Over-50

It's About The Money - Barb Stout, RVer Working At Amazon, Is On The Money

The "Camperforce" documentary - which you can view here - features RVer Barb Stout and her husband Chuck Stout. After the couple lost their nest egg in the 2008 global economic crash, they pivoted into the RV lifestyle.

Increasingly that includes finding and doing seasonable or temporary jobs while on the road. Some RVers have down cold who will be hiring, where and when. For example, some show up every spring to do jobs in national parks. 

No slouch when it comes to trends, Amazon looped into that. It created a whole recruitment program called "CamperForce." Primarily it's geared to older workers such as the Stout couple. Amazon posts information about the program it on its website.

The Stout couple applied at the CamperForce program and were hired for the $11-an-hour gigs. They were "pickers" in an Amazon warehouse. That is, they scouted up the goods for fulfilling orders.

Yes, the jobs are demanding. At night, after using a scanner all day, Barb's hand can go numb. Chuck got hit in the head with a falling box. 

Liberals may balk at what seems to be exploitation of the vulnerable aging who deal with sustained financial challenges. There is a lot to be said about that.

However, what Amazon provides is work. It pays. And Barb is pragmatic. She presents her take on why Amazon recruits the aging. She hammers that Amazon knows older workers are there not to learn, not to get ahead. It's about the money. End of story. They do the job and that's that.

In coaching, that's exactly the mindset I recommend to those who are post-career. The new game for them is to earn income. And as much as possible. They are no longer pursuing macro goals such as upward mobility, personal branding or building wealth. 

That perspective allows those in their 60s, 70s and 80s to shake off all the "oughts" of the careerist. They only have to go to work, do the job and be alert for opportunities that offer more, including increased income.

All generations, not only the aging, have to continually search for work. The iconic job guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" documents that trend. The most important skill in the current economy is the know-how to be hired. Both jobs and project assignments have shorter and shorter shelf lives. 

Here, free to download, is my guide on landing, holding and moving on to better work, no matter your age Download Outwitting ageism.

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

The COVID Parenting Penalty - Even Older Mothers Find Circling Back into Labor Market Tough

It was probably the right thing to do for mothers to leave their jobs for childcare during COVID.

But life isn't fair. The dynamics of capitalism can be brutal in America. 

Now, reports Bloomberg Law, mothers are paying a steep price for exiting the labor market.

About two million women haven't yet found their way back.

Others who have usually have taken a haircut on compensation, status and power.

This phenomenon has impacted older mothers also. That is, those over-50. After all, the age at which women begin their families is moving up as they ensure they have established a career path. 

The solution - re-entrying the workforce - might not be pretty. Often to regain momentum requires a step back. Older mothers who have been long-term unemployed might have to reconfigure their job-search materials for positions they assumed they had left behind in their 30s. Then, they have to be alert to how they can pivot back to where they could be again. 

That's essentially what I recommend to most professionals over-50 who have lost their jobs. The winning playbook is to get back in the game, then make your moves from that concrete position of strength. No, you can't settle in. 

One model for how to play that new game is presented in my career guide for the aging. It's free to download Download Outwitting ageism. 

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

Semiretired - Your Ego Is Getting Bashed

Both for income and to remain busy, you are opting for semiretirement.

That is, you will continue to work. That might not necessarily be on your old career path.

As ProPublica documented, the odds are that you were forced out of your career job sooner than you expected. If you were fortunate enough to land another job, only one in 10 of you is being paid comparable compensation. 

If you remain doing assignments in what you know best, they might not be the high-profile plum kinds of you have tackled at the peak of your career.

If you opt out of pursuing work where your core competence had been, then you will not be a brandname in that niche or niches. But it's money and that can help you not to dip into savings and investments to make ends meet and simultaneously enjoy a bit of the good life.

The result usually is a blow to your ego. Many of the semiretired I coach confide the difficulty they are experiencing transitioning from being a player to simply a worker among workers. 

No fools, they are quite aware that they do have work, some of it may be well-paying. However, often there is deep pain at the loss of name recognition, influence and being in high demand.

Those feelings are real. But it is possible to exit what had been the comfort zone for 30 or 40 years to a new mindset and set of behaviors. Joy in work and perhaps greater joy in life are possible. Here you can download a guide on that - free. 

That begins with gratitude for what you have. And shaking off the preoccupation with what you have lost. Yes, semiretirement involves giving up the goals that have dominated a professional's journey perhaps since high school. There is no way around it: The game is different.

In his seminal book "Necessary Endings," executive coach Henry Cloud hammers how destructive it is not to be able to let go of what is no longer a fit. Essentially, the result is being stuck. And the stuck get more and more stuck. There is a real possibility that eventually they can't extricate themselves from that break with reality.

The next step in managing semiretirement joyfully is to leverage creativity. On professional network LinkedIn there are a number of those over-65 who have put together a fresh persona and sandbox of expertise to play in. That not only has attracted a following. That has brought in work.

For example a former government middle manager has developed a humor column. A former full-time college professor of exposition has created a detailed how-to on everything from points of grammar to being more concise. 

A third is to apply for assignments which represent a stretch. You probably will find you can do it. That opens the door to more work. Also, you will have the wild joy of learning something new. Along the way you might becoming certified in that field. 

Semiretirement entails understanding a new approach to earning income. Once you get that down cold you can begin each of work day with a kind of enthusiasm and freedom you may never have experienced along your traditional career path.

Also a free download is my book on breaking into the labor market that tends to be biased against age Download Outwitting ageism.

If you still are struggling with this transition, I am here for you.

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

 

From Middle-Class Career Paths to "Bullshit Jobs"

"In his book Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, the late anthropologist David Graeber described a particular type of employment: 'If the position were eliminated, it would make no discernable difference in the world.' A bullshit job, he writes, is 'so completely pointless that even the person who has to perform it every day cannot convince himself there’s a good reason for him to be doing so.'" - Apoorva Tadepalli, The Atlantic, April 2, 2021.

So much prime real estate space in the media has been devoted to detailing how much the aging worker has been brutalized during COVID. For example, Bloomberg Law has pointed out that, as a result of COVID, 3.1 million over-55 are opting to take Social Security early and 1.4 million have embraced they will be working longer than they had evisioned.

Both groups will likely wind up doing "bullshit jobs." That's the most poignant development in how things are playing out for the aging in America.

Many of them have had Middle-Class career paths. Those were not necessarily white collar. The 55-year-old could have been a skilled tradesperson in a production facility, then sidelined into early retirement or a layoff.

Now that person can't make ends meet without income from working. But the only kinds of work he or she can land is the bullshit job.

That could be phoning people who don't want to be phoned about a service they don't want.

It could be grading standardized tests which never should have been made mandatory.

It could be deep-frying potatoes in a fast-food restaurant which is damaging the health of a nation.

Unfortunately, in my coaching the aging unemployed I have found that bullshit jobs proabably represent a likely step on the way to figuring out the real Next, post-career. Here is my book, a complimentary read Download Outwitting ageism. 

However, from that experience in a whole different labor niche, the aging can figure out how to put together a way of earning a living which is not the bullshit kind. For example, an in-house lawyer forced out of his job when he was in his late 50s was able to loop out of bullshit jobs. He resurrected his highschool love of music and began giving lessons. That provided meaning in his life.

Just when I was approaching 60, my industry collapsed. I took three bullshit jobs. They were lousy enough for me to motivate myself to learn digital communications. Eventually, I launched my own boutique for that. Later I added coaching. I haven't done bullshit work since.

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

Flight into Frugality - Trend Bound to Be Sticky (extreme threat to brands)

In the midst of the economic downturn triggered by COVID, the Global Consumer Confidence Survey found that 64% of you cut back on spending, reports MarketWatch. A key tactic to box-in spending was to purchase private-label merchandise instead of established brands. For instance, you bought the detergent marked with the store (such as Sam's) label instead of "Tide."

Those observing this trend predict it will hang on. That could signal wisdom on the part of the aging. 

The new game, even as the recovery seems to be kicking in, is not to dip into savings. Sure, go ahead and take that weekend trip to the Jersey Shore. However, only do that if you aren't using savings. If your usual budget can't cover that, then rule that expenditure out.

Research shows that our peak earning years are over. Even if we're still working we can't anticipate big jumps in income. Yet we could live until 85 or more.  A financial reserve makes it possible to enjoy those years without losing sleep about having to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, that sacred entity in marketing - the brand - is in play. Most of the brandnames may never find their way back into the purchasing decisions of the majority of those in the U.S. The wealthy could remain loyal to Tide. But more and more might find the low-cost detergent in the dollar store just fine.

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

No, You Aren't Too Old to Relocate West - And Get Nice

Yes, the transformation does happen. And to those in all professionals.  

Men and women relocate from the hardened aggressive ethos of Manhattan to the West Coast. And, eventually they loop into nice.

That can even be excessive. Like gushing with too much gratitude for small gestures such as the person in front letting you ahead on line because you only have two items. Or, belting out too many mea culpas too often for social sins such as finishing someone's sentences. 

In a "Cut" podcast on New York Magazine, Avery Trufelman discusses that shift in an interview with Jordan Green. No longer do the transplants feel they have to become annoyed when the guy sitting next to them on the plane is chatting it up. Or the bartender is too slow.

Surely then, research has to be done on if there is a correlation between the adoption of nice and the reduction of heart attacks in those over-50. But more important to careerist New York professionals considering a job move to a West Cost firm is this: Can being nice enhance a career? 

Consider the augmented networking opportunities. Also, will those in the office be genuinely helpful? Can customers/clients pick up on the niceness and be more receptive?

On an overcast April late morning in April 2014, I took I-95 out of the whole New York scene. Here in the southwest I have shaken off 70% of the volcanic impatience and the compulsion to push. That one change has improved the business of both my communications and coaching boutiques. Panic attacks haven't stopped but occur less often. Despite the reality that making friends is almost impossible when aging, I have one, at least. 

A useful read is "The Power of Nice" by Linda Kaplan Thaler. 

Reflection: Should you start exploring West Coast job and business opportunities?

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

 

Medicare at 60 - It Could Happen

"Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration are planning another round of healthcare initiatives that could include lowering the Medicare eligibility age, following their major expansion of the Affordable Care Act this year." - The Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2021.

Too many aging professionals are sticking on the career path until 65. Not that they want to. But they feel they have to. It isn't until age 65 that they are eligible for Medicare. If the Biden Administration wins this one, that could be moved back to age 60. 

With the cost of medical care bankruptcy stuff, it is downright reckless to loop out of the employer's medical insurance program.

Carrying your own medical insurance "at your age," even through COBRA is expensive in itself. Also what it doesn't cover could wind up leaving you in a financial mess.

Medicare plus the no-cost or low-cost supplements available usually limit out of pocket to, at the max, around $6,000. Depending on the supplement and the state, that could be lower.

Medicare at 60 would not only give you the retirement option. It could also open the door to more professional risk-taking. Once I was eligible for Medicare, I took the bold step of pivoting to operating my communications-coaching boutiques away from Manhattan and in the southwest. 

Yes, lobby Congress and the White House for Medicare at 60.

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

Women 55 or Older,You're Not Imagining It: Your Unemployment Rate Has More Than Doubled in COVID Times

AARP, which monitors such things, confirms it, reports the New York Post.

That is this: The unemployment rate for females 55 years of age or older has more than doubled since February 2020. It was in March 2020 that the fallout from COVID-19 started. Fields in which women's jobs tend to be clustered got hit hardest: hospitality, restuarants and education. The current jobless rate for aging women is 6.1%, up from 3.5%, back at this time last year. 

This is a crisis. That means that those determined to find, hold and move on to better jobs have to think out of the box.

Here is a free read on that Download Outwitting ageism.

Overall, what has panned out the best, in the best of times and the worst of times, and for all generations is this: Pursue work  opportunities that aren't advertised.

Way back in the 1970s, when the "What Color Is Your Parachute?" career-guide franchise started, it was out there that if you really wanted a plum job or assignment, you did two things.

One, you talk to folks about what they know is available.

Sociologist Mark Granovetter called that phenomenon the "strength of weak ties." Although those people aren't close friends they usually are aware of openings which your usual networks don't know about. So, yes, be out there telling everyone you need work and ask if they know of any that is available.

And, two, you reach into organizations, telling them about yourself.

The most efficient way to do that is to ask for what is known as an "informational interview." You request, for example, the manager in public relations (if you're seeking an opportunity in that department) for 10 minutes to find out what he or she does. Yes, go to the trouble of finding out a specific name and email address. Don't just send a generic message. After that 10 minutes, send a detailed thank-you note. Keep in touch, such as on LinkedIn. 

It may take time. When I was already 34 (even back then that was "old" for a shift from nonprofit to profit) I contacted all the large businesses in Pittsburgh. At the time I was working at a university, earning peanuts. I asked for, yes, 10 mintues to talk about what they do in corporate. Within six months I was offered a full-time job with Gulf Oil (which is now Chevron). My compensation doubled. Open was over-the-top developmental training. 

People are willing to help those who have the humility and hustle to reach out. Based on the responses you are getting, keep modifying your approach. 

And, as the old saying goes: Nothing gets you a job like a job. Grab what is out there. It's not your last job. It's a platform to keep working. Something better will turn up, probably just-like-that. 

At age 58, my industry collapsed. You bet, I took whatever jobs were provided - as bridges back. Within a year I was putting together two new businesses. Here is that saga of movement from a bottom to a new career path geezerguts-139.pdf (typepad.com) 

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

 

Baby Boomer Careerists - Is Your Playbook Out-of-Date, Like Andrew Cuomo's?

"When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo came under fire just a few weeks ago over his handling of nursing home deaths in the pandemic, he and his top advisers followed their usual playbook to stem the fallout: They worked the phones, pressing his case in private calls to legislators and other New York Democrats." - Katie Glueck, The New York Times, March 6, 2021.

Obviously, following the standard playbook hasn't worked. 

Accelerating is the collpase of both Andrew Cuomo's hold on this current job and his political future. 

Even in America, the land of second and third and fourth chances, he may be finished. He may have only one Houdini move in him. Some recall how he found his way back into political power after "having to withdraw" from the 2002 campaign for governor of New York state.

Currently, there are a federal investigation of nursing home deaths and an independent investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct. 

In addition, loyalists, like rats on a sinking ship, have been fleeing or at least distancing themselves.

So, what can you learn from what could be a catastrophic end to a career?

Here are 5 takeaways:

• Never assume invulnerability. Or confidentiality. The media is there. So are your enemies, even if you aren't aware they are that. 

 

• Create a personal network of those who really care about you and have a good feel for reality. Cuomo is isolated. Whom, outside his family, can he call at 2:00 a.m. and receive sound advice?

 

• Keep assessing what's in the playbook for a fit with values. 

 

• Do rapid course correction.  

 

• Get all the ducks in the row if you have to pull the plug. The right way of exiting with the right timing can ensure some kind of Next.

Crisis, often massive ones, should be anticipated. That's part of the new volality of global economics and politics.That means you should always be rewriting your playbook for what could unravel this afternoon. Strategies and tactics have to be just-in-time.

 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. 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)