Over-50

"Not Strong" - That's What They're Saying about Your Resume and This Is What You Have to Do

"[When they say your resume is 'not strong' that] means that the people reviewing your resume do not think that you have enough experience for the job for which you are applying ..." - Greg Giangrande, New York Post, August 1, 2021.

The world has changed. Business has become not only ultra-competitive. Change in it has accelerated. Those hiring are looking for the person who can get X or Y job done and do that better, faster, and more affordably than all the other applicants. No longer are they accepting a disembodied list of credentials. 

In 2021, the way of presenting yourself in resumes, cover letters, and interviews has to totally focused on: This is what I can get done for you and better, faster, and more affordably than anyone else.

Added to that is: Here is my past experience in which I accomplished that for other employers/clients/customers. And, can I sketch out for you how we can work together on generating results? 

This zeroes in on the Willis Towers Watson template for the future of work. It projects that careers are, like, so yesterday. Instead you will be continually developing a portfolio of skills and experiences.

Your journey in the world of work won't necessarily be linear. Today you can be a leasing agent for a small property. Next year you can be leveraging that background in regulatory issues and customer service to becoming the manager of a large collection agency.

Yes, let's bring how you present yourself for work in sych with how to land offers. And, next, position and package that job or assignment to move on to better ones.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Also guidance for pre-retirement. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Another Reason You Can't Retire: Food Inflation

Millions of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are on the fence about whether to retire and when.

After all, the kinds of work associated with a career have become more and more demanding. 

Put in more hours.

Learn new technologies.

Come up with innovative ways to get more done with less.

Always be on-call.

Also, hovering over just about anyone over-50 is the real possibility of being forced out their good jobs. ProPublica documents that the odds are not leaving employment voluntarily. In addition, once out, those fortunate enough to land back in on their career path have only a one in 10 chance of earning what they did previously.

But, financial reality is this: Most can't afford to stop earning income. However, earning income doesn't have to be from a career. Careers have shorter and shorter shelf lives. Income can come from full-time non-career jobs, part-time jobs, gig work and running a business. 

The latest data to come in reinforcing the folly of stopping income from work is food inflation. Bloomberg describes how that is playing out around the world. It's not only in the U.S. where there is sticker-shock at the supermarket. 

Yes, the situation is so severe that economic experts anticipate a wave of what is called "food insecurity."

So, how do you pivot from a career, which really no longer exists or has been petering out, to simply hustling for a buck?

The transition is only possible for those who can wrap their heads around the necessity of bringing in money from working - forever. Yes, let the whole notion of "career" go. This next phase of working is about funding the lifestyle you want. It's pragmatic. Totally. Status and all the other side trimmings have no place in this new focus.

A free read, here is a guide on how to find, hold and move on to better work Download Outwitting ageism.

How to actually start?

Get a cup of coffee and study the help-wanted ads on major employment platforms such as Craigslist - Sites. Check every category, ranging from business management and customer service to writing and gigs. 

Where is there a fit? There should be plenty of fits. For example, most can perform call center duties or take a full-time position in loss prevention.

Next, research on the internet how to do resumes and cover letters for different kinds of employment. One size doesn't fit all. A third-shift proofreading postion in a law firm requires a format and approach unlike what goes into a resumes and cover letters for delivering pizzas.

Then, it's show time. Get out there and demonstrate on paper for those hiring what you can do for them. The world of work in the 21st century is about getting results for employers and doing that better faster and with less budget than the competition. That is the tone of all work-search materials, including the approach of interviews. No longer do those hiring put up with a laundry list of stand-alone qualifications.

Age? Keep the experience to about seven years. Not only does that mask age. It also prevents employers from tossing an application since they assume they can't afford to take on someone with so much experience.

Rejection? So? It's the universe's gift to work-searchers. No response or a "no" provides data about what not to do or what to do or more of it. Be grateful for that indirect feedback.

The best way of becoming a 2021 hustler? Read the latest edition of "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Since the mid 1970s, it has been tutoring those who need work on how to compete for the type which pays the best and offers superior terms and conditions. 

In addition, observe others over-50 who are out there working. What seems to be their attitude? How do they present themselves? How do they handle the end of an assignment? 

And, put together a Listenting Post for news of who's hiring. That can be a little group meeting regularly in McDonald's or a get-together on Zoom. Most opportunities aren't advertised. 

Work, without the burden of careerism, can provide joy.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers Could Retire - We Can't

"If inflation is a threat to the stock market, we should be running scared. That’s because inflation expectations have spiked dramatically in recent weeks. The 10-year breakeven inflation rate — what the bond market currently is betting inflation will average over the next decade — is now higher than it’s been in five years." - Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch, February 20, 2021.

It's palpable: Rising prices for just about everything. Rent, buying a house, groceries and the new SUV. Simultaneously, the stock market has had some disappointing days recently. 

Obviously, unlike Dale Evans and Roy Rogers from 1950s TV, the aging can't plan to ride into the sunset, crooning, "Happy Trails to you."

And, as the Federal Reserve reports, at least one-third of those who have retired have boomeranged back into the workforce or started their own businesses. 

The tough nut to crack is how to land, hold and move on to better work. Here, a free read, is my guide on transcending the realities of ageism in earning income Download Outwitting ageism.

The good news is that nothing gets us work like working. Once we get the hang of selling ourselves to employers, customers and clients we sustain our marketablity.

The reverse is also true: Once we drop out of the labor force, our skills quickly atrophy. New technologies develop and we don't know them. Those hiring assume we can't learn them. Not working usually leads to not being able to work.

Of course, there is plenty of rejection. Even for gig economy assignments. So? The new game has become learning how to bring in income, no matter what.

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

 

The Critical First Step in Your Job Application: Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter is your introduction to those with the power to hire you. That first impression is what's documented to be sticky. That is, there is no shaking it off.

If the cover letter is done less than brilliantly, there might be no second step. That is, the screeners won't move on to your resume.

Given the extreme importance of the cover letter, it's a public service that Abby Gordon provides a fresh mindset for how to approach your cover letter. That is, this Senior Director at Lateral Link essentially presents the cover letter as your first round in the interview process. Here you can read her article on Abovethelaw.

So, yes, you must bring - in addition to communicating the value you can create for those hiring - both your humanity and your unique personality. No, the letter shouldn't come across to the reader as if you had been following a formula or a rigid how-to in a career guide. 

Gordon wraps up her article with the reminder: Proofread. Usually you will proofread the first draft. Then, as you produce several tries at the effective cover letter, you may feel too exhausted to do yet another check for typos, grammatical errors and awkward sentence structure. That' could be fatal to your search for work. Employers frequently perceive the lack of proofreading as disrespect.

To Gordon's list I add: End with a Call to Action. That's the core of a sales pitch. And all of professional life, I hammer to my coaching and communications clients, is a sales call. 

The Call to Action could constitute an expectation of an interview. The model for that could be: Let's please discuss in detail your vision for the firm's new family law practice and how I can help achieve that.

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

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)