Over-50

The Hustle for Work - What about Those "Auditions?"

Sure, the numbers have it that the job market in the U.S. is strong. 

However, what the statistics don't disclose is the lack of those really good jobs. 

There are fewer of them. And, as "What Color Is Your Parachute?" hammers, their shelf life is shorter.

The new normal is to be continually searching for work. Settle in? That train had left the station and is not circling back. On Amazon, used copies of "What Color" start at six bucks. There are also multiple copies, free to check out, in the public library.

Along the way to where we are now in the labor market, there has developed the phenomenon of the job "audition."

Essentially that is a mandate in the recruitment process that you do unpaid work. Yes, there are versions of that which do pay but the compensation for the "test" is frequently peanuts.

Regarding that requirement, older professionals (and some members of iGen) ask me: Should we invest the time in an "audition." Essentially what's being positioned and packaged as an "audition" is doing a freebie.

Employers contend that they need to have concrete evidence that you can actually do the job. 

But because the assignments bring no compensation, job and assignment applicants wonder: Should I do this?

After all, it could be that 200 folks are applying for the job. About 20 or more could be selected to audition. The odds of having your "entry" chosen aren't exactly excellent.

In addition, employers could be setting up a scam to hunt for ideas and not pay for them.

The New York Post published a feature on the growing use and misuse of auditions. 

Well, like so much in life and in how to earn a buck, there are no absolute answers. Here are 4 commonsense tips:

When Up Against It. If you perceive yourself as some degree of "desperate," then it's smart to do what it takes to earn income. At the time.

The "they" want you to take a a one-hour editing test. Sure, go along.

However, the "they" may want a comprehensive proposal on how to boost the reponses to the Call To Action and, if you get the assignment, it only pays $15 an hour. For your mental health, pass on that. No, you don't want to work with those players. The odds are they will operate a Dickensian type of employment situation.

Instead, grab a survival something, anything. There are plenty of them. One 56-year man I coached had only a two-month financial reserve, then it would be homelessness. He created several kinds of resumes and cover letters.

Quickly, he landed a security-guard contract job which provided company-paid training and uniforms. The compensation was above-average in the field.

When his confidence came back, he began to navigate back to his original career path.

Here, free to click open, is my book on getting, holding, and moving on to better work, no matter your age Download Outwitting ageism.

And, here, also free to download, is how to exit a hardened comfort zone. 

Your mindset should be twofold:

• There are always survival jobs. Most don't require auditions. 
• Nothing gets you work like already having work. If you are clever you can position and package that work experience on your resume as a useful fit on your career path. No, a survival job doesn't have to blow up the overall professional journey. 

When the opportunity is one of those plums. There are good jobs and good contract assignments. Those differ from the bottom-fishing for the $11-an-hour ones. Auditioning can be framed as a sensible investment.

A Millennial speechwriter was interviewing for a well-paid corporate full-time position with benefits. At the outset, the hiring team informed him that part of the application process required researching and writing a seven-minute speech on leadership.

It made sense to him to do that. No, he wasn't selected for the job. But he experienced no sour grapes. To today he assesses auditioning as a must-do for some kinds of quantum leaps on the career path.

When the employer doesn't seem legit. Applicants for work, beware. There are all sorts of scams embedded in the job market.

You have to use your intuition. Ask yourself: Does this particular business or supposed non-profit feel not-quite-right? Maybe the interviewer talks too fast. Maybe there's excessive gush about where the job can lead. 

Confirm your intuition by checking Glassdoor, Google ratings, and profiles of the leadership. Contact your government officials, such as the office of your U.S. Senator, about other methods of investigation. 

Ask around. 

If you are left with too many questions, don't move along to the audition.

The usual kiss-off is the highly professional phase "Thank you." No, don't shift to rage and blast the group. Before posting anything about the group on social media or social networks, bone up on the legalities of defamation and libel. Nolo is a free excellent legal source. 

You aren't sure. Nothing is black and white. Not in the kind of opportunity there is. Not in your evaluation of if the audition is worth doing. You have choices. That's the good and bad news.

No matter what your generation or what the economy is doing, forever there has been work available.

During The Great Depression, members of my immigrant family in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, did cherry-pick how they would earn income. Even though they were at the bottom of the food chain, they trusted their hustle enough to exit the unthinkable.

One uncle wound up a boss on the Hudson River docks.

One aunt opened a grocery specializing in ingredients for Italian cooking. She and her husband did a FIRE (financial independence, retire early) before that concept went mainstream. 

Not all my family's money-making moves panned out. What was significant is that they didn't wallow in regret. No, they didn't get a bad taste in their mouths about how to earn a buck. They just kept moving along the employment continuum. 

There is nothing naive or downright dumb about going for this or that. The "they" want an example of your coding. You decide to do that. You don't get the assignment. So? 

On that one, you will be more astute next time in connecting the dots on what kind of risks you will take to better your earning situation.

Takeaway: You are in charge of your search for work. The "they" can huff and puff but they can't blow your self-esteem, hope, and future success away.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Radical Frugality: Hang Out at the Toledo County Public Library

Founding father Ben Franklin had been the primary mover in establishing a way ordinary people had access to books.

That was the public library.

Since that time - the 1730s - the public library has become a lot more than books. Essentially, it's a Third Place, where human beings like to hang out, in addition to their homes, work, and school.

Currently, there are more internet stations, CDs, and DVDs than books. Outreach includes training in everything from how to search for a job to operate Microsoft Office. Groups book the community room for activities such as presenting the secular-humanists point of view.

Obviously, all this requires money. If the funding is less than needed, then the local library system can deteriorate. The brand becomes a joke. People use it less. The media can pile on.

That's why smart public relations is a must-do to keep the flow of funding going. Funding sources usually include:

Federal, state, and local grants

County/city allocations

Levies and referendums

Property taxes

Donations.

One of the best examples of a public library which knows how to tell its story is the Toledo, Ohio Lucas County Public Library. 

Glance at the check-out receipt. At the bottom is, in bold type, the statement:

"You just saved approximately ____ by using your Toledo Lucas County Public Library today."

For me, on 12/28/19, the amount was $140. I had checked out:

Against Empathy

Utopia Is Creepy

What I Wish I Knew When I was 20

Sober curious

Fat, Forty, and Fired

You Are Awesome

Given that I relocated to Toledo at the end of August 2019 and had checked out an average of six books weekly that means that, as the Toledo County Public Library documents, I have saved about $2,240.

Those savings can be channeled into buying more from local merchants. You bet, the public library helps drive Toledo's economy. 

Not long ago I treated myself to one of those specialized bikes from Wersell's Bike Shop, located on W. Central Avenue. The perk from shopping local versus online from a major ecommerce retailer is personal service.

When the bike was making funny noises, Wersell owner Jill had her team repair it w/o charge. An institution in Toledo since 1945, Wersell creates the infrastructure for a biking culture. That enhances the city's green ethos. In turn, that adds to its national profile. 

Another brilliant promotional tactic is the library's seasonal "Program Guide." In print (how cool), the 69-page brochure lists, by branches, all the activities for that time frame. The January - April 2020 one, on pages 17 through 19, has for the Kent branch these categories:

Young Children (0 -5)

Kids (5 -10)

Teens (13 - 18)

Youth

Adults (18+)

All Ages

For adults, free digital courses range from an introduction to Canva to Google Sheets.

A third way Lucas County Library puts itself out there is through its ability to nurture old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

When I mentioned that I would go to Barnes & Noble to try to find a map of Toledo, a neighbor told me that the LaGrange branch stocks those (free) in the lobby. You got it, again I saved money.

In a lecture on architecture, several attendees noted the contours of the West Toledo branch. Go look at it, they told me. 

And, when I needed a book for an upcoming assignment, the local client told me to forget Kindle. The Lucas County library system acts fast on getting to us books not at that particular branch, even new ones. More money saved.

When The Recession finally hits, public libraries throughout America will find their funding in play.

Before that, they can be proactive.

They can analyze how Toledo positions and packages itself as the go-to community resource. They can import aspects of that model.

Public opinion probably has become more powerful than government, leaders, and even wealth.

Smart global ghostwriting, with niche social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Work Search 2020 - Don't Set Yourself Up for Told You're "Impressive"

It could be the hunt for a job, gig assignment, or clients for your business.

The response you don't want to receive has the word "impressive" in it. 

That is the kiss of death.

Yes, those doing the hiring joyfully tell you: Your background and talent are so impressive. However ...

Make it your business in your search for work in 2020 to interpret too much of that impressive messaging as a red flag that you have to review all aspects of the hunt. That extends from what kind of work you're looking for to how you present yourself in those Artificial Intelligence interview videos.

Meanwhile, employers who want to protect their brands from derision should ditch the term "impressive." That opens them to a skit on "Saturday Night Live" about the Recruiting Bots.

This is the era of authenticity. Those doing the hiring need to come up with language that resonates with the mind and heart. Not being brought aboard for an opportunity is a devastating experience. There are myriad ways to say "no." Leveraging buzzword "impressive" is such a raw put-down.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Those Over-50 & AI - Are We Being Knocked Out of Box (or, worse, not even allowed near it)?

By now, it's fairly well known that AI, that is, artificial intelligence, is inherently biased.

After all, humans create the algorithms for AI and those humans use data which contain some or maybe a lot of bias. That's just the way it is.

One example of that had been the racial bias found in healthcare algorithms. U.S. senators such as Cory Booker are looking into those. 

So, the world should be appropriately skeptical of the use of AI in recruiting. After all, so much is at stake in the hiring process, both for the individual and for the organization.

Recode published a major article on the advantages of AI in recruiting as well as the concerns of those in government, ranging from Congress and state legislatures to the EEOC, about what is called "automated decision making decisions." That article is by Rebecca Heilweil. 

Those systems have become essentially end-to-end.

At the front end, they can determine where a help-wanted ad is placed. Already that has become controversial. It had been discovered that those placed on Facebook reflected bias against women and the aging. 

Next the algorithms can be used to choose the resumes which should be reviewed first - and those simply tossed.

Often now, the next step is an AI video interview in which factors ranging from language to facial expressions are assessed. Only at the very last phase of the recruiting process might there be an in-person interview. 

Along the way there might be AI personality assessment tilted toward predicting if this kind of professional will succeed at the organization, how long with that employee stay, and is he or she capable of being promoted. 

The criteria for those decisions usually have been derived from the databases at the organization. That is, historic information is being used to make current decisions. Of course, that immediately raises a red flag since everything keeps changing. 

According to LinkedIn, 67% of those in the recruiting loop find AI helpful. For any job opening thousands of resumes might come in. AI speeds up sorting through the first cut. In itself, that saves money. 

So, yes, this is an efficiency payoff front the get-go. But, some object that the sorting mechanisms could be unfairly knocking out of the box atypical applicants. 

Most of the major concerns about AI fall into three categories:

• Bias. It was found that an AI recruiting tool developed by Amazon (but not used) favored males over females. That was primarily because it had been developed from past employment data at Amazon. That had been compiled when the majority of employees were male.  
• Lack of transparency. Frequently the applicant being interviewed has not been informed that the process is using a video system, what is being assessed, and how will it be used. No consent might have been given. 
• No guarantee of accuracy. After all, hiring is a social process. AI, as it is now constituted, might not pick up nuance. 

Already, in Congress there has been introduced the Algorithm Accountability Act. There is a call for the FTC to review what's going on in the kinds of evaluations of applicants that are being made via video platforms such as HireVue's. 

The EEOC has received two complaints about facial analysis. 

In Illinois, soon to go into effect is the Artificial Intelligence Interview Act. Before the video is clicked on, there must be explicit notification of the process, consent given, and explanation about what is being focused on, evaluated, and interpreted. 

All of this is linked to the guidance established in 1978 by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Section Procedures.  That has been the federal government's way to help organizations not have selection factors which negatively impact minority groups.

Among those protected groups is the older worker. Clearly, one has to ask: Can't the very existence of a video interview early in the process knock the over-50 job hunter out of the box? 

Full Disclosure: Over-50, I avoid all hiring processes for contract assignments and new client accounts which involve video. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Back to In the Box - Cover Letters

"Put in subject head/first line of first paragraph of cover letter 'I want to be your next social media guru.'"

Increasingly, those hunting for talent are posting that special instruction in their help-wanted ad.

That's for two reasons.

One is to test if the applicant has really read through the specifications carefully.

And, two, it is to determine if the applicant is the kind of worker who has integrated the habit of following directions.

Yes, this is the era of innovative thinking.

However, many jobs and contract assignments require an in the box mindset. For example, a 2,000-word how-to on setting up a website on wordpress should contain all the needed details. Can the applicant, the employer needs to know, operate within that kind of box?

Another in the box must for cover letters is to include recent relevant experience and evidence of that. It's not enough to simply have great ideas for attracting attention on social networks. That game keeps mutating. Don't apply if you haven't participated in campaigns during the past year or so.

A third in the box necessity is a serious tone or a highly professional personal brand. Sure, the ad might indicate the workplace is casual and the applicant should have a sense of humor. However, the organization is hiring the best person to get a task done right, fast, and on budget. They are not screening for an outsized personality.

The majority of those hiring, both in the private sector and in nonprofit, are nervous about a worldwide economic slowdown. Therefore, the mood is hyperalert and cautious. Cover letters have to mirror that. That's a key fundamental of successful selling: mirroring the culture of the buyer.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Internet - Accidental Age Bias

"I look younger than I am."

"On my resume I lopped all work but the last seven years. Same thing on the cover letters."

"My LinkedIn Profile receives lots of visitors."

That's what those over-45 whom I coach tell me. But they are seeking career counseling sessions from me because they can't get comparable jobs after being laid off, can only land low-paid jobs, or have had no offers for even gig hustles.

They have plenty of company in their unawareness how age bias happens in 2019. And, yes, it can kick in as young as 40-something. 

That blind spot usually is associated with the internet. They have no idea how the internet has put the kibosh on their ability to remain employed in a way that they can make ends meet. The reality, of course, is that more than half those over-50 will be forced out and only one of 10 of them will be hired at jobs which are in the same compensation ballpark.

Here are the four ways the internet has become an obstacle in the search for work for older professionals:

•  Plastered all over the internet is one's age. All employers have to do is key in the name of the applicant. Up will pop various items, some of which contain the exact age. Those age items are up-to-date. 
•  Lack of participation in social networks can make the applicant seem not only part of the has-been gens. It can create the perception of being out of touch. More applications require a listing of social networks.
•  Wrong tone and content on social networks. The applicant can come across as ancient. 
•  Small number of followers, likes, shares, and comments on social networks and social media. If the position involves the ability to engage, then that kind of data can send a red flag the applicant is clueless about getting, holding, and scaling attention. 

The good news is that there are also four ways to transcend these obstacles:

• Be open. Employers are searching for not the perfect fit to the posted job description. Instead they need a hire who can get done what has to get done. Pick up what that is. Then show how you can accomplish that better than other applicants. Here, free to download, is my book on exiting comfort zones. 
•  Embrace the career truism that nothing gets you a job like a job. Here, free to click open, is my guide on how to start over in the search for work Download Outwitting ageism. One unemployed former in-house lawyer restarted his career with a loss-prevention gig in retail. Eventually he wound up in the corporate office overseeing that function. 
•  Develop tenacity. The most successful sales professionals truly believe that every "no" brings them closer to a "yes." That's because they analyze every aspect of what they did or didn't do on that sales call. Based on their findings, they do course correction on their MO.
•  Don't tell your "sad story." We are our stories. One former administrative assistant I coached kept ranting how she was terminated, probably because of age. I told her to stop that. Her new narrative was that she was excited about pursuing a career shift. Within three weeks she accepted an offer as the dispatcher for a large trucking company. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

LinkedIn & Academic Degrees - How Important for Mature Professionals?

Fraud is everywhere. So, it should be no surprise that it has turned up, reports TechCrunch, on professional social network LinkedIn. 

It seems some ambitious players have been including in their LinkedIn profiles academic degrees they didn't have. Often that represents degree programs they had started but didn't hang around to complete. In some fields such as STEM a Ph.D. might enhance credibility.

But, what about mature professionals? It's been years ago that they matriculated and, hopefully, finished degrees. Obviously, what's more a selling feature is what they have accomplished for employers and/or clients. Those results, if possible, should be quantified. They are the meat and potatoes (to use an old-fashioned phrase) of the LinkedIn profile, as well as resumes and cover letters.

What does catch the potential employers' or clients' attention are certifications. Those might be for Google Ad Words or for counseling in the addiction field.

Increasingly, help-wanted ads are actually demanding certifications in certain areas of expertise. That helps them sort out applications. Those applications without that credential would be tossed. Often 200 to 300 professionals apply for an open position, full time or gig.

Post-40 years of age, the game changes in the search for employment. Here, free to download, is a guide on making that shift.  

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Social Security COLA Increase for 2020 - Expect 1.6% (not the 2.8% of 2019)

2019 had been a very good year for recipients of Social Security.

The COLA (cost of living) increase had been 2.8%. That was near the traditional 3% COLA boost which took place between 2000 and 2009.

But, reports MarketWatch, 2020 may be disappointing.

Those in the know predict only a 1.6% increase. That would mean that the average recipient who is getting $1,460 currently can expect only $23 more a month. 

The implications are huge. Retirees might find they can no longer afford to age in-place. Consequently they will find themselves financially forced to sell the family home and even relocate from where they have spent most of their lives and did their careers.

Emigrating abroad to lower-cost nations like Ecuador and Costa Rica? More and more possible.

Meanwhile, many who aren't doing part-time or gig work or operating their own enterprise during retirement should consider returning to the labor market. Here, free to click open, is my book on landing, holding, and moving on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Not Getting Work? Your Adaptability Quotient May Be Low

Those who do the hiring are increasingly looking for workers with a high Adaptability Quotient (AQ).

That's what the UK study by Right Management found. And, that's because, let's face it, business currently has to operate amid uncertainty and change. 

Essentially, "adaptability" means being open to new mindsets and ways of working. That openness rules out grousing about having to adjust. What employers want to hear is "I'm eager to try that out. It could be more efficient."

A major reason why those over-40 - yes, age bias in the workforce can start in  early 40s - have difficulty landing work could simply be a low Adaptability Quotient.

They approach job search with a hardened notion about what they do and how they can do it. Meanwhile, employers need workers who will parachute in and get things done in ways that are continually changing. 

That lack of openness comes across loud and clear during an interview.

For instance, one man I interviewed for a contract copywriting position blew it by hammering the "right" way to do such an assignment. Two things were obvious. One, of course, was that he wasn't the adaptable kind. And, secondly, he likely had been without work for a while. If he had been in the game he would have known that the how keeps shifting. This morning's template for success might yield diminishing returns by the afternoon. 

Because of so much uncertainty and change, more of those hiring now put it out there: What can you do for us? That's the beginning of the conversation. Those who can't keep up that conversation won't get to the next phase of the vetting process. 

What that means is that the language in resumes, cover letters, and Google Application Forms must reflect current trends. That's why it's necessary to follow developments in our industry in the media.

Also, yes, it's useful to have someone we trust under-40 review our job-search marketing materials and role play interviews with us. 

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Experience Caps Aren't Necessarily about Age Bias Per Se

In the age-discrimination lawsuit "Kleber v. Carefusion Corp" the plaintiff contended age bias in hiring came via an experience cap.

The Carefusion help-wanted was structured to require 3 to 7 years of work experience as a lawyer. No more than that.

Here is a copy of the complaint.

Dale Kleber, age 58 at the time, had plenty more experience than that. However, he still applied for the position. Eventually, Carefusion hired a 29 year old applicant.

The question arose: Was an experience cap leveraged as a stealth tool to discourage the aging from applying for certain jobs?

Well, Kleber's specific challenge didn't pan out.

As Bloomberg Law reports, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff.

Here is a copy of that decision.

The Seventh Circuit, 8 to 4, stated that experience caps didn't constitute a type of disparate impact theory. That is, it wasn't a form of seemingly neutral policy that operated as a type of bias against a protected class.

However, some experts warned employers there could be more Kleber-like experience cap lawsuits. Likely, there will be.

Meanwhile, more and more help-wanted specify experience caps and those Google Forms applicants fill out as part of the job search process explicitly ask the number of years working in X or Y niche. That could be managing Price Per Click (PPC) advertising.

Pragmatism rules that applicants would size up what the "right" number of years is and then play in that very specific sandbox. Yes, redo the past to fit with the present.

Otherwise, there may be no access to the toys in that sandbox, ranging from a weekly pay check to benefits. 

But, the present is not so much about raw age bias, is it. 

Instead it's more about price point. Unless a business has a clear and powerful point of differentiation, it can be caught in competing via price. The best briefing on that is "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim. Here it can be ordered from Amazon.

To keep the price-to-the-consumer/B-to-B market low, employers seek out workers with just enough experience to do the task well so that they can be paid as low compensation as possible.

The new college graduate who had an internship at a marketing firm specializing with PPC would look a lot more attractive to the budget of the employer than an applicant with 6 years experience. Sure, the newbie will probably fly the coop after 2 years but those 2 years could be very profitable for the business.

More and more help-wanted ads indicate that new college graduates are preferred. Since the 90-yar-old could just be graduating college, that phrasing gets employers off the hook on age bias.

In addition, there has emerged a new human resources model - Burn & Earn. It is described in "Disrupted" by Dan Lyons. Here that hilarious book can be ordered from Amazon. Essentially the game is about bringing in a bunch of enthusiastic newbies, training them to do A but not B, make a bundle, and expect them to keep exiting. Repeat. 

Interesting, though, there is a business, based in Manhattan and Chicago, which seems to champion deep expertise. That's the public affairs firm The Dilenschneider Group. On its website it has a section listing its major players and their years of experience. Here you can click it open.

Listed, for example, are:

•  Fred Bona - 40 years
•  Bob Dilenschneider - 30 years
•  Art Gormley - 30 years.

In the fast-moving world of communications, that's counter-trend.

After all, the sandbox, more and more in a digital universe, is custom-made for digital natives. Clients and prospects know the importance of everything from online influencers to local search engine optimization (SEO). So the new toys in the sandbox include everything from help paying off student loans to free food. 

The question is if businesses such as The Dilenschneider Group which position and package long years of experience as a plus have created the unique edge? Or, are they at a new kind of disadvantage? More importantly, does that give the business leverage with price point? 

As those issues are being duked out in the court of law, the hunt for work, and business branding, as early as the age 40 those needing income are finding doors slammed shut because of bias. Here is the article I published on that. If there is a severe economic downturn, that could worsen, of course. Because of their relatively high compensation, the aging usually have a target on their backs. 

Here is my book, free to click open, on how to navigate around all that Download Outwitting ageism. And here, also free, is one on being able to change. Addiction to any comfort zone can mean professional death. 

Full Disclosure: In my early 40s, Corporate America purged itself of middle-aged middle managers. I had to reimage myself as an entrepreneur. Having gotten the hang of how to change, I plan to stay working 60 hours a week until I am 80. Then, I will re-evaluate.

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.