Over-50

Letting Go of the BigJob - When Is It Time?

"Many baby boomers—especially those at the top of their game—struggle with the decision to step down. And when they leave, the transition is often ‘painful and messy ...'" - Betsy Morris, The Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2021.  

The classic template for retirement is that established by Johnny Carson. He left at the top of his game. His final show celebrated what he had put in play. And that was that.

Later David Letterman modified that model. Essentially he put aside his personal brand as The Comic. But he still remains in the game. For instance, he did a bit on the 2020 Emmys and hosts on Netflix "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction."

However, most brandname aging professionals find retiring unthinkable. Even "stepping back" horrifies them.

There is lots to be said - and they know it - to exit or "step back" when the reputation is still intact. But, that entails so much loss. It entails everything from money to being in demand (the email box is full, plenty of texts ping, the phone clamors). The reality is that once the job per se is over so often also is the personal branding.

In capitalism, you are your official title. Retirement can mean becoming invisible. Thought leader Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld detailed that tragedy in the book "The Hero's Farewell." It's painful to recall how one-time business giants Lee Iacocca and Jack Welch struggled to hang on after they retired from their chief executive officer positions. 

Those who opt to embrace some version of getting off the career track frequently make a mess of it. They often attempt to hang in, becoming a kind of public nuisance. One former law firm partner I coached came to me with the awareness that he was making a pest of himself spouting off plans to create a class-action law firm. The pain of that humiliation set him off abusing alcohol. His first step back to finding post-career work with a purpose was climbing out of his comfort zone. Here is my book, a free read, on that process. 

On the other hand, if professionals dig in their heels and conjure up strategies and tactics to remain just where they are on their career paths they also risk humiliation. They may experience cognitive decline and it shows. Ambitious younger careerists could be launching stealth attacks, including on the reputational front. There are smirks in the background. The good assignments might not be coming to them. The power brokers could be forcing them out. Initially it could begin with a pay cut. 

There are no absolute answers about when to let the big job go. Those who are equally in-tune with how the marketplace perceives them and where they are in their own overall abilities can do an audit. What can they continue to contribute to their organization and simultaneously prevent what could trigger downward trajectories? Of course, that assessment is an encounter with raw reality.

Capitalism is a harsh task-master, usually unforgiving. In addition, there are the usual monsters of the mind which undermine rational thinking. That inner chatter can and usually does have professionals in vulnerable situations shoot themselves in the foot. 

What makes the coming-to-jesus moment of clarity less traumatic is to get serious about creating a post-career plan. Yes, the big career ends. But work doesn't. That plan has a better shot at playing out well if there is no visible decline in performance or reputation before stepping back. 

The next kind of work can produce a fresh type of success. Professionals who let go of what they had could discover the unleashing of talents which makes them authentic late bloomers. There really is such a phenomenon. University of Chicago researcher David W. Galeson documented how talent might find its way of manifesting itself when youth is over. His seminal book is "Old Masters and Young Geniuses."

Also, the Future of Work is an unknown. Professionals who step back may be surprised what they step into. The world they left behind back there may vanish. 

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)

Retirement/Semiretirement & Relocation - Can You Break into the Social Networks?

Daily, those planning to retire/semiretire contact MarketWatch about the best fit for them to relocate. 

Usually, the questions refer to cost of living, weather and recreational activities.

But, the elephant in the room on that one really is: Can you break into the social networks in that new location? This is important. Overall, it's difficult to make new friends as you age. That's documented by research.

The major reason why is this: With aging comes the experience of being let down or even betrayed by supposed friends. You have become astute at spotting the red flags indicating trouble down the road. So, you exit that new relationship pronto, before it even gets off the ground. Soon enough you find yourself isolated, unless there is a large pool of people in the area. Among them you could land a few friendships, in time.

Therefore, the dream of spending the golden years in a small fishing village or remote town in the desert may leave you unbearably lonely. 

It might be wise to compromise. Relocate where there are enough human beings for you to eventually develop relationships. If that costs a bit more than the tiny community near the borders of nowhere, consider picking up part-time jobs/gig assignments or starting up a small business. Here is a free read on all that Download Outwitting ageism

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

 

Retirement: The Pivot Model

"After improving slightly in 2019, the outlook for financial security in retirement for workers ages 30 to 59 deteriorated in 2020, according to a study released Tuesday by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research." - Anne Tergesen, The Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2021.

According to that survey, the majority - 51% - risk not being able to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. That is up from 49% in 2019. 

The primary cause for the increase is the fallout from COVID-19. Both the present and the future are in play. No one knows what will really happen on the macro level of the world economy, national economies, industries and companies. There are also as many unknows on the micro level of the individual worker or the self-employed. 

Meanwhile, the Future of Work is scary for human beings. The robots seem to be getting the upper hand. 

Because of the extensive uncertainty, there are no absolute answers as there had been in our parents' work life. 

Back then, a comfortable retirement could be assured by sticking with one employer which guaranteed a job for life and a pension. In addition, sock something away for emergencies such as if the divorced son or daughter bounces home with grandchildren and you have to pitch in financially. And that was that. 

Currently the very possibility of not working for income seems elusive. Sure, some might be able to financially pull that off and live the good life. But most will discover, even before stopping work, retirement is 20th century. Those who do retire, the Federal Reserve found, frequently bounce back into the workforce. The common reason is that they cannot make ends meet. So far, one-third of retirees have returned to the labor market. 

Instead of planning for retirement per se, it is more realistic to create a strategy to have enough income as you age so that you don't have to work full-time and/or do what you hope not to do any more. For example, if you are putting in those hellish hours in professional services such as law or management consulting, focus on money-management so that eventually you can do that part-time or on a contract basis. 

With the gig economy on a growth trajectory it is easier to land just-in-time assignments in your field of expertise. Between gigs, you can enjoy living your life on your own terms, just as you daydreamed about during the peak years of your career. That phase of your work life can be labeled "semiretirement."

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)

Aging & Haven't Made It Big Yet - Maybe You Don't Understand American Ethos of Success

Some people just got an instinct for success. 

Obviously, make-believe heiress Anna Sorokin aka Anna Devey is among them.

Sure, she wound up in prison for her attempted con of securing a multi-million-dollar loan and actually living the good life without paying the bill.

But in October she obtained parole and could be released next month. That will dovetail with the release of a Netflix film about her amazing life. For that she had been paid about one-hundred-thousand bucks. However, the law mandates the funds circle back to the victims she hoodwinked.

In the process of the Netflix undertaking, of course, she has strengthened her brandname. America, founded by a bunch of misfits who couldn't cut it in the old country, loves its outliers.

Her touch, this time on the legal side, will remain magic. The American Way is supposedly boyscoutish/girlscoutish. But the reality is that most who who made it big knew their way around the official rules. Those who stayed big did that within the parameters of the U.S. legal system - sometimes with the help of prominent lawyers.

Likely Sorokin has learned much about all that in a short time. Also, she has acquired the resources to operate within the system. Although born outside the United States, Sorokin had a deep understanding of its complex success ethos.

Of course, in prison she was no slouch when it came to creating a platform for her future. She launched a personal blog, reports Daily Mail. It's called "Anna Devey Diaries." That name, in itself, has become a powerful kind of trademark.  In it, she complains about the lack of luxury items such as gourmet salad dressing. Likely, when on the outside, she will start a podcast. Here is my article, published in Odwyerpr.com, on how that medium is doing in 2021 and how to make yours noticed.

It is never too late for the aging in America to shake off all the misleading success advice foisted on you since high school. For most of us, that kept us servants of the system. Not masters of it. 

It's not unthinkable that in time Sorokin could reimagine herself into a great philanthropist. Her legacy could be one of extreme service to humanity. That's also embedded into the American ethos of success. 

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

2021 v. 1967 - The New Eden

Some personally remember what could be thought of as "The Fire This Time."

In 1967, urban areas such as Detroit, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey went up in flames. The front lines of those uprisings were alleged to be people of color.

Currently, the insurrections are very different. Instead of fire, there are firearms and bombs. Instead of people of color there allegedly are those championing the white race. Likely more lives will be lost this time around than back in the late 1960s. In addition, there could be greater fear of society unraveling. The veneer of civilization becomes just that - clearly an illusion.

How well the guardians of civilization - law enforcement - can uphold that concept will be on trial during the transition in Administrations. That will be played out both in D.C. and in the states.

What could attract more interest is the saga of a modern-day hermit who turned his back on the nuisances and comforts of civilization. That had been Christopher Knight. His story is told in "The Stranger in the Woods" by Michael Finkel. In 1986, he entered the woods of Maine. Until he was discovered there in 2013, Knight got by without human companionship, a job, medical care or technology. At 133,490, the book remains a best-seller.

More of the wealthy are doing a less radical version of what Knight pulled off. They are pivoting out of sophisticated urban areas and putting together a lifestyle beyond the parameters of what had been considered The Good Life. The New Paradise is a large ranch in Wyoming. Telecommuting makes that more and more possible. 

I found my Eden in the small town on the border of Mexico: Sierra Vista, Arizona. My vehicle had been vandalized in Toledo, Ohio. During the 1967 riots my parents' car had been pelted with rocks. The local police station had been invaded. Fires raged on main streets. 

A liberal arts major (along with picking up advanced degrees in literature and language) I align with the world view of William Shakespeare. He saw mankind as "cankered in the grain." In his tragedies and history dramas he captured that dark side. 

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When the "Inner Voice" Hammers You about Aging

That "inner voice" has many nicknames.

Those range from The Inner Terrorist to The Harsh Critic. And, in aging, as we adjust to that stage of life, that phenomenon can impede our ability to get, hold and move on to better work. That monster of the mind can torment us with all the reasons those hiring us won't. Or if we are forced out of our current work situation, the monster assures us that we will never land another income-producing whatever.

In The Guardian, psychologist Ethan Kross explains how important it is develop a good relationship with that inner voice. Of course, that's not a piece of cake. Most relationships are difficult in themselves. And as they change they become even more challenging.

What I recommend to those over-50 who consult me about work is to listen to the voice. That's the first step. Find out what it is saying. Then do a message audit. What aspects of the statements are true? For example, The Harsh Critic warns you will never be hired because we look so fat and old. That may be a useful observation, delivered in an ugly manner. But it should not be ignored. Time has come to reimagine your appearance. Being attractive distracts attention from no longer being young. 

The next step is to learn to create an off-switch for the voice. If your assignment is over and you have no new ones in the pipeline, you probably lack the strength to absorb the negative. Tell yourself, you owe it to yourself to screen the messaging from within, for the current time. Meditation can still the mind. So can prayer. Exercise is nature's tranquilizer. 

A third step is to sort out what are old tapes, which no longer apply. Sure, you made the mistake on the first job of confiding to the wrong people. When the content of those conversations were disclosed, you came across as a complainer. Not good. Since then, you have mastered the art of coming across as open but actually being quite circumspect. 

Here, a free read, is my book on those monsters of the mind.

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

ACI Information Group Syndicates YourCareerCoachingWithJaneGenova

I am thrilled to announce that my blog YourCareerCoachingWithJaneGenova is being syndicated by ACI Information Group.

That means that many more with work challenges will be able to access that source of information and insight.

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

Retirement - Stop that Foolish Thinking

Again, a reader writes to MarketWatch about if and when retirement can happen. The question is from an unemployed pregnant woman. 

Increasingly, that's the wrong question. In the post-COVID reset of the global business world that kind of preoccupation about the future might go poof.

The reality is that the traditional notion of retirement - that is, stopping to do work for income - is becoming an impossibility. According to the Federal Reserve, about one-third of those who retire bounce back into the workforce. The term for that is "reverse retirement." 

The growth in the demand for my coaching services is from those who are stunned to discover they can't make ends meet, even after just a few years of living on Social Security, a pension and investments. Maybe the taxes had been raised on their house. Their divorced daughter moved in with three young children. There are medical bills, big ones, not covered by Medicare and its Supplements. A spouse needs long-term care. 

When working, retirement should no longer be a dream. Instead the future can be reimagined as being able to step back from careerism and simply do work to add to income. The middle years often are so much a pressure-cooker because of all the hoops that have to be jumped through for a career. The stress never lets up.

Working is very different. That's one reason for the augmented content in the lives of the aging. That never-satisfied beast - the career - is slain.

If you are retired and it's no longer doable, you can change the channel in your head. Embrace the idea that working to boost income can be a welcome shift from what your routine is now. Also, it's a source of meeting new people, tough as you get older. In addition, work leads to better work. The next job or assignment could pay more, have more status and make you feel very good about yourself.

If you change to that mind shift DIY, I am here for you. 

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