Over-50

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)

Civilization and Its Discontents - A Job Riding a Horse Throughout Streets of Tombstone, AZ

What's unique about historic Tombstone, Arizona (circa 1877) is that it's not only for tourism. 

It's also for settling in and making Tombstone your forever home. Just like folks have been doing in the once vacation-only Hampstons on Long Island, New York. 

As you walk around Tombstone, you will notice infrastructure.

There are school buildings with signage like "John Wyatt" and "Union High." You bet, there are plenty of those yellow school buses, too. Just like where you re living now and maybe fantasize about putting that address on short time. 

On main drag Allen Street there is a very contemporary art gallery. Operated by volunteers who are members of the Tombstone Association of the Arts, its signature art form is the quilt. 

Those hand-crafted works of art are featured in the gallery, for sale on consignment. The gallery takes 20%. The list prices range from about $250 to about $850. Every February one is raffled off. Tickets are available year round. They go for a buck. Recently, the winner had been based in NY.

If you do relocate to Tombstone and want to exhibit your art - there other mediums in addition to quilts - you first have to join the Association ($20). Then your piece will be juried. If you make the cut, your creation will enjoy plenty of foot traffic.

And ringing around Tombstone are RV parks where guests have obviously hunkered down.

But, no, there weren't too many houses of worship.

Yes, it's possible to make a living in Tombstone. 

Some of the jobs are quirky. For example, there are those dressed in 19th century wild west garb. They ride horses throughout all the streets. Maybe it's staged, maybe it's real. One such dressed man screamed out that a horse had run into him. He looked to be headed to law enforcement. Here's hoping the alleged miscrent won't be hung. 

On the retail front, there are about 100 stores. Most have a specific ethos. Those range from Native American (lots of dream catchers) to guns (including toy ones in holsters).

As for food, of course, serving it is always a way to make ends meet. The creative in that niche has set up cute ice cream fronts. But the fav is the old-fashioned saloon. 

The lodging part consists of 22 motels. 

Tours are plentiful, including when with you being carted around in a stagecoach. No worries, those whose living depends on the stagecoaches provide a white ladder for you to climb up and step into into that mode of transportation.

And, daily, indoors which requires a ticket, there are simulations of gunfignts. 21st century versions of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday go at it.

So, as your belly up to the bar at the Doc Hollidays Saloon, you can run what might remain just a fantasy in your head: Relocating the whole family from wherever to this real, operational town in Cochise County, AZ. 

It's 72 miles from big-city Tucson, AZ, 478 miles from San Diego, California and a whopping 2,378 from Manhttan, NY. 

Should you want to play with the fantasy, right on Allen you can swing by the Visitors' Bureau. Along with all the glossy public relations publications about the region, there is a real estate guide. The prices won't bug your eyes out. Cochise is so close to Mexico - and in mindsets, a whole different dimension than Tucson, which is getting expensive with the diaspora from CA.

From the get-go, you will notice that "real estate" is defined broadly in Cochise County. It can mean:

• The RV Park
• Campgrounds
• A traditional house
• A condo
• A mobile home (no stigma)
• An apartment (including in nearby Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Douglas and Benson)
• An efficiency, with an alcove for a full-size bed. Small can be enough
• Somone's couch..

Unlike some areas where the rental market is tight, it's relatively easy to find what you want quickly. That's for two reasons. One is the turnover created by Snowbirds. The other is the in-and-out situation which is standard with the military base nearby.

Given the fluidity, if you want to try out Tombstone for, say a month or six months, it's possible to secure a rental for that. 

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)

Opportunity - SmirkSmirk

In influential Law.com, Jason Grant posts this headline:

"With Retroactive 2-Year Suspension, Did Court 'Underplay' Gordon Caplan's Wrongdoing?"

Prior to the announcement of a suspension versus losing his law licence, many assumed this former chair of Willie Faar was finished. Those from a liberal arts background might have attributed his wrongdoing to hubris. That white-shoe lawyer had designated himself as "special." He could play around with the way the college admission process usually is conducted - at least for the rest of us.

Then, there was the new that he got off the hook. He really did. Meanwhile so many other lawyers who took ethical shortcuts or had been convicted of a felony are permanently disbarred. Like Caplan, they had served time in prison. I had coached several of them. They were struggling after release from incarceration. They had to put together another way to earn a living. Their extreme angst was palpable. 

Obviously, in this era when we are questioning inequities created by wealth, elite education and job titles the focus on Caplan will increase.

The court of public opinion could decide just what kind of career he will be able to return to. Users of legal services might say "no" to having him in the loop. In the legal sector he could be treated as a pariah. His crime - considering he was not like the rest of us - could be declared as unforgivable. 

Nerves are raw about special treatment. Opportunity seems circumscribed. Making ends meet increasingly requires more than one job. 

Some of us might decide it's our moral responsiblity to push back on this version of "justice."

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

Aging and the Unfinished Business of Success

Embracing the traditional and rigid model of getting, holding and scaling success lifted our Baby Boomer generation into the middle class - and, yes, beyond. 

The first step - college - was universally available. Unlike now, tuition was peanuts. Part-time jobs were plentiful.

The post-War economy caught fire.  

And, The Pill allowed for limiting the size of families (previously a distraction from chasing success with everything we got). 

But as lawyers, medical doctors, head nurses, public relations experts, information specialists, career military and university professors look back in our 60s and 70s, we are analyzing what the hell that was all about.

For many of us, our careers had peaked. Although more of us are still working, it's more focused on income per se versus Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Last night, on a open Zoom discussion (https://zoom.us/j/99892265318) hosted by Tina Squire, minster at the Sky Island Unitarian Universalist Church, Sierra Vista, Arizona (6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. mountain time) both Baby Boomers and members of Generation X analyzed success. Among the issues were how perspectives on success might shift with aging and how Millennials as well as their parents currently rate its importance.

According to the book "Excellent Sheep," by Yale professor William Deresiewicz, the chase is still going on. And at a feverish pace, at least in the Ivy League. For success, those students are willing to conform as much as Baby Boomers did during the Eisenhower era. 

But, come on, there is that old cliche: On deathbeds no one regrets not working harder. But that might not be true. Some of the conversations during the Unitarian Zoom meeting indicated disappointment at not having been more successful. Obviously, that whole enchilada - how far our careers had taken us - remains for too many of us unfinished business. In my career coaching of those over-50, a dominant meme is the assumption that they could have been a lot more successful, if only ...

Of course, what factored in our revisiting our professional past were issues such as the role of failure and our own "human frailty." With aging comes a reaching in, noted Rev. Squire. And, you bet, both Baby Boomers and Xers are doing that. Inner life can no longer go uninspected.

Yes, yes, yes, there is a school of thought, especially among tech entrepreneurs, that professional life is nothing but an experiment. Most of those experiments don't pan out.

However, the tough nut to crack, at all stages of a career, is to accept that reality. Lawyers try strategies and tactics for both litigation and transactional work. The world, from the leadership in law firms to the media, watch. Failure isn't a private matter. Failure usually entails contracting with a top public relations agency for reputation restoration.

Likely the questioning by Baby Boomers and Generation X might have no influence on the value the next generations in America put on success. When some of us finally broke free we created the Generation Gap. That model continues to dominate. The different generations operate in silos.

Actually, unlike Baby Boomers, Millennials are a highly fragmented bunch. Some, reports INC., are impatient for traditional kinds of success. Among them are the majority of law-firm associates who are convinced they will be promoted to partner.

On the other hand, observes The Guardian, there are the Millennials who demand meaning from professional life. That is more important to them than the size of the paycheck. For that reason, in mission statements employers are hammering purpose. The buzzword "vocation" is back. In his LinkedIn posts digital marketing expert Paul Chaney explores how work can be sacred. His musings are influential. 

All generations are welcome to join the Unitarian discussions, usually based on a particular book (but, no, you don't have to read it), on Wednesday evenings.

At 10:00 a.m. (mountain time) there are a Zoom meditation sessions and discussions https://zoom.us/j/97417456265

My takeaway from circling back to my experiences as a careerist is that more failure came from following supposed expert advice on success than was necessary. Had I trusted my intuition I likely would have had more success and on my own terms. Success can be a beautiful journey. The financial security which sets in with aging can give us the courage to experiment in very different ways. And not default into regret.

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

Yes, Ditch the Whole Retirement Plan

BusinessInsider flags the young: Saving for retirement before 40 can make you miserable. 

Actually, planning for retirement, at any age, can be magical thinking. Already, as the Federal Reserve reports, one-third of those who retire return to working for income. There is even a buzzword for that: reverse retirement.

The raw reality is that stopping working for income is increasingly impossible for many aging. Sure, there are those who managed to put together enough financial resources to see them through a lifespan which could go beyond 100. But most bump into the need to add more funds to make ends meet.

This shift from the pattern of retirement which was standard for Baby Boomer parents really comes down to surrendering the whole notion of a career and embracing work for income. That can be a relief for intense careerists who sacrificed so much for achievement. Working can be filled with joy and satisfaction again. 

If you find it necessary to loop back into the workforce or start a business, here, a free read, is my book on finding, holding an moving on to better work Download Outwitting ageism.

A nice side effect of working when aging is having new people brought in you life. Research documents that it is difficult to make new friends as the years go by. Actually, as The New York Times reports, that can start kicking in at age 30. Being in the workplace opens doors to fresh social possibilities. Those I coach often admit they pursued a part-time job as a solution for growing isolation. 

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

 

You Probably Have Given Up Finding Work - But, You Can Grab Hold of Hope, Again

Bloomberg nails it. Since August 2020, 2.7 million jobs have been created and filled by those under-55. During the same time, only 28,000 55 and over landed work. Overall, about 2 million of those 55 and older have given looking for work.

Some of them have legitimate reasons for dropping out.

They may have feared contacting COVID - and dying.

They may have had it with the pressures of getting, holding and moving on to better work.

Perhaps they have to take care of a parent, spouse or offspring.

Or, they have just needed a nudge to take a retirement package. 

But most, I know from my coaching, just ran low on hope. After overcoming myriad obstacles in their career they assumed they could no longer jump through hoops. Not again. And what for. After all, as ProPublica documents, after losing those good job only 1 in 10 will move on to another which pays comparable compensation. 

Where hope can take root, even after severe disappointments, is where mindsets are open to a fresh start. There is that old adage which is on the money: Nothing gets you a job like a job. Here the aging have to shift from the traditional notion of a career path to the more simple concept of working for income. 

That kind of pivot liberates the 55 and over from the past. They can welcome new experiences, including learning new skills.

That aligns with the Future of Work vision of Willis Towers Watson: Careers are anachronisms. They are being replaced by putting together portfolios of experiences and skills. That process is unlikely to be linear. The security guard could parachute into being a leasing agent for a residential complex. Related? Maybe. But it doesn't represent the expected progression in what used to be career paths. What counts is that there is movement to better-paying, more enjoyable work.

So, how can the aging loop into hope?

What I hammer is this: Get work, any work. That's articulated, along with the how-to, in this book, a free download Download Outwitting ageism. 

The next step is: Don't settle in.

That work experience is simply a bridge to the Next. This is really nothing that new. In the ultimate job guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has documented since The Great Recession the shorter and shorter time any human being will be in any work situation. That is, reinforces the book, there will be a search for work from the get-go in high school or earlier to the day when permanent retirement is selected. 

So, it can comfort the aging that they aren't not the only ones who are caught in the nonstop search for work that brings income. The focus of the new reality is to be heading toward better-paying and a better fit of work.

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

 

From FIRE to Social Security/Medicare - Billy, Akaisha Kaderlis Settle in at Lake Chapala, Mexico on $1,750

At age 38, one-time careerist couple in Santa Cruz, California - Billy and Akaisha Kaderlis - did a FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), reports MarketWatch.

They pulled that off by selling their property (house, cars, restaurant she owned), scaling back expenses, investing and relocating to parts of the world where the cost of living was lower than the U.S. but weather moderate and lifestyle a fit. Essentially they made ends meet through their investments. The annual nut was about $30,000.

Now, at age 66, they finance not-working with Social Security and Medicare. The monthly nut is $1,750.

After trying out a number of nations, they have settled in at Lake Chapala, Mexico. Their apartment rent is a mere $300. The budget-strainer comes from their annual trips back to the U.S. Yes, they have become permanent residents of Mexico. And, yes, that was a red-tape nightmare. But, the horror is over. Since the region is populated with other expats, they feel comfortable and safe. But they warn that the borders are dangerous. There are senior discounts for cultural events. 

The Kaderlis' current saga mirrors the typical stories featured in International Living. That's the resource for retiring or experimenting with living abroad.

However FIREs and comfortable retirements on a relatively small budget don't mandate leaving the U.S. Research and talking with a lot of people will unmask comparable bargains within our borders. 

For example, in Douglas, Arizona, a one-bedroom apartment can be rented for $450. Here is an example. Actually, there are studio apartments for as low as $308. Here is an example.

Douglas is a small city of more than 17,000. It is very much like nearby other towns near the Mexico border -  Sierra Vista and Bisbee. The residents are diverse in all three locations. The nearest large American city is Tucson. San Diego, California is reachable with an eight-hour drive.

A good life costing relative peanuts can be put together in Douglas as well as surrounding areas.

The myth is that AZ is no longer a bargain with the flight of the financially challenged from CA to that state. The reality is that it takes hunting and human contacts to uncover where low-cost lifestyles are still doable. Incidentally, mobile-home residences don't carry a stigma in most of AZ as they do in myriad other locations. 

Takeaway: Taking on the challenge of being an expat isn't a must to structure a FIRE or retirement/semiretirement you can manage. 

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

Retirement & Relocation - "Affordable" Can Mean High-Crime, Lousy Weather

The dream of retirement on the cheap is darkening.

As MarketWatch points out to "Mo" who writes in, living on $800 to $1,200 monthly can mean high crime and lousy weather. MarketWatch makes suggestions outside the U.S., ranging from Mazatlan, Mexico to Merida, Mexico. Factor in crime and heat.

I would add, within the U.S., cities in Ohio such as Youngstown and Toledo. In the latter, two police officers were fatally shot when doing their jobs. In both, you endure the brutal midwest winter. 

Since making it on peanuts is increasingly impossible - at least if you want to be safe and like the weather - an option is not to plan to retire. Instead, when your career is nearing its end, prepare to simply keep working for income. That could include any kind of work or training for jobs in demand. Your new direction could be it freelancing in what you used to do, taking on gig assignments and/or reskilling for long-distance truck driving or being a substance-abuse counselor.

According to the research by ProPublica, the odds are that you will be forced out of that good job - yes, because of age.  Also, if you do land another full-time job, it's unlikely to pay what your earlier job had. Only one in 10 match their former compensation.

The good news is that beyond the usual parameters of career paths, work is plentiful. That is, if you are willing to give up on status, high pay and security. Here is my bible on getting, holding and moving on to better work, at any age - a free read Download Outwitting ageism. In addition, reskilling can be low-cost online, at a trade school or at a community college. 

For instance, learning to drive a rig interstate can only represent an investment of $1,500. Often, though, it is about $7,000. Loans are available. If you receive financial aid that's free. Also some businesses will pick up the entire expense if you agree to drive for them for two years. 

If you are willing to embrace hustling, you have the option of aging-in-place. You don't relocate. Since you know the ins and outs of where you have been living it will be easier for you to find work or start a business. What you avoid having to do is the tough challenge of making new friends. It's documented that with aging it's difficult to acquire a new social network. The reality is that people's social circles rarely change after they are 30. 

Should you age-in-place there are myriad options to keep housing costs manageable. One is co-living or renting out rooms in your home. You recruit boarders who can pitch in with maintenance. Among the renters could be a landscaper and a plumber. Another option is to put yourself on the waiting list for subsidized senior housing. A third is to downsize to a studio apartment. Donate your furniture to charity. 

Back around 2014, some media outlets were gushing about older Americans living in Ecuador for only $700 a month. It was also possible for retirees to participate in the national healthcare system.

However, International Living now provides the cost breakdown for a couple at about more than $20,000 annually. In addition, there is the matter of crime. Non-natives are targeted. A third issue is the ability to adjust to a very different lifestyle. The strong pro about relocating to Ecuador, though, is that many expats start online businesses. 

Retiring used to be an event - analogous to graduating college or experiencing the birth of the first child. Now it is more and more a state of transition. That can be ongoing, extending for the rest of your life. 

A typical scenario: The career is losing traction or is already over. Since longevity could go on to over-100, the angst is about running out of money. There are more and more approaches to address that fear. In the process, you could land a solution which makes you a "late bloomer." The ways of earning income you try out could unleash talents you never had been aware you had. After all, traditional career paths can stuff you into a narrow box.

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

If Your Grandchildren Ask for Advice about Going for the M.B.A. (and graduate degrees)

For Baby Boomers wanting to pivot into the professional big time, the M.B.A. was the ticket.

 The degree was respected by employers. The new skills learned, new networks formed and the M.B.A. brand itself usually produced the expected results.

Just beginning matriculating for the M.B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh I was able to make the transition from nonprofit to the Fortune 100. My compensation more than doubled. The development provided by corporate had been amazing. Eventually, I understood business enough to launch two boutiques. 

That was then.

Now, as The Wall Street Journal reports, employers are no longer so bullish on the M.B.A. An undergraduate business degree might be enough for their needs. Also, there if the "cost" of compensating the M.B.A. in an era of extreme cost-efficiency.

However, investing the time and money in the degree may be smart under certain conditions. For example, if you are "stuck" in a shrinking industry or are determined to migrate to another one the two-year degree makes sense. Also, it can pay off for anyone aiming for a whole new start in the work world.

In addition the the M.B.A., other advanced degrees are under scrutiny. For example, beginning way back in 2016, influential The Economist has been questioning the monetary return on myriad doctoral programs. The interest in pursuing those programs can drop off during COVID-19. A number of elite graduate schools have suspended admission to the programs until further notice. That can have a negative impact on the future of such courses of study.

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