hot hiring market, it is tough for workers over 50 to stay competitive in workplaces that often value youth over experience.

The pandemic has been especially hard on older employees seeking to reclaim jobs lost in the early days of lockdowns. Many say they fear that the workplace upheaval brought on by Covid-19 has reinforced some bosses’ belief that professionals in their 50s and beyond are less inclined to return to offices or adapt to new ways of working.

Workers over 50 haven’t joined the jobs recovery to the same degree as younger peers, not counting the millions who retired early during the past two years. In January, nearly one-third of job seekers age 55 and older were part of the long-term unemployed, according to federal data, compared with 21.8% of those between 16 and 54.

It is perhaps little surprise that in the AARP’s most recent survey, 78% of workers between 40 and 65 said they had seen age discrimination in 2020, the highest share since the advocacy group began tracking the question in 2003.

Professionals who have kept careers progressing well into their fourth and fifth working decades say they have developed a few strategies.

Tackle age discrimination head on

Rule No. 1, they say: Confront the reality of age discrimination head on instead of avoiding it. Some say they are doing so by appearing youthful—both in person, for hiring managers and colleagues, and in writing, to the bots that screen résumés. Others are pitching themselves as indispensable mentors to younger colleagues.

“You have to never give up,” said Jennifer Kay Rouse, who at 61 started a new job this month as a customer-success manager after losing her sales-account-manager position in a corporate acquisition last year.

Ageism persists as one of the most insidious forms of on-the-job discrimination, according to academic research and employment experts. In a 2021 study, researchers at New York and Stanford universities found people who opposed racism and sexism at work were still likely to harbor prejudices against older employees and to believe such workers should step aside for younger colleagues.

Meanwhile, many job postings appear to target younger job seekers with terms such as “digital native” or “recent grad,” and employers focus recruiting efforts on rising talent rather than on proven veterans.

This month, unsealed court documents in an age-discrimination case cited emails in which an executive at International Business Machines Corp. referred to older workers as “dinobabies” and a plan to make them an “extinct species.” An IBM spokesman said “some language in emails between former IBM executives that has been reported is not consistent with the respect IBM has for its employees and as the facts clearly show, it does not reflect company practices or policies.”

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

 

Article continued …

Punch up your résumé

Ms. Rouse of Waukesha, Wis., says that asking a job interviewer for constructive advice and punching up her résumé with language such as “solid reputation” and “high performer” helped her land her new job at an industrial automation company.

Ms. Rouse maintains a youthful look by staying fit and wearing what she described as an “edgy” haircut with hair on the back and side shaved underneath the top layer. After landing several interviews but not the jobs, she asked an interviewer to level with her “to satisfy my curiosity as to whether it is about age,” she said.

The interviewer didn’t address her age directly but suggested her lengthy experience might make some interviewers assume she had come in with a know-it-all attitude. So she tweaked her approach, emphasizing in interviews that she was a team player. And she acknowledged being older to make the point that she could mentor younger colleagues and was open to being mentored by them, too.

A résumé writer she found on LinkedIn for $125 also helped refresh hers with a more modern format and buzzy phrases, such as “exceptional customer relationships,” which she said yielded more bites from employers. Ms. Rouse now earns more in her new job than she did in her previous role.

“I love business, and I love strategizing to give customers the best outcomes,” she said. “I wasn’t ready to give all of that up.”

Evade the job applicant-screening bots

Employers can’t legally reject applicants based on their age, but ageism can arise subtly in job postings and the algorithms that screen them. Applicant-screening software can potentially filter out older workers whose résumés show lengthy employment gaps. Other details can also date candidates, such as WordPerfect proficiency or an AOL email account, career coaches and recruiters say.

Laid off in 2018 from a middle-management role in delivery and logistics at the company where he had worked for 17 years, 56-year-old Dale Johnston said he was prepared for the algorithms that would likely screen his résumé. Instead of “17 years,” for instance, he wrote “over 10 years.”

“I had to be very conscious about what I put in and time frames to get past the bots and AI,” said Mr. Johnston, who lives in Bellingham, Wash. “I wasn’t lying. I just wasn’t disclosing the full age.”

He also kept his hair closely cropped while interviewing, because it looks more gray when it’s longer, he said. After landing a job as an analyst with a municipality in 2019, then losing it to cost-cutting a year later, he used the same tactics to apply for a job as an operations manager for a logistics-transportation company, where he works today.

Ginny Cheng, a San Francisco career coach and recruiter, advises clients that it is better to delete early years of work experience from your résumé if they mostly date you.

“If your total work experience is over 25 years but your last 15 is most relevant to the new opportunities you are seeking, you can focus on the newer timeline,” she said.

The key, employment experts say, is putting the focus on your talents, not your age. “Employers value wisdom, so it’s important to emphasize what you’ve learned and what you’re good at, not the amount of time you spent in the labor force,” said Richard W. Johnson, director of the program on retirement policy at the Urban Institute.

Harry Moseley retired at 62 from his job as chief information officer at KPMG US in early 2018 but jumped back into the workforce a couple months later by repositioning himself as a mentor.

During what would be a brief retirement, he had let his network know he remained open to new ventures and helping coach at another company. A friend soon approached him with an opportunity as global chief information officer at Zoom Video Communications Inc. Mr. Moseley hadn’t thought he wanted to return to a full-time role, but the position excited him.

“It could be a lot of fun, and I felt like I could help,” he said.

At Zoom since March 2018 and working mostly from the New York area, where he lives, the now 66-year-old Mr. Moseley said he makes a point of not appearing resistant to change. “You kind of have to say, ‘OK, well, that’s how I used to do things,’ and you have to have an open mind and look at things in a different way,” he said.

At the same time, he uses his experience to guide colleagues. “I am who I am. Take me for who I am,” he said.

 

WSJ.com | February 22, 2022 | WSJ.com Author:  Ray A. Smith

#BestofFSCBlog : #Recruiting – Are Boomers The Answer To The Great Resignation? Your Thoughts?? Great REad!

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Beginning in 2021 and continuing today, the term “Great Resignation,” was coined by Texas A&M professor Anthony Klotz, referencing the US employees that are quitting in droves. In fact, 47 million workers quit in 2021. According to Klotz, that trend is expected to continue well into 2022, albeit more slowly. Koltz predicts that flexible work arrangements will become the norm, and workers will compete for remote jobs – where digital natives have the advantage.

So, what does that mean for corporate America when working in-person is required for job function? 

Boomers may be the answer to the Great Resignation. 

The boomers make up the largest population boom in the history of the US. Boomers were born post World War II and the great depression between 1946 and 1964, meaning the youngest boomers will turn 58 in 2022.

During the pandemic, as with most recessions, older workers took a big hit. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reported that during normal years, one in eight older workers leave their jobs. By April 2020, that figure was one in three, finishing the year as one in four. The number of workers over 55 that were forced out or left the workplace during the pandemic rose by a significant 7.6%. Between 2008, when the first boomers turned 62, and 2019, the retired population grew by 1 million retirees per year – during 2020 and 2021, that number increased to 3.5 million.

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

 

Article continued …

Interestingly, those forced into early retirement are not collecting social security. You must be 62 years old to collect social security early and at a reduced benefit. After reaching 66 or 67, depending on your birth year, you become eligible for full benefits. That leaves many workers between 55 and 66/67 who are “retired” due to circumstance, rather than choice. And many of those workers simply cannot afford to retire. That is where the gig economy comes to play. According to Pew Research, 20% of gig workers are over the age of 50 and a third of those are over 65. That same study shows that minorities make up most gig workers over the age of 50. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that older workers will participate in the labor force in increasing numbers now through 2030, with a predicted increase in workers 65 to 69 by 30%, that’s likely to be minority workers.

Boomers were the answer to the Great Recession, and their parents saved the post-war labor shortage.

As history has a way of repeating itself, the last labor shortages occurred post-World War II and after the Great Recession of 2008. In the post-war period, older workers fueled growth. By 1950, one in two men in the labor market were over the age of 65. Following the Great Recession, the economy took a nose-dive. The housing bubble burst, stocks plummeted, and the unemployment rate rose to almost 10% by April 2010. In 2008, the first boomers turned 62. However, boomers were needed in the labor force, much like they are now, only in 2008 boomers stayed employed out of necessity. Today, housing prices are through the roof and stocks reached record highs throughout the pandemic. The national unemployment rate dropped significantly.

However, according to another Pew Research study, retirees of today tend to be educated white US nationals. Today, 34% of the population is over 50, but less than a quarter of those are minorities

Nonetheless, unemployed or underemployed boomers are available to fill the gaps left in the wake of the Great Resignation. The bigger question is, will they?

 

Forbes.com – March 3, 2021

Forbes.com Author:  Ashley Stahl    – Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

#YourCareer : 5 Ways The Over 50 Worker Can Benefit From The Great Resignation. Over 50 and Think that it’s Too Late to make a Career Change?? THink AGain!

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A new survey by Resume Builder shows that this hot job market is causing the over 50 worker and even retirees to consider new career moves. Resume Builder surveyed 1,100 aged 54+, both retired and employed, and found that:

·       40% of the employed have considered switching jobs;

·       34% of retirees have considered going back to work; and

·       20% of retirees have been asked to return to past employers.

If you’re over 50 and have been thinking that it’s too late to make a career change (that’s just one of five common myths), these survey results are a bright green light to reconsider old assumptions and move forward with your desired changes. You don’t even have to leave your job.

1 – Negotiate for more money

News about the Great Resignation is causing companies to worry about retention. This gives you leverage, even if your manager doesn’t think you specifically are a flight risk. Your company doesn’t want to lose anyone because they worry they can’t replace workers quickly enough — or ever.

If you’re getting recruiter calls, find out what your market value is. Don’t issue an ultimatum to your manager (they may call your bluff). Instead, let them know how much you enjoy working with them, but tell them what you’re hearing about the market and ask what can be done. Remind them that hiring costs real money in lost productivity and recruiting fees. Remind them about your proven results and unique value. Have alternatives ready if the salary is non-negotiable – a retention bonus or a perk (e.g., a course you want to take) you would otherwise pay for.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

 

Article continued …

2 – Start consulting on the side

If you’d rather not rock the boat with your own employer, focus on the other companies who are having difficulty hiring and looking to consultants, freelancers and temps to fill the gap. If it’s work that can be done remotely and/or off hours, you could build a side consulting business. Target companies in a different industry or geography so there is no conflict of interest. Or target companies of a different size or with slightly different needs.

You may find that your employer will even help you get established. I once worked with a recruiting firm that only hired at the executive level. To keep one of their star performers challenged and engaged, they supported her in building her own practice to hire at the middle management level, even going as far as funneling leads to her. It benefited the company in two ways: 1) it kept that star performer from leaving them and 2) it brought their large clients closer to them because instead of just saying No when they had a middle management need or referring them to outside agencies, they could refer them to one of their own.

3 – Start your career change with a lateral move

If you don’t want to continue at your current job, by all means take advantage of the hot job market to explore leaving, but also consider making a lateral move within your current company. A lateral move means that you move into a new department, giving you the chance to work in a different role or with different clients or in a different location. It’s a way of changing your career but in a less disruptive way, since you’re still keeping your tenure at the company. This means your length of service, your relationships and your credibility remain intact, but you still have a chance to stretch and learn something new.

Some companies are better than others about supporting lateral moves. You may have a selfish manager who cares less (or not at all) about your career development and just sees your leaving as a disruption to them. However, some managers are supportive, and some companies have lateral movement baked into the culture. They recognize that they’d rather retain good performers somewhere in the company.

4 – Start your career change with a new business

If you don’t think your company will support a lateral move, or you’re at a small place with nowhere to go, then build a side gig that focuses on whatever you were hoping to do with a lateral move. You could start on a pro bono basis. If you’re thinking about a sales career, volunteering to fundraise will give you much-needed practice developing prospects, talking about money and making the ask. If you’re looking to consult, subcontract with an established consultant who has more work than they can handle and can perhaps be a mentor to you.

If you’re not sure which direction to go, at least start blocking your calendar for the days and times you’ll work on that new business whenever it’s defined. You can use the time blocks for research into opportunities or creative exercises to figure out what to do next. If the time reserved for your new business means you spend less money going out, then you can earmark the savings to your dream fund.

5 – Negotiate flexibility or a sabbatical to try something new

If you’re not sure what you should do as a next step, negotiate for time to think about it. Negotiate a part-time schedule so you can use the extra hours to build the side business or take classes in different areas of interest. Negotiate a sabbatical if you need to get away and clear your head.

At the very least, you’re practicing much-needed negotiation skills. You’re breaking up your everyday work routine, which might unleash new ideas for what to do next. If the new schedule affords you time in a new location, you can explore geo-arbitrage (living in a low-cost area on a big city salary), which may allow you to retire earlier and on less.

 

Forbes.com | November 3, 2021 | Caroline Ceniza-Levine

 

#YourCareer : Ageism Is Forcing Older Workers Out Of The Job Market. “Older Workers are Losing their Jobs at a Faster Rate, Relative to Younger People.”

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In our youth-obsessed culture, the devastating plight of older workers is glaringly overlooked. We are all having challenges dealing with the virus outbreak. Over the last six months, over 60 million Americans lost their jobs. The weekly jobless report from the U.S. Department of Labor released Thursday indicated that another 870,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits.

As bad as these numbers are, it’s even worse. There’s a dirty little secret that no one likes to talk about because it’s very uncomfortable. According to research from the University of Chicago, “the pandemic has derailed the finances and careers of individuals of all ages” and  wreaked havoc on older people—particularly those who are 50 years of age and older.

Many seasoned workers have found themselves between jobs. I’ve spoken and communicated with several dozen people who are 40 years of age and older and they’ve said that it’s getting nearly impossible to find a new role at the level and compensation that they previously earned. Many of them, as months go by, realize that searching for a new job is futile and throw in the towel.

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Article continued …

An uncomfortable amount of the 45-and-over crowd have been forced to take jobs at the Home Depot or take on gig-economy-type roles, just to pay the bills and get health insurance. A large percentage have just given up on the job hunt and called it a day. Sadly, the experienced people were unceremoniously pushed out of the job market and did not leave on their own volition.

Let’s be brutally honest—New York and other states sent Covid-infected patients to nursing homes without conducting appropriate testing, which resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. This is a clear sign of how we devalue the worth of this group of people. The entire mantra of the medical community and politicians at the offset of the outbreak was to “protect the old, sick and infirmed.” The reality is that we didn’t pay that much attention to them and warehoused our parents and grandparents in nursing homes—two or three to a room—and allowed them to baste in coronavirus until they took sick and died. Requests from families and friends to visit their loved ones was denied. They were also prohibited from having traditional religious services or funerals.

These actions highlight our treatment of older people. It’s not surprising that workers 40 years or older face tough difficulties in the job market. They fall victim to the “juniorization of jobs,” erosion of middle management, relocation of jobs to lower-cost locations and an unconscious bias in the hiring process.

If you casually check out the career sites of major corporations, you’ll be greeted with fresh, shiny and happy faces of 23 to 33 year olds. When you go to tech, startup and “cool” companies, the young staffers are wearing beanies, jeans, T-shirts and hoodies. Once in a while, there will be a token, grey-haired person. The message is clear. ”This is the type of person who works here. If you look like them, we want you to join us.”

Corporations are in cost-cutting mode due to the virus outbreak and need to save money. A big way to save funds is to get rid of middle management. These are the 40-and-up group of folks. Roles are juniorized and middle managers are squeezed out. This means that mid-to-senior level jobs are eliminated and replaced with roles that only require three-to-five years of experience. You’ll notice the proliferation of job descriptions that only ask for candidates with three-to-seven years of experience and the titles are at associate or analyst levels.

To further save money, the companies relocate jobs to lower-cost states and locations outside of the United States. The businesses can pay considerably less money to the workers in less expensive places and demand more of them. The older, more costly employees are not invited to move, as they now possess too much experience and are asking for a salary that is greater than the band allows. Management believes that younger workers are only too happy to have a job and will do whatever is asked of them, as they desperately need to pay off their college tuition payments.

If you are 45 years or older and looking for a new job, you’ll soon see that there are not many jobs left for you. Either they’re in other states and countries or only call for lightly experienced people. Sensing the dramatic turn of events, older workers say that they’ll take less money and a lower title. Instead of being open minded, hiring managers think and sometimes say things like, “Sorry, we feel that you’ll be a flight risk and leave for the next best offer,” and they’ll pass on hiring the person.

There is also an unconscious bias and sometimes not-so-hidden view that experienced workers will come aboard and want to immediately take charge. They’ll claim that they have all of the answers, as they’ve been working in the field for 30-plus years and boss the younger workers around. It is said that people want to work with people who look like them. Young managers are uncomfortable with older workers, as they feel they don’t speak the same language, dress similarly, share the same sensibilities and believe that they are out of touch with current trends.

After searching in vain, getting no traction or attention, it’s understandable that the older workers give up and “retire” unwillingly. The University of Chicago asserts that the unemployment numbers would be significantly higher if they included the seasoned workers who left the job market. Once they’ve finished collecting their unemployment benefits, they fall off the radar of the government data. It’s a neat little trick to make the employment figures look better—just ignore a large swath of the older population.

Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist and retirement security expert, said in an interview with MarketWatch, “Older workers are losing their jobs at a faster rate, relative to younger people.” Ghilarducci expresses her concern, “A total of four million people [are] potentially pushed into retirement before they are ready. Half of Americans aged 55 and up will retire in poverty or near poverty.”

According to the study, “Early retirement [is] a major force in accounting for the decline in the labor-force participation. With the high sensitivity of seniors to the Covid-19 virus, this may reflect, in part, a decision to either leave employment earlier than planned due to higher risks of working or a choice to not look for new employment and retire after losing their work in the crisis.”

If the older workers that have been callously cast out of the job market were included in the unemployment data, we’d be at an extremely higher rate. Clearly, our politicians don’t want that number to come out, so they conveniently pretend that this is not happening.

 

Forbes.com | October 2, 2020 | Jack Kelly 

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 6K Reads! Job Search Tips When You’re Over 50. Here are Five Ways to Modify a Search Plan for a Job Seeker over 50.

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I have received several recent reader questions about job search tips when you’re over 50:

When you are an older unemployed professional in your late 50’s how do you survive and what strategies should you use to navigate through these difficult times we are currently in? – Thea

What are the best career pivot options and tactics for workers over 60? — Ken

Is there a point in pursuing/reigniting a career at my age?… Not looking to start a business but I miss being part of something, getting out of the house and feeling productive and saving money for the future. – Wendy

 

I write about job search tips regularly and don’t normally break out tips by age group. The mechanics of the job search are similar across industries, functions, levels and ages. I recommend a six-step job search approach:

  1. Identify your targets
  2. Create compelling marketing (e.g., resume, LinkedIn, networking pitch, cover letter)
  3. Research companies and industries
  4. Network and interview
  5. Stay motivated and organized and troubleshoot regularly
  6. Negotiate and close the offer

I would still recommend these steps for job seekers over 50 (or right out of school). That said, life circumstances and your career path to date influence your job search, and these will be different when you have decades of life and work experience. Here are five ways I would modify a search plan for a job seeker over 50:

1 – Start reconnecting socially ASAP

Reaching out to people generally comes later in your job search when you are clearer about what you want and have prepared how to talk about yourself. However, you never want your first approach to be about your job search, when you have not been in touch for years (or decades). Furthermore, with more experience comes more connections (hopefully) and more reconnections to be made as you likely have fallen out of touch over the years.

Therefore, while you’re gearing up for your search – identifying your targets, creating your marketing – start reconnecting with your network on a strictly social basis. Just say hello and ask about what people have been up to. Focus on having genuine interactions without talking about your job search at all. An additional practical benefit is that it cleans up your database so you can see how many people you already know and can readily contact when you are ready to kick off your search. Your network, especially with decades of contacts, will be much more critical to landing a job than unsolicited applications to job postings (one reason to stop reading job postings).

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Article continued …

2 – Get real about how much flexibility you have for your search

When you’re over 50, you are more likely than a younger person with fewer years to have a life built around multiple relationships. You might have kids to support, elder care responsibilities, even a significant other going through their own career reinvention. You might have purchased a house at this point, making it harder to just pick up and leave. You might be in a job right now that has broad responsibilities.

When your life has multiple obligations to support and moving parts to coordinate, your job search has to accommodate these. How much time do you have to devote to the six activities I outlined? If you are between jobs, how much money do you have to support your financial commitments while you look? Run the numbers on time and money. Gauge your own emotional fortitude and energy level for a search.

3 – Prioritize your goals for this next job

Your job search will be impacted by the time, money and energy that you have, It will also be targeted based on what your immediate career goals are. Are you looking to shore up your retirement so earning potential is key? Are you looking to introduce some fulfillment into your life so passion for the work matters most? Are you finally ready to try something different from your early career, such that you’re flexible on the job, even the money, as long as it takes you in a new direction?

I have posted several real-life career changes over 50, and there is no one path. Karen Rittenhouse pivoted industries and took on more entrepreneurial risk because money was a priority, and she didn’t have time to follow the conventional retirement savings strategy. Melinda Chu leaned on her outside interests and network and ended up making a career change from legal research to affinity marketing. Mark Prygocki was looking for something different and that led to opening a donut franchise.

4 – Summarize your unique value proposition

Whatever you decide to go after, you will have to convince others. To find a job, you need to convince employers. If you go into business for yourself, you need to convince clients. Having decades of experience is one qualifier, but it doesn’t differentiate you from others who also have extensive experience. What is it about your experience, skills and expertise that sets you apart and solves a problem for your employer or client? For example, your decades of work mean that you have experienced both up and down economies. Have you also worked across industries, with big and small companies, in growth market and turnaround situations?

Don’t make hiring managers guess or plow through years’ worth of information to pinpoint what your superpower is. Design your story with the highlights readily available. Have clear examples and metrics to share. Be able to talk about yourself with enthusiasm and confidence. If you don’t feel competitive for a job, then do more work around your marketing, research or interview practice till you feel ready. In order to convince people to hire you, you must first convince yourself.

5 – Address any red flags

Being enthusiastic and confident does not mean glossing over reasonable concerns that you will encounter during your search. Employers are more demanding – a good resume is not enough, and there are typically additional hurdles to landing an interview. Anticipate what might give employers pause about hiring you, and address these red flags directly.

I once coached a mid-career professional who wanted to pivot into business development/ corporate strategy – an area that typically hired either very experienced, longtime dealmakers or recent MBA graduates. My client’s late-stage pivot was an obvious red flag – why is he leaving his current career (i.e., is he being pushed out)? Why should they take a chance on my client rather than continue with the hiring model that has already proven to work? My client had to sell employers without getting defensive. He had to explain his career path and argue that he was the better choice than people 10, 15, even 20 years his junior. He’s now happily working in business development/ corporate strategy, once he learned to address the red flags head-on

Once your job search gets going, focus on keeping multiple leads in play at all times

Every job seeker, from right out of school till right before retirement, needs to keep multiple leads in play at all times, especially in a competitive job market. However, if you tend to second-guess yourself and lose confidence easily, it’s even more important that you make sure your pipeline never goes dry. Continue to apply for additional jobs and reach out to your network and new contacts, even if you’re already in the interview process with other places.

Too many job seekers go after one or two jobs at a time, and if these fall through, then they assume that the search is hopeless. Don’t let yourself off the hook. Continue to put yourself out there. People do get hired – over 50 and in tough job markets.

Forbes.com | July 6, 2020 | Caroline Ceniza-Levine Senior Contributor

#BestofFSCBlog : How To Find A Full-Time Job When You’re Over 50. Great Read!

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With unemployment at all-time lows, now might be the best time for you to be looking for a full-time job. The challenges, however, are greater if you’re over 50 years old.

According to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average it takes those 55 to 64 two weeks longer to find a job compared to those 20 years and older. (The news is worse if you’re 65 and older, where this average duration of unemployment is 10 weeks longer.)

It seems the idea of early retirement hasn’t caught on with those in their 50s (and even beyond).

“Our research shows that experienced workers are staying on the job longer or looking for a job for two reasons,” says Susan K. Weinstock, Vice President, Financial Resilience Programming at AARP. “Financially, they need the money, and, secondly, they like their job and find it fulfilling and want to keep working.”

Bankrate regularly surveys workers regarding their financial circumstances. Its data confirms what AARP found for those working well past age 50.

“When Bankrate asked Americans who were neither retired nor permanently disabled about their retirement savings, more than half said they were behind where they should have been,” says Mark Hamrick, Senior Economic Analyst at Bankrate.com.

“For members of Generation X (age 39-54), the percentage was 63% and Boomers (age 55-73), 54% said they were behind on their retirement savings. No doubt many people who would otherwise be candidates to retire seek to remain in the workforce because they feel they need income, or to further boost their savings. Others may choose to work as a means of remaining engaged and active.”

If you’re like many older workers, you may prefer to retain your current position. But what if your present employer can’t accommodate you? It may have been decades since you last tried to look for a new job. What has changed since then? What do you have to do differently today to land full-time employment?

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of the article:

Bryan Zawikowski has been a recruiter for 25 years and is the vice president and general manager of the military transition division for Lucas Group. Forbes ranked Lucas Group as one of the top 10 executive search firms in the nation in 2019. Zawikowski’s team works with many people who find themselves either changing careers or looking for new jobs later in life. He shares the following advice:

“What are the best practices?”

·        To thine own self be true: “Don’t try to hide your age. It doesn’t work, and you end up looking either vain or foolish—maybe both.”

·        Polish up your online presence: “Your LinkedIn profile should be very professional, including the photograph.”

·        Emphasize your real-world experience: “No ‘functional’ resumes. They end up in the trash.”

·        Brevity is the soul of wit: “Maximum 2-page resume. The further back in your work history you go, the less detail there should be.”

“What are the easiest ways to make it happen?”

·        Recalculate: “Be financially prepared to take a step back in compensation (either scale back your lifestyle or be prepared to dip into savings if need be).”

·        Re-calibrate: “Be emotionally and mentally prepared to work for someone younger and perhaps more talented than you.”

·        Circulate: “Network with former classmates, former work colleagues, friends and acquaintances that know something about your desired career path.”

·        Captivate: “Have a GREAT story about why you are interested in this new career field and why you’d be good at it.”

“What are the do’s and don’ts?”

·        DO something you enjoy: “Pick a career that you are really into, something that energizes you and somewhere you look forward to going to work most days.”

·        DO maintain your health: “Stay physically active. You don’t have to be a marathon runner, but do something to keep your energy level up.”

·        DO continue to learn: “Read as much as you can about your new career field.”

·        DON’T lie: You can’t “pretend to be an expert at something just because you were good at something else.”

·        DON’T assume the status quo: You’ll be disappointed if you “think you will be able to make a lateral move from where you are in your current career field.”

·        DON’T be unrealistic: You’ll only hurt yourself more if you “sacrifice more than you can afford to in terms of compensation. Retirement isn’t too far away and you don’t want to jeopardize that.”

You are the master of your own destiny. If you want to find a job, you can. No matter what your age.

Forbes.com | January 17, 2020 | Chris Carosa

What To Do When Your Career Is Disrupted Later In Life. A Stable Job for Life is Arguably a Thing of the Past.

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Despite the various proclamations that we are living in an age of increasing footloose behaviors and we are going to have multiple careers throughout our life, the prospect of losing one’s job still has many of the pangs associated with other forms of grief. Indeed, losing your job is perhaps the toughest thing you can ever face, with damage not only in the immediate aftermath but over a prolonged period of time.

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Overall, 31% of job seekers aged 55 and older report they have been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer.

Around 50% of American workers over 50 years old are at risk of redundancy. The research, which was conducted by ProPublica and the Urban Institute, grimly tells us that this cohort is being pushed out of jobs held for some time before retirement causing the kind of financial damage that is irreversible.

Acting now

At the later stage in your career, the chances are that you may have developed a degree of financial security, and this can hinder your efforts to reinvent yourself as it removes the sense of urgency that is required to successfully transition into a new career. What is more, you may also be lulled into a false sense of security by the skills and experience that you have built up over the years.

Valuable though these skills may have been in your old career, there’s no guarantee that they will be equally valuable in your new one. This narrow focus and intense specialization may have worked in the past, but careers are changing, and the stability and security that typified the work-life when you were growing up are increasingly being consigned to the dustbin of history.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of the article:

Now, skills such as adaptability and agility are far more important, with organizations relying heavily on cross-functional teams where collaboration and emotional intelligence will come to the fore. Here are a few things you can do to make a successful transition:

  1. Forget your titles – Chances are that your old career came with a good dose of prestige, with titles and all that came with them attached to your seniority. Those are lovely, but they are holding you back from moving on.  It is far healthier to think akin to a film director who goes from project to project. Your past work was nice, but this is a new you, applying yourself in new ways.
  2. Develop your portfolio – As you will no longer be able to rely on your title to open doors for you, it is important that you start to develop a portfolio of projects to showcase your skills. In this transitionary period, these can be projects outside of work. Not only will they give your life a renewed purpose, but you will almost certainly develop a wide range of invaluable skills too.
  3. Adjust your outgoings – If you have high expenses, it can be tempting to jump into the first opportunity that presents itself, just to get some money coming in, but it is quite likely that this will be a bad choice. If you can build up some savings so that you can go for the right opportunity rather than the first opportunity then you are likely to be happier in the long-run.
  4. Embrace the unexpected – Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) has become a bit cliched in the business world, but the essence of uncertainty and volatility do nonetheless ring true.  You will need to be agile and open-minded to make the most of your new-found freedom, so consider fresh ways to stretch yourself and develop new skills.
  5. Develop a love of learning – When you achieve a certain level of seniority it is tempting to rest on your laurels, but the world waits for no one, so it is vital that you are learning each and every day. There are countless opportunities to do this, from books, blogs and massive open online courses (MOOCs). You might even find mentoring young people can be a great way to learn from them as much as they from you. Admit where your knowledge has holes and work to plug them.

The chances are, your previous status gave your life a certain narrative, with your role and title key parts of that story. Now, you have the opportunity to craft a completely new narrative, and it is important that you spend time thinking about what that is. When you meet people, this is your point of entry into the conversation. You will be telling this story as your introduction to you to each new person you meet.

A stable job for life is arguably a thing of the past, so the ability to pivot one’s career and adapt to the changes in the market are likely to be valuable skills to learn. If you have to learn them later in your career, then so be it. In this way, the stability in your life comes not from your employer, but from within you, which is an altogether healthier place to be.

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#CareerAdvice : #OlderJobSeeker – 9 Ways to Screw Up a #JobSearch When You’re 50 or Older.

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Millions of Americans are job hunting during their 50s, 60s and beyond. Some of these seniors are looking for a job because they love to work. Others are sending out resumes for reasons ranging from pink slips to financial need.

Seniors can be attractive job candidates. Many potential employers value older workers for their experience and work ethic, and the stability they bring to the workplace. But if you hope to land a job after 50, you need to avoid some key mistakes.

Here are some crucial errors than can derail the job search of anyone who has passed the half-century mark.

1. Failing to update tech skills

If there’s one thing that seems to separate older workers from their younger competition, it’s their tech skills — or lack thereof.

While a hiring manager may automatically assume 20-something job candidates know their way around a computer and the internet, they may assume the opposite of an older applicant. Prove them wrong by getting some tech training before beginning your job search so you can confidently say you’re able to use whatever programs and applications the position requires.

Once you are more comfortable with cutting-edge technology at work, embrace it in your personal life, too. For more, check out “6 Tech Gadgets That Make Your Daily Life Easier.”

2. Not having a presence online

While you’re updating your tech skills, take some time to create an online presence. Today’s HR departments may be more likely to plug your name into a search engine than to make a phone call to your references.

And what will they find when they do that? Crickets? Or worse, that angry letter to you sent to the newspaper and nothing else?

You need to take charge of your online presence by, at the very least, creating a LinkedIn profile. This will serve as your online resume, and you’ll want to fill it with a professional photo and details about your work experience.

You can also turn to the internet to make money. For more, check out:

3. Forgetting to edit your resume

Today’s businesses get an avalanche of resumes every time they post a job opening. Computer programs may first scan these and weed out the ones deemed lost causes. The survivors then go to a hiring manager, who may give them only a cursory glance before deciding who moves on to the interview phase.

Age discrimination against older workers is illegal. But let’s face it, bias exists. Employers weeding through hundreds of resumes may find it easy to cull the stack by dropping those from people they deem too old.

Don’t let your resume be a giveaway to your age. Eliminate the dates on your education and limit your work history to no more than the last 15 years. Both changes can help you avoid standing out as the elder job candidate.

For more, check out:

4. Ignoring your networks

You’ve been around the block a couple of times, right? Well then, put all those connections you’ve made to good use.

Pick up the phone, shoot an email or send a text. Be direct and to the point. Tell them you’re looking for a new position and ask if they know of any opportunities.

For more, check out “9 Simple Tips for Successful and Painless Networking.”

5. Being shy about emphasizing your experience

A deep network isn’t the only thing you’ve probably accumulated over the years. You probably have a boatload of experience, too. Put that to your advantage.

In fact, once you get to the interview stage, don’t skirt the issue. The interviewer may already be thinking, “Wow, this guy is old!” So, go ahead and acknowledge it.

Explain that while you may not be the youngest job candidate to walk through the door, your oodles of experience will be a benefit to the company. Specifically, stress that you’ll need little to no training to hit the ground running, and how that fact can save the business both time and money.

6. Acting like you know it all

Emphasizing experience is good — to a point. You don’t want to make your track record look intimidating to those younger than you. A 30-something boss may be worried a 60-year-old job candidate is going to want to run the show. The last thing young whipper-snappers want is a mom or dad peering over their shoulders and critiquing their every move.

Sure, you know you’re not going to act that way, but you’ve got to convince the interviewer of that as well. Be enthusiastic about the current business leadership and have a couple of stories to share that highlight your work as part of team.

7. Looking at employers who don’t value older workers

Rather than trying to convince a youth-centric company that you’re right for the job, it may be saner to focus your efforts on employers who value older workers.

You may be able to find these employers through these resources:

8. Not being willing to bend on income

While your experience can be an asset, an employer might see dollar signs when they weigh it. Companies sometimes prefer to hire a younger worker who will be content with cut-rate wages.

Of course, you deserve to be well-compensated for your experience. However, some income is better than no income, and if you want to get back into the workforce quickly, your best bet is to be flexible with your income requirements.

9. Being too proud to volunteer while you look

If your job search isn’t moving as quickly as you’d like, make good use of your downtime. Volunteering can be an excellent way to get out of the house and make connections that could potentially lead to paid work.

You could volunteer for an organization you already know or head to VolunteerMatch to find new opportunities. Don’t overlook volunteering for your local Chamber of Commerce or professional organizations in your field of interest.

Are you an older job seeker? Tell us about your experience in the job market by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook page.

MoneyTalkNews.com | November 22, 2019 |