Over-50

COVID's Second Round - No, Here in America, We Are Not All In This Together

"Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered England back into a national lockdown after the United Kingdom passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases and a second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service." - Thomson Reuters, October 31, 2020. 

 

Now, the world awaits Monday. 

 

How badly will stock markets get hit? 

 

What kneejerk reactions will happen in the conference rooms of the C-suite, triggering reductions-in-force? 

 

And, will states in the United States bring back comprehensive shutdowns? 

 

The holiday season, which begins today with Halloween, may or may not let in some light amid the growing darkness. 

 

But what really matters is what you are going to do about how you make a living. Here are the 4 fundamentals I hammer when coaching men and women who are overwhelmed by a combination of uncertainty and too much awfulness happening around them.

 

• The burden is on you to bring in income. We are not all in this together. If you can't pay your bills, it's you who will be evicted. Your car will be towed away. And the memory of the trauma will be imprinted in your soul for years. Take control now. Help is not on the way. U.S. brand of capitalism is based on individualism.

 

• This is a crisis. The usual rules of the game have been suspended. You have to play holding onto your source of income or finding a new job or gig assignment by instinct. The wiring for that survival mechanism is somewhere in some part of your brain. That was how the caveman lived to hunt another day.

 

• Don't depend on any single source of income. Hedge. That's called developing "multiple sources of income." Here is an article I published on that for marketers and public relations representatives. But the tactics are applicable in myriad lines of work.

 

• Be prepared to make a shift from a career path to what Willis Towers Watson describes as a portfolio of broad and nonlinear experiences. Instead of pursuing a career as a corporate communications editor, you might spend the next six months teaching writing in a prison, then the next 10 months doing loss prevention for a big box. Actually, this isn't new. Those in volatile lines of work have already embraced nonlinear as the way they make a good living. 

The takeaway on all this is an observation Richard Bolles made way back in the 1970s for his career guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" That is this: The folks who get the job offer (or, currently, the gig assignment) are not necessarily the most qualified. They are the most skilled in how they search for work. So on the money Bolles' insight has been that the book is updated every year. Public libraries carry multiple copies. 

 

Your must-do is to become the best at how you put yourself out there for landing, holding and moving on to better kinds of work.

 

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

 

You Asked for Portfolio for Jane Genova, Career Ghostwriter/Coach

Here it is Download JaneGenovaCareerCcommunicationsandCoachingPortfolio

Can't Find Work? Maybe It's Not Your Age ...

It used to be an edge. That is, being certified in a software or the methodology for PPC (Google's Price Per Click). 

Now, with high uncertainty facing all businesses, those doing the hiring for jobs and even gig assignments toss applications with no certifications of the skills needed. Nonono, they don't want to hear that you pick up software quickly or that you can leverage your overall knowledge of digital marketing to PPC. 

You might have already noticed that more help-wanted ads and application forms are asking about or requiring certifications. 

Increasingly certifications are becoming the price of entry. 

Want to manage the landscaping for the hospital? Expect to be asked about your certification. Here U.S. News & World Report covers some popular certifications, including landscaping.

The silver lining in certifications should be obvious. Those who are determined to remain employable don't have to hunker down and do four years of college or circle back to academia for a pricey advanced degree. 

Where training is available is just about everywhere. That ranges from the brick and motor community college or trade school, often with online options, to stand-alone online instruction and testing. 

Some provide training that is free. However, there probably will be a fee to take the exam. 

Those that are self-study versus involving actual classroom instruction are less expensive. 

In-person training plus the exam in a niche in IT can cost between $5,000 and $11,000. The IT field has its own specialized publication - Certification Magazine.

Those I coach ask me: Is it possible to get in the door without certification?

Sure, I answer. Try it. Then, if no response to your applications or you never receive a job offer, then research certification programs for your line of work - or a field you want to enter.

In your research, demand documentation of the program's track record in jobs and rate of compensation. 

Ask for names of former students you can informally interview.

Also, contact the Better Business Bureau and other sources of information about complaints. 

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Those Retirement/Semiretirement Experts on MarketWatch - Mere Speculation

Human beings crave certainty.

But the aging have to shake off that longing, at least when it comes to retirement and semiretirement. The reality is this: With all the new variables impinging on aging per se and the nature of work, no one can predict how anything, never mind everything, will play out.

For instance, just factor in climate change. Those planning to relocate to Alabama or Louisiana should go back to the drawing board. That's a new variable.

Also, there is increased longevity. Trying to make money last until the age of 100 is not unthinkable. 

And, how about COVID-19 and other emerging threats to physical and mental health? A budget might have to stretch beyond Medicare and its supplements. 

What I advise those over-50 is this: Spread the risk, on all fronts.

Instead of relocating to some exotic dream location, select one in which you already know you can adjust to - and probably afford for the rest of your life.

When forced off your career track, still keep working, at just about anything which brings in income. When not working, skills atrophy. Confidence about the ability to make a buck plummets. Employers pick up that "you haven't worked for a while." Here, a free read for you, is my book on finding, holding and moving on to better work, no matter what your age is  Download Outwitting ageism.

Downsize expenses, even before you have to. Never count on the money being there. Even the monthly Social Security payment can be cut. Medicare could go poof or become more limited in its coverage. The stock market, as is happening now, could put you on a scary roller-coaster ride.

Try to renegotiate your relationship with your spouse - if it's soured. Divorce often results in huge financial losses. 

Veer away from taking on your children's problems. That's bad for your health and pocketbook. Also, you're denying them the opportunity to learn from adversity.

Prevent isolation, which can trigger lousy decision-making. Reach out to new social groups. Old friendships tend to peter out. Folks on your networks die. Family resentments fester. Incidentally, a part-time job is a wonderful setting for social outreach.

The good news is that what you have to look forward to is peace of mind. In your 8th decade, usually those nagging regrets stop. You accept your life for what it has been. You like yourself unconditionally. You allow others to go about their own little lives, w/o your advice. Yes, there is such a phenomenon of The Late Bloomer. That could be you.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

A Bird in the Hand Is Lots Better Than 2 in the Bush, Which Offer Rights and Protections of "Employee"

There are some, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, which consider it a legal necessity to define what constitutes "employee status." Then, the next step is to ensure that those with that classification receive the rights and protections associated with being an "employee."

Recently, as Bloomberg Law reports, the DOL issued a proposal to create a simpler and shorter test to determine that. Here is that proposal. DOL sought public comment.

Uber, as expected, had plenty to say. Among the points it had made is that how much control organizations have over employees has to be factored into that definition. Background checks, it contended, did not indicate a mechanism of control.

As usual, Uber warned that if saddled with having to reclassify its contract drivers as employees there could be a loss of hundreds of thousands of work opportunities in the U.S.

Courts in California dealt Uber a severe blow. It has 30 days to do the reclassification. Its one way out is Prop 22.

Should voters reject Prop 22 on Election Day, Uber, along with Lyft, will be forced to shift out of its gig-economy business model. No surprise then, Uber had floated the reality that it could shut down operations in CA. Obviously, much work would be lost. Also that convenient affordable form of transportation option would go poof. Uber has been building out from just ride-hailing. There's its eats business. In addition, it has entered the grocery-delivery niche.

In contrast to that battle on the federal and state level between government and companies depending on the gig-economy model, there are others who view much of that irrelevant. The Future of Work, which is kicking in now, won't take place on that kind of traditional playing field.

For example, just take careerism. That loops into the expectation of long-term full-time positions, with the protections and rights of employees. According to Willis Towers Watson, that is being replaced by a portfolio of broad and nonlinear work experiences. Likely the very concept of "job" will become an anachronism.

In addition, those rolling their eyes about the push to include more contractors under the "employee" umbrella note McKinsey and Company's prediction. By 2030, 800 million jobs could be eliminated worldwide because of robotic automation. Robots don't go to government to be classified as employees. Here is that study.

Meanwhile, government entities in the U.S. should be piloting diverse versions of Universal Basic Income. In Canada, the Leaf experiment had excellent results.

In coaching, I recommend that both new entries to the workforce and those recently laid off steer clear of the career box. Instead, they should be more straightforward with those who can hire them for work. Essentially the pitch is: Here is what I can do for you - better, cheaper and faster than everyone else applying. The language of the search for work has changed - radically. Those not talking that talk will sound downright out-of-touch. 

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Fischer Honda's Brando Foster - Superhero in Customer Service (for Nervous Older Car Shoppers)

Fischer Honda, based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, should create a special niche serving us over-50 shoppers. And, the superhero to head up that new profit center should be Brandon Foster.

Yesterday, when I started on the purchasing journey to get into a SMART car, I was the typical angst-ridden older shopper. You bet, I had had my share of lousy experiences with car dealers.

But I needed a car. For 26 months I had been conducting an interesting experiment: Could I really go carless? In my career coaching, I encourage financially strapped clients to ditch the car and do public transportation. Yet, despite my noble intentions, the combination of public transportation, Uber and bicycling just wasn't cutting it. 

On the internet, I had spotted the perfect fit of SMART car. It was at a price I could do w/o a car note. Here is my story about 6-figure debt back in 2003. No longer do I buy anything on credit. 

The problem was this: The SMART car  was in MI. I am in Ohio, 44 miles away. No public transportation links. My social network is too stressed out to put the muscle on for a ride.

No problem for Foster.

He picked me up at my door in Toledo. 

Then, he was emotionally there in the passenger seat. I struggled to regain confidence in my driving skills, after not being on 4-wheels for more than 2 years.

He answered my sustained barrage of questions. In detail. 

He even helped with the insurance company. He explained that I could search for perhaps a better fit of provider, once I had time to absorb being back in the driver's seat - pun intended.

At a bit before 3 P.M. I confidently pulled out the Fischer Honda parking lot in my powder-blue SMART car. Busy I-94? Got right on it. And, since I now had a car I was able to swing by a pet store far from my house and pick up treats for my four-legged son LOV. This Saturday, LOV and I will make the trip to Geneva on the Lake to watch the waves rolling on Lake Erie. Soon enough the water will be frozen.

Thank you, Brandon Foster.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

It's Always the Coverup - Will That Allegation Do In (temporarily) Goldman Sachs, Weil Gotshal & Mangas?

"Top lawyers at elite global financial firm Goldman Sachs attempted to coverup allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace committed by the bank’s global head of litigation, according to a lawsuit filed Monday with the New York State Supreme Court." - Colin Kalmbacher, Law & Crime, October 26, 2020

In that lawsuit - "Maria Crawford v. the Goldman Sachs Group" - the story is the alleged coverup. In the complaint, plaintiff Crawford contends that General Counsel Karen Seymour parachuted in elite law firm Weil Gotshal & Mangas to conduct a bogus investigation. It was about the alleged sexual harassment by Global Head of Litigation Darrell Cafasso. 

The other parts of the lawsuit - that is, alleged sexual misconduct and retaliation - are old hat. How many times have we been around that bend ...

If the coverup can be proved, then both Goldman Sachs and Weil Gotshal & Mangas are in trouble. There is a saying that goes back to Watergate: It's always the coverup. Smart players don't even try that. They let the cards fall and go on from there.

The allegation that a law firm actually compromised an investigation shakes to the core trust in how all law firms conduct investigations. Those have been a significant revenue source. What could happen is that investigations are assigned to more credible nonprofits or a media organization. That narrow niche business will be yanked from the law-firm industry.

Meanwhile, expect heads to roll at Goldman Sachs. This is the second scandal in a short time. The earlier one had been its role in 1MDB. Also anticipate its looping in an official Mr. or Ms. Clean. Then business at Goldman Sachs should settle into a new normal. That's the way it goes. 

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Stock-Heavy Portfolio? - Right Now, That Could Mean Putting Off Retirement (maybe for a long time)

Trusted economy-watcher Robert Shiller is pessimistic about equities. MarketWatch reports that he isn't ruling out a stock market crash right up there in devastation with 1929 and 1987.

What he recommends is rebalancing the investment portfolio to have less stock. The question, given this afternoon's 800-point plunge, is: Is it too late to pull out? Should the stocks be left untouched and you hope that in time they will bounce back in price, just as they did before?

The problem there is that those near retirement can't hold on that long. Either you will have to put off retirement or get in the market fast, sell your stocks and leave the gains in cash.

This is a scary time for those over-50. COVID-19 has given employers an excuse to terminate those high-compensation older workers. And, as ProPublica documents, the odds of landing another job at that same compensation is one in 10.

But, the good news is this: You can continue to earn income. Here, a free read, is my bible on how to land, hold and move on to better work Download Outwitting ageism. It's becoming commonplace to remain in the world of work until your 80s.

Meanwhile, start downsizing both fixed expenses and discretionary purchases. It's no longer unthinkable to ditch the car. As Nerd Wallet reports, the monthly nut for that could be $878. Also, rooms can be rented out. Used whatever can be sold online. For most items, Craigslist and NextDoor have no fee. Shop for clothes and furniture at Goodwill and the Salvation Army. There may never be a need to buy "new" again.

In 2003, after I lost my nest egg, business and mind, I took a vow of poverty. Today, they call that "minimalism." Here is the beginning of that story. During the next 17 years I got rid of debt, started several successful businesses and got my mind back. To me the most important gain from that ordeal is that I can "afford" to choose my clients. There is no financial pressure to accept every assignment offered. In September 2019, I ditched the car.

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9:05 P.M. October 25, 2020 - Drudge Report Captures The Moment in ElectionVille

HIGHEST TURNOUT SINCE 1908?
POLL: BIDEN WINNING TEXAS
TRUMP: SENATE SLIPPING AWAY
OBAMA MOCKS '60 MINS' PERFORMACE
5 PENCE AIDES INFECTED

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The Aging Megyn Kelly - Struggle to Put Together The Comeback

Sure, this mandate from California's Governor Gavin Newsom could make it to "SNL."

But already, knocked from the entertainment box (and former law firm Jones Day associate) Megyn Kelly is leveraging it as a platform for a comeback. Daily Mail features her vilification of those orders for how the residents of CA have to spend their Thanksgiving. 

Among the rules are:

• Dinner be outside (yes, you can go inside to use the bathroom but only if it has been sanitized)
• Guests limited to 3 households
• People must sit 6 feet apart
• Masks are a must, except when eating
• Duration of dinner not to exceed 2 hours.

No surprise, Kelly, who is operating her own podcast media, ridicules it. As if she couldn't find a more seminal issue. Her tragic flaw is that she can't engage, at least not beyond the brittle Fox News politico persona. And, I have a hunch she won't have much of sustained reach with this podcasting one. 

What's obvious is that the warm and fuzzy type of Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving isn't welcome in CA. Since that state is a trendsetter, Newsom's model can catch on.

So, there the nation will be, at the McDonald's drive-thru each person ordering up 2 turkey burgers, double french fries, small green salad, a sugary beverage and chocolate chip cookies.

And we can enjoy a good belly laugh as we share our horn of plenty with two other households outside in a Midwest winter. Things, as we head into the Winter of COVID-19, maybe won't get better than that. 

Meanwhile, Kelly might be betting her promotional chips on something we are too exhausted to care about. 

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