Over-50

Stop Selling Yourself on the Job Market - Pivot to Identifying What Those Hiring Need

"I will never forget the remark of a salesman ... 'Sir, I am not trying to sell you something. I am trying to find out exactly what you need.'" Paramhansa Yogandanda, "How To Be Happy All The Time," Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2006. (The author (1893 - 1952) is a yoga from India who shared his wisdom in America.) 

The high-producers among salespeople are those who had learned early in their careers that sales is not about selling. Instead, it's the complex process of identifying what prospects actually need and how to provide that. No one welcomes "being sold to." Because prospects detest that they will often push back. That will be by not buying from you. Or by not hiring you. A search for work is a form of sales call. 

That same mindset of a professional salesforce for pinpointing needs is how you can approach your own search for a job or work assignment. 

Yes, you have to struggle to figure out what actually it is those hiring need. Next, you describe why you're the best one to fill that need and how you could do that. You describe all that in your resumes, cover letters and interviews.

For instance, on the internet you spot a help-wanted. It's posted by an ecommerce startup for crafts. The job description indicated the founder wants to hire a social media specialist to increase traffic on the website and several networks. 

In that case, it's easy to read between the lines. What that founder needs is more sales. Therefore, what you provide in all your marketing materials is why you are the best one to increase sales and how you will achieve that through social media. No, your marketing materials won't simply list credentials. Instead, they will provide a story about the solution those hiring need and the key "moving parts" in how that solution will be accomplished.  

To understand the labor market in more depth, a useful read is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" There is a new edition every year. After reading that career guide in the late 1970s, I was able to pivot from non-profit to profit. My compensation more than doubled. Also, I had access to amazing training opportunities.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Cover Letters - You Bet, Include Call to Action

The supposed "perfect" cover letter, at least according to some career experts, may turn out to be a toss-away in the current hypercompetitive labor market.

A must-include is now the Call to Action.

Yes, that's exactly the tactic marketers and professional salespeople leverage to nudge prospects to the next step. In marketing, it could take the form of ensuring there's a click on the icon for more information. In sales, it could be accepting a trial offer for three days.

In a cover letter, the Call to Action would be placed at the end. It could take the form of:

Let's please discuss in detail marketing possibilities for your new X service. In analyzing your target markets, I have developed some ideas. You can reach me at (email, phone, text).

Or

From my experience with startups, I've discovered how the usual pain points can be converted to opportunities. Let's please discuss those. You can reach me at (email, phone, text).

Or

Your X product truly differentiates your boutique. I have some ideas for expanding your target markets. Let's please discuss those. You can reach me at (email, phone, text).

Or

Your reimagined X cookie is amazing. Let's please discuss its (almost) infinite market possibilities. You can reach me at (email, phone, text).

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Retired, Then Discovering 6 Years Later, You Can't Afford Not to Work

The new pattern among retirees is this:

You exhale. Great to be finished with all that goes along with earning a living.

Adjusting to a daily life without work can be challenging. But you did it.

Life is good, until you find it harder and harder to make ends meets.

Then you're not making ends meet.

There's the Ah-Ha Moment. You have to return to work. However, you are clueless how to go about it.

One such retiree tells that story to MarketWatch.

In my coaching I am hearing about it more and more frequently.

The Federal Reserve confirms that one-third of retirees bounce back into working. Either that's as an employee or as self-employed. The major reasons are both financial necessity and boredom. 

There is no one "best way" to circle back to working.

Here are the seven recommendations I make to those I coach who are over-50. Some were blessed and did a FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Others didn't have the financial resources to stop working until they were in their late 60s. Others sat on the beach and really didn't enjoy it because they had been forced out of their career before they were ready to pack it in. Eventually, all found themselves short on money.

The Seven:

• Stop the "too much money" from going out. That's immediate. There are many small expenses you delete from your life. They range from purchasing the brand instead of the generic to subscribing to this and that. The bigger items include struggling to maintain a house. If the real estate market is up in your neighborhood, sell the house. Then, relocate to where you can cut big chunks out of your budget. When I packed it in the New York Metro area for southwestern Arizona in 2014, I reduced my fixed expenses by 50%. My two boutiques generated increased revenues because, no longer so worried about money, I could sell in a more relaxed manner. 

 

• Get a job or gig assignment. Anything. You need to be re-socialized on how to go to work. That's a must-do before you go after a job or gig assignment that is a good fit for you. Right off the bat, employers can pick up on someone who's been without work for too long. Here is a free read on re-entry Download Outwitting ageism. 

 

• Research on the internet the new templates for resumes and cover letters in your particular field. Like everything else the models for those change.

 

• Study help-wanted ads on job boards for two things. One, to discern what skills and experience those hiring need. And, two, notice the language they use to describe what they're searching for. Language also keeps changing. Use outdated language and you will tag yourself as "old." 

 

• Role play how to interview. Essentially you will do that in real time. That's why you should grab as many interviews as you can. You must get back up to speed on how you present yourself. Ask a trusted friend who hasn't left the workforce to help you continue to fine-tune everything from facial expressions to body language to the actual sale pitches.

 

• Get it that you don't have the luxury to become discouraged. If nothing is happening "reverse engineer" every aspect of what your thinking and doing in your search for work. Experiment with modifying each one of those. The weak link, for example, could be the kinds of work you are going after. Those doors may be closed to you. 

 

• Look at a job or assignment you hate as not your "last job." Rather, it's the bridge to a better job or assignment. The new game is not linear. That's exactly what Willis Towers Watson posits about the future of work. And that future is already underway. 

If you need a professional nudge to return to work, I'm here for you. Contact me for a complimentary consultation. If you sense a bit of coaching can help, there are sliding scale fees. I'm Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

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)

Your Career Is Over? So Is Everyone's

Careers don't exist any more. At least not among those who understand the new dynamics of the world of work. 

Instead of the career path, explains consulting firm Wallis Tower Watson, there is the portfolio of skills.

You keep adding to that portfolio and you remain employable. Stop adding and you're just another older professional who is unable to figure out how to land, hold and move on to better work.

If you're currently without work and are willing to think in different ways, here is a free read on all that Download Outwitting ageism.

Carrying a portfolio of skills is actually nothing new. Among tradespeople and blue collar laborers that was and is routine. I recall working in Spain teaching English as a second language and earning extra income in a tourist cafe serving coffee and Spanish sherry.

Over and over again I had great conversations with cooks, handymen, deck hands and musicians who never went without a meal. They had down cold how to acquire the right skills to pick up work fast - in a number of nations. Among their skills was being fluent in several languages. 

Adding to your skills doesn't have to be expensive. Certification and two-year associate degrees are low-cost in a community college.

When the long-distance trucking market bounces back, you can get licensed for under $7k. Or for free if you agree to drive for two years for the company which trains you. 

The most old-fashioned way is to tag along with an expert in a field and learn it. That could be a consultant or a landscaper. Many lines of work don't require formal licensing. 

Back in 2008, when I was blogging on legal matters, lawyers who were laid off asked me to provide help with their resumes, cover letters and interviews. Eventually, I was also doing guidance. Usually it's an emotional blockage which keeps those searching for work from finding it. By 2010, I had added career coaching to the portfolio.

More recently, I also put into the portfolio ghostwriting about The Future of Work.

Sure, if you have been forced off your career track, you should mourn. In "Necessary Endings," executive coach Henry Cloud recommends performing rituals which help you let go of what was. 

That can be useful too as you discover a skill which you used for four decades is no longer marketable. Most of my early career I had excelled in writing Corporatese. Then, no one wanted that tone and content any more. I packed up the car and my four-legged son LOV and spent a winter weekend by frozen Lake Erie. By Sunday morning I got it: That way of making a good living had been a long time ago. 

One more tip: Develop and keep expanding multiple sources of income. Millennials call them "side hustles."

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)

 

Aging Workforce - Of Course, There's a Target on Your Back (so develop multiple sources of income right now)

During COVID-19, it's the perfect storm for workers over-45.

Everything came together to paint a bullseye on your professional identity. Yes, you're being forced out of your jobs.

If you still have a job, if don't have a job and if you are looking for a job, it's all the same. To survive what is now deeply embedded age bias in the labor market (which will not only continue by accelerate) you must develop multiple sources of income. Immediately.

In 2019, lawyer Kevin Ha made the news. Unlike you, he is in his early 30s.

The coverage was in financial media - MarketWatch. Among the players in the money crowd there was a fascination with a lawyer who was employed full-time (his wife also worked) and who had 13 side hustles.

There was more in the Ha story. The gigs were, well, without status. They ranged from returning scooters to food delivery.

That was then.

Because of the actual employment carnage and the sustained uncertainty triggered by COVID-19, the Ha model of multiple sources of income is no longer news. It's an option all employees better take seriously. For the aging, it's a must-do. 

No, you are not too busy to think of earning money beyond your day job. Recently, the law firm Bryan Cave laid off about 118 lawyers and staff. 

As the gallows humor goes: A crisis like the pandemic is a terrible ting to waste. I will be exploited by employers, across all sectors, to not only conduct RIFs. Also they will restructure to eliminate those positions forever.

The "barrier to entry" when it comes to establishing multiple sources of income is this: The brands have to managed so as not to put at risk your primary source of income. Sure, Ha could do offbeat hustles. But most professionals would lose credibility and damage their resume by too far a stretch from their core personal branding. 

In addition, in this unforgiving work environment lawyers and staff have to all-there for their jobs. Therefore, the how they earn funds on the side can't drain them. 

Here are the 5 fundamental rules of the multiple income game:

• Look for easy fits. That strategy will require less energy and time. For example, the lawyer can tutor LSAT test preparation part-time. On October 8th, there was a help-wanted on Craigslist for such service in Manhattan and online. The compensation is $180 an hour. Unless you excel in logistics, no, you don't want to loop into a manufacturing project with a global supply chain.

 

• Just as with introducing foods to a baby, take on new opportunities slowly. Monitor how much those take away from your day job. If it isn't a strain, then add on more of those kinds. For example, through Airbnb, you lease out a room in your primary residence. You seem to be skillful in screening potential renters. No trouble. So, you add on doing Airbnb for your cabin in the woods. Soon enough you purchase residential property to extend this tactic.

 

• Be circumspect. Given that so much of the work world sector tends to a tradition-bound industry, incoming-producing side pursuits could be used against you. A middle manager in a conservative  industry, whom I coached, learned that the hard way. He had been too open about operating a franchise. His objective in coaching was to restore his personal brand Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova

 

• Overall, keep the brands separate. The exception is when there is a natural fit. For example, the public relations executive can teach communications courses in an MBA program. That added credential could also be a plus. When there's not an easy fit, create different resumes, cover letters and personas for each line of work you do. Here is my article on what I call "mutt branding."

 

• Approach all this as playing in a variety of spaces, one or more of which might turn out to be your day job or self-employment. When doing a side hustle, some discover their passion. They seek a full-time position in that or launch a business. During The Great Recession, when I was operating this blog (since it's syndicated it brings in income), there were requests for career coaching. First that was a side business. Now it's a core competence. Simultaneously, I also continue in content-creation, especially for businesses aligned with the career industry.

Takeaway: "They" can take away your job. But not your ability to make a very good living, through multiple sources. A free read is my book on parachuting out of your comfort zones. Behavior-change organization Dale Carnegie Systems had posted it on its website.

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Aging and Laid Off in Tourism Sector - What Now?

"With the virus still a significant risk, a feeling likely reinforced by President Trump’s diagnosis, it’s possible many tourist-dependent cities will see a second wave of economic damage this year, brought by the new rounds of job losses." Bloomberg BusinessWeek, October 7, 2020.

The tipping point in pessimism about the tourism sector has been Disney's 28,000 RIF. Along with that, of course, have been the massive layoffs conducted by tourism players ranging from casinos to transportation. 

There has been a confluence of 3 factors:

• Limits on the number of customers allowed into a tourist setting. Yes, social distancing.
• The public's fear of traveling by plane. There is a distrust of safety and health procedures for the close quarters of airplane interiors.
• Travel bans. They have halted the lucrative business of those from other nations touring the U.S.

At Moody's, economist Mark Zandi projects it will require 2 to 3 years for what is included under the umbrella of "tourism" to recover, fully. 

That means former workers in that sector should shake off any optimism about boomeranging back any time soon. In addition, those over-45 are bumping up against ageism in hiring.

Recently, a colleague in career coaching bluntly told students in hospitality degree programs to start redirecting their careers.

I call that "taking a skills/experience audit." 

The next step is this: After identifying what can be put out there to sell in the labor market, then do comprehensive research of what those specific jobs and gig assignments could be. An analysis of all the possible categories can be conducted on job-search platform Craigslist. Just key in "Craigslist - sites." See where there is a match. 

Then, create resumes and cover letters (yes, multiple) to apply for those opportunities. Custom-make each of those for each specific job or assignment. 

Role play the appropriate persona for the varieties of organizational cultures.

Soon, you will be doing your Next. Here, a free read, is my book for landing, holding and moving on to better work, no matter your age Download Outwitting ageism

Takeaway: Working is better than not working. Nothing gets you a job or gig assignment like a job or gig assignment. 

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Early Retirement - Three Reasons It's a Bad Idea and How Semiretirement Is The Promised Land

In general, more is demanded on jobs and from self-employed vendors. Businesses and even genteel nonprofits are being forced to operate on reduced budgets.

Therefore, you could be sitting at your desk or driving that truck long distance and have an Ah-Ha moment: It's time to pull out early from this thing called "work."

Not so fast, warns Motley Fool in an article in USA Today. 

There are three reasons why you should overcome that dark mindset about working and hang in there.

One, given longevity, you could outlive whatever is in your nest egg. 

Two, your Social Security could be less. That can happen in two ways. Taking benefits early, that is, at age 62, will reduce lifetime monthly payments. And, the second reason is that the amount of that monthly payment is calculated on the best 35 years of earnings. If you parachute out early, you will not be adding to those earnings.

And, three, if it's before you are eligible for Medicare, you can actually go bankrupt from medical bills. Being "healthy" today does not mean, "at your age," a serious medical problem won't be diagnosed tomorrow.

I would add to these three this: Already, about one-third of retirees have returned to working. Some needed the money. Some were bored. Full retirement is something our parents did. Semiretirement is the new Promised Land. Have income from work and have your leisure. 

Several months ago, a 71-year-old former manager in a Fortune 100 came to me for coaching about how to re-enter the workforce, after being out of it for five years. She was struggling to make ends meet.

First, she read my book, which you can download free, Download Outwitting ageism. Secondly, she and I searched those five years for evidence of "work" - no, it didn't have to be paid. The resume and cover letter we created, along with interview role-playing, landed her a job as a full-time leasing agent. She would have preferred part-time. But her mindset had shifted to accommodating the marketplace, at least for now. Eventually, with a year or two of experience she can find part-time in leasing.

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching

Careers Are Happening/Businesses Are Earning Revenues Just-in-Time, Not Best Practices

The Wall Street Journal features the chief executive officer of a North Carolina business - Alex Shuford III, known as "A3." His new meme is, in his words: "You can't really have a plan." A3's usual MO has been replaced with waking up in the morning and then trying out what might be the right way to proceed.

Planning is so pre-pandemic. 

Add on to that the growing hunch that the election will be contested, hurling the economy into limbo - or worse, a depression. 

And, what about the direction of the stock market. The timing of retirement/semi-retirement for so many is currently on-hold.

Actually, all this is nothing new. Back in the late 1970s, when international competition set off a dog fight in the U.S. auto market, the ponderous infrastructure of strategic planning began to crumble.

For instance, Lee Iacocca introduced just-in-time everything at Chrysler. The leadership woke up every morning, looked at the marketplace and then went into action. 

What is new, though, is that this kind of disruption is broad-based. It has hit so many industries, nonprofits and and individual careers. 

However, there is good news. Perhaps plenty of it. It is happening to those who realize the crazy of planning and try out what may or may not work. There can be unexpected success, even in the most uncertain of times.

Here is a bit of a case study. 

Recently, I took the risk of killing off my 15-year-old marketing communications blog. It had lots of google juice because that search engine rewards longevity. It was also syndicated. 

Unthinkable?

Not when our mindset is open to wild experimentation.

What was very wrong had been the tone and content of that blog. They were positioning my influencer and career coaching businesses in an out-of-date way. 

The risk in killing off the blog was major.

Many risks don't pan out. That's the risk we take when we, well, experiment.

However, that risk generated amazing results, rather quickly. Both my businesses had an uptick.   

What about your business, nonprofit or individual career?

In the whatever, forget all the ossified best practices. 

Try out whatever. 

For example, if you have been searching for a copywriting job in that glutted niche, go over to the help-wanted ads on Craigslist, in every category. Study them. There should be fits with some of them if you reconfigure your skills and experience in your resume, cover letter and how you see the way you can make a good living. Another option: Go for certification or an associate degree in a marketable field. 

Action Plan: Jump out of bed tomorrow morning and experiment with one aspect of how you go about earning a living. 

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)  Download PleaseMeetYourCareerCoachJaneGenova

You're the Salesperson - What You're Selling Is Yourself Through The Cover Letter

LinkedIn hammers the importance of your cover letter. In a dog-fight of a job market (that includes the competition for gig assignments), it's how you convince those hiring that you're the one they must choose. 

Essentially, a cover letter is a sales pitch. Not, it's not a laundry list of credentials. 

What you are selling is that you can get the job, gig assignment or client project done better, faster and more affordably than anyone else. In career circles that's called "differentiating yourself." 

As in all selling situations, you have to do fit the pitch perfectly to the particular buyer. The tone has to be one-to-one. Not generic.

Sure, you might have pattern cover letters (yes, multiple) for each category of job, gig assignment or proposal for new business. But you will custom-make each one for the specific job. 

Here is the template:

• Greeting. If a name is given, then say "Dear Peter." If not, then something like "Dear Search Team." It is always best to hunt for a specific name. Frequently that's found on the website. Remember, this is one-to-one. Me-to-you.

 

• State what position you're applying for. Use the "keywords" associated with that since Artificial Intelligence may be doing the first screening of applications. You find the keywords in the language used in the ad and what is standard in the industry and that job function. You can retrieve that information free by going to keyword providers and keying in, for instance, "email campaigns."

 

• Briefly state why you're thrilled to apply. Enthusiasm goes a long way. For example, the help wanted doesn't indicate the name of the organization but it does emphasize how diverse its clients are. You note how the broad mix of client makes for interesting, stimulating work.

 

• Now you zero in on what you can do for that employer. That has two parts, woven together brilliantly. You describe, in quantitative terms, what you had done for previous employers or clients. Then link that to a description of what you can do for this one. For instance, "On average, I boosted Calls to Action 23%. Primarily that was through innovative email campaigns. Given your product lines, when we work together, we'll be able to sustain double-digit increases for the lotions."

 

• Mention other accomplishments. You also headed a task force to refine the lead-development process at Company JTB. Closes increased 17%.

 

• Let them know your human side. That's what employers want to see right now. "When not 'on duty,' I give back to my community in Toledo, Ohio, by coaching senior citizens in digital technology. 

 

• Offer a freebie. "I welcome creating a mini marketing plan for your Lotion XYZ. Its "softening" effect is superior - and at a lower price point - than competitive products."

 

• Provide your own Call to Action. "Let's please talk more about what I can get done for you. You can reach me at _________"

 

• Proofread. If you do edits, you must proofread again. 

Everything changes. That includes the economy in general, the labor market, your industry, how specific organizations are doing, the style of sales pitches and what you can accomplish for employers or clients. That means your cover letter should also keep changing. 

 

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download PleaseMeetYourCareerCoachJaneGenova