Over-50

Mary Kennedy: Was she all of us who had lost our sense of self?

Mary Kennedy's suicide by hanging has touched a nerve, especially among us who are over 50.  One reason why is that, as some commenting on this death point out, she seems to have lost her sense of self.  There are ups and down in life.  Those downs can be harder to absorb and bounce back from as we age.  The lesson here might be to preserve our core identity no matter what blows comes our way from the outside.

At one time, Kennedy was an architectural designer working in Manhattan.  Then in 2010 we read that her husband Robert is filing for a divorce.  Not long after that we read that she is arrested for a DUI. Then we read that she could have been arrested for driving under the influence of a prescription drug but her lawyer got her off.  She did not have custody of her four children.

The reality is that anyone of any age can come back from whatever.  In his mid 60s, T. Boone Pickens lost most of his money and his marriage.  He's back, of course.  Clint Eastwood came back from simply making films which made money to serious work.  His "Million Dollar Baby" is a classic in the art of film.  Hillary Clinton got on the other side of her high profile loss in her campaign for the White House.   I came back in 2003 (Download Geezerguts).  Since I intend to keep in the workforce for another 20 years I anticipate several more comebacks.

The Market Shifts: My big mistake

Telecommuting had served many of us self-employed well.  Then two things happened.  Because of all the layoffs there was a glut of us competing for the work.  Also, there was less work.  Perhaps those doing the contracting out had been burnt.  Whatever, like most human beings, I didn't want to believe it.  I am still holding out hope that I can still live by the sweat of my brow over the laptop in my living room.

It took a while but finally I came around.  I got it that I had to work onsite or even get a full time job.  My fear led to my mistake: Not applying since I assumed I was too old.  Instead I grabbed at the bits and pieces of telecommuting work that was thrown my way.

Then I did the unthinkable.  I applied for both onsite and full time work.  Shock.  I got interviews.  In fact, lots of them.  The rub was that I had forgotten how to compete.  Also I had lost the knack of deferring to the person with the most power and that person is the one who can assign work.

It's been a learning curve.  But progress has happened and just in time. On Monday I drive to Boston to interview for the dream job of all times.  I will keep you posted.

Baby Boomers: Imagine that you are the corner drugstore

Teach a man to fish and he eats forever.

Today for us Baby Boomers what we need to learn to keep eating is how to keep rebranding ourselves and reframing our professional identity.  That's how we differentiate ourselves from all the competition out there.

Yet, with the rules of business in flux, the only way we are going to do that is by experimenting.  Trial and error, with the underlay of uncertainty, can be brutal.  That's why we want to learn from the other guy's successes and failures.

For the financial information company Motley Fool I analyze the branding upheaval going on at Walgreen.  Once our trusty corner drugstore, it's now expanded into healthcare and being a leader in the convenience store industry.  Here you can read my deconstruction and pick and choose lessons for your own transformation.

 

Yes, That's a Spring in Our Step You're Seeing

Sure, we got beaten up by the twin forces of a severe economic downturn and the bias against aging.  But now, as many are observing, there's a spring back in our step.  Last week, for instance, I got to present myself several times to prospects for my communications boutique and to possible full time employers.

Nielsen Holdings, reports Bloomberg, confirms the reason for optimism.  In a survey of 56 countries, Nielsen found that consumer confidence was up 5 points to 94.  In North America, it was up 8 points to 92.  That's the highest it has been since September 2007.   It was then, as we recall, that darkness fell quickly.

 

Dollar Stores: Barriers to entry are low

If the economy continues to have a slow recovery, the dollar store will remain the place to shop.  It got so many of us 99% through the worse of the recession.  The good news about this concept is that the barriers to entry are low for the small entrepreneur.  The bad news is that a lot of folks being forced on their own also have the same idea in mind.

For the financial information company Motley Fool I take a look at this concept.  Here you can read about it and check out if this is step you might want to consider.

Pet Industry: Money's in services

Those still unsure where to transition for a career might consider the high growth pet industry.  The money's in the services part - grooming, day care, boarding, and photography. 

I analyze the industry for financial services company Motley Fool.  Here you can take a peek.

Pitching in Manhattan

Think of it this way: They need a just-in-time content-provider, not an employee who will fit in.  That's what flashed across my mind today when I entered the office in Manhattan of a financial-information maturing startup.  The oldest employee was probably 35 years younger than I was.

From our phone conversation, I expected them to be youngish.  But the average age was probably about 23.5.  However, I learned from reading several times "Aging as a Spiritual Experience" by Lewis Richmond that the only way through aging is to embrace it.  You bet, accept that I am this older person, not the younger one I used to be.

So, I focused on presenting my skills, not trying to pass for what I no longer am.

Jobs - They don't make 'em here any more

Fund manager John Hussman has called it.  He tells BUSINESS INSIDER that that not only was the March jobs report lousy.  April will be no better.  Jobs seem to have gone the way of analog anything.  Searching for them, especially for us Baby Boomers who face age bias, may just lead to poverty.

A few weeks ago I decided to find a part-time job.  That would guarantee regular income and get me out of my home office and myself.  It looked like things were going well.  I got an interview, then a second. Then I didn't get the job.  The two slots were filled with someone with more experience in that particular field than I had and an internal candidate. 

That was the ah-ah moment for me.  They don't make jobs in America, not any more, at least not for the glut of talented educated people like we are.  We have to create our own opportunities.  For me that means being more inventive how I market and sell the services of my communications boutique Genova Writing, Coaching, and More.

Non-Profit Sector: Warm reception for those of us over-50, looking for work

From any angle, the non-profit sector is proving to be the place to look for work - full time, part time, and consulting. 

First of all, it's in the non-profit's healthy self interest to take advantage of the new kinds of talent and experience it has access to.  Before the global downturn many of us would still have our jobs or our enterprises which tended to only solicit business from the private sector.  Now, of course, a lot of that has changed. 

Secondly, non-profit has always been less hard-edged than business.  When I was down and out in a strange city hunting for a way to make a living, the Salvation Army not only invited me in to talk.  It fed me.  And its head of something clued me in on approaches to take in job hunting in that city.  Years later I repaid that by bringing baked goods to its center in Stamford, Connecticut which I collected from the local supermarkets every Sunday.

Third, not 1 person at non-profits has ever implied, including through body language, that we aging just don't belong there.  If there is generational hostility, no 1 on my network has run into it.

Non-profit opportunities are listed on Craigslist in their own category under each city in a state or each state.  They are mixed in with private sector jobs on Careerbuilder.com.  Also, go to their websites.  Check out what's available and get on an e-mailing list.  For example, every few days I get a list of positions I can be a fit for with Planned Parenthood.

During the past 2 weeks I have had two interviews for a part-time job with a non-profit in Connecticut.  Believe me, it was wonderful to be treated with respect for the expertise I could offer.  However, that's no guarantee I will receive an offer.  As with everything else, the competition was stiff.

Baby Boomers: AP confirms we're going to work until we drop (and maybe that isn't a bad thing)

We Baby Boomers grew up with the assumption that we were too smart to make the mistakes our parent's generation had.  Our jobs were going to those we enjoyed.   Our relationships would be loving ones and when they ran into trouble we were open enough to consult with a therapist.  We would sock away enough money, without getting weird as our Great Depression parents had, for retiring in an interesting way.

Of course, being smart didn't count for much when life intervened.  I changed careers several times and only now am very satisfied with my choice.  I never married and my intimate relationships have been rocky, despite therapy.  And all that money I put away, without crimping my lifestyle, has vanished.

In his AP article, John Rogers confirms that we are going to be working until we drop.  At first that was a shock.  Then as we got the hang of getting and keeping work, no matter what including ageism, we considered being able to work a blessing.  Not everyone can pull it off. 

Here in the senior citizen complex Bella Vista, New Haven, Connecticut, those of us who continue to work have a spring to our step and a direction for our lives.  Since money keeps coming in we don't whine about the end of the month when a Social Security or annuity check runs out.  We have plans.  Mine include relocating to Ecuador or Spain when telecommunications improve enough for me to run my communications boutique there.  The lower cost of living will permit me to not have to work quite as hard as I am now.  Also, it's a new start.  I can move on to making new mistakes.