Job Searching Over the Age of 45

So – you’re in the middle of your career, looking carefully at your retirement savings, moving into a better place financially, and WHAM! – your job gets eliminated. Now what?

Well – you have choices: a) Freak out. Panic. b) Get angry. c) Get really depressed about the state of the job market. d) Take a real look at your career, and make the best of the situation. e) All of the above.

For those of us who’ve managed to successfully move from one state of employment to another over the past many months, it is most likely “e) All of the above.” We do indeed move from fear, anger through depression, into denial land and maybe – with some hard work – to acceptance of the new reality in which we live.

It’s hard. Boomers entered the job market at a time when we were told, “Work hard. Be a company person, and you’ll retire, get the watch and be fine. The company will take care of you if you take care of the company.” What a load that turned out to be! Right?

So – again – we have choices. I choose freedom and independence over dependence and servitude. I don’t plan to ever be truly dependent upon a third party for my financial and personal well-being. I own my career, and I am going to act like I own it. This means:

a. Making a commitment to on-going learning and remaining curious about how the broader economy can use what I have to offer.

b. If my skills start to get stale, I’m going to keep them fresh or learn new ones.

c. If my job stalls, I’m going to either get or make a new one.

This new reality might seem scary or intimidating to many of us. But I find it wonderfully liberating. We don’t have to be tied to a job we don’t like. We can – and should – constantly be working to stay current and fresh. And – I will never let my network fall apart.

I’m working with people who – at age 50 or even older – are embarking upon brand new careers. I admire them, and I know they will succeed. They have embraced this new world, and are taking affirmative steps to claim ownership of their own careers.

Let’s all make a commitment to follow their lead.

Who Is Hiring?

Unemployment hit 8.5% according to the latest figures from the US Department of Labor. And most experts expects the job market to remain tough for job seekers through early 2010. That said, there are still pockets of positive activity in the job market, and we are even starting to see some hopeful signs for a broader recovery in the daily drum beat of bad news. Larry Summers, Director of the White House Economic Council, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal last weekend as saying, “You couldn’t find any sprouts of green. Now while the statistics remain very mixed, you can find some sprouts of green.” Okay – great! But where, exactly, are these “sprouts of green”?

The Keys to Employment - Connections

I live in St. Louis, MO, and this Sunday, the St. Louis Post Dispatch ran this article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/C762D9A074D22A03862575950002DECF?OpenDocument

From the article, here is a break down of some interesting numbers:

Nearly half of laid-off workers have found jobs

A look at the job hunt

— 49 percent had landed new jobs.

— 49 percent of those were earning less money than before their layoff.

— 38 percent of those with new jobs are employed in a different field.

— Workers between the ages of 35-44 are most likely to find new jobs.

— Workers between the ages of 18-24 are least likely to find new jobs.

— Companies are more likely to hire an unemployed man than an unemployed woman.

— One-sixth of those with new jobs are getting higher pay.

— One-sixth had to relocate for a job.

— One-sixth are working more hours.

So – there is some hope. And – the local article included some information confirming that some local organizations are hiring. The keys – health services, and high skill jobs are easiest to find. Career Builder includes information about 10 companies currently hiring, and the focus was on health services and insurance. So – where’s the green? It’s exactly where we expect it to be – health care. IT, insurance and high skill positions. So what does this mean for people currently looking for jobs?

1. It is about connections and contacts. In truth, it always has been about connections and contacts, but that is especially true is this highly charged and highly competitive market. In the St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Centene Corp. Chief Administrative Office Carol Goldman said applications are running about 300 for every single opening. I’d be surprised if it’s a lot different at most organizations. So – it becomes even more important than ever to give hiring managers a reason to talk to you, and the best reason is because someone they trust brings your interest forward. In other words, you need connections as a mans to improve the odds from 1 of 300 applicants to 1 of 6-7 who will be interviewed.

2. Be flexible! You may need to look in a different field (38% of recent hires found jobs in different fields,) and you might need to relocate.

3. Keep your skills up-to-date. If you need a degree, a certification or special training to move to the top of applicant lists, this is a great time to upgrade your credentials.

What are you doing to stand out in the crowd? Drop us a comment, and let us know!

10 Job Search Lessons from Battlestar Galactica

Here is a link to a great article – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032003969.html. 10 Business Lessons From ‘Battlestar Galactica’, which initially appeared in PC World. Robert Strohmeyer draws some great lessons for all of us from this amazing television series, which recently ended a terrific run on the SciFi network.

With all apologies to Robert, I’m going to borrow his 10 lessons, and apply them to lessons for your job search:

1. Don’t Rely on Technology – Humanity built the Cylons (technology), and the Cylons hacked into the human defense network and nearly rendered the human race extinct. The Galactica survived only because it was “off line” when the near fatal first strike was launched. Lesson – technology (the Internet) is a very seductive mistress, but she will steal your time, heart and can suck the life out of an effective search. It’s about PEOPLE, not technology.

2. Don’t Neglect Training. Galactica lost almost all of its pilots in one episode and had to build back its fighter pilot fleet from scratch. Your search might be derailed because you didn’t keep your skills ready for a new market. Getting a degree, earning certifications in specific areas or learning new things might be necessary to survive in this new economy.

3.  You Can’t Outsource Everything (or Your Search). It’s really easy to simply post your resume and had it off to contacts, a recruiter or friends. It won’t work. Humanity got itself into major trouble by outsourcing as much labor as possible to robots. The robots rebelled, and humanity nearly bit the dust. Your search can quickly bite the dust if you don’t stay active, own it, and take responsibility for making contacts and moving it forward.

4.  Update Your Antivirus. Okay – this one is a stretch for a search – but here goes. Admiral Adama’s fleet nearly got decimated when a Cylonvirus almost flushed all of the atmosphere into space. Job searches can be “flushed” by developing a bad or negative attitude. So – just like your computer needs up-to-date anti-virus software, you need to make sure you have a mechanism to fight off the blahs, keep your mood up and remain positive. For many people, the answer is exercise. Find your “anti-mood” remedy, and get it going.

5. Democracy Doesn’t Always Work – At the end of the second season, the civilians vote to stay on a planet they called “New Caprica.” Well – this populist decision went down the tubes when the Cylons show up and enslave the whole civilian population. Adama took the military fleet away before the Cylons arrived, and saved them all in the end. We are frequently tempted to ask for help, advice and suggestions from all comers during a search. Everyone you ask is truly trying to help, but the advice you get may not be targeted to actually meet YOUR needs. And much of the advice might even be contradictory. So – own your own search. Take the advice that makes sense to you, and move forward.

6. Some Problems Can’t Be Killed – The Cylons had “resurrection” technology, meaning that you couldn’t really kill them. You might kill a copy, but a new one was “born” nearly right away. During the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, Starbuck repeatedly killed one of her captors, but he just kept coming back. Some problems simply won’t go away. So figure out what they are, and deal with them. Ignoring them or trying to kill them won’t work.

7. Seek Strategic Alliances With Competitors – Frenemies are foes or rivals who are your friend for a time based upon some mutual need or mutual interest. In season 4, the Cylons had a civil war, and the rebels linked up with the human fleet in order to survive and find Earth. Humanity evens the playing field by destroying the Cylon resurrection hub, and the Cylons lose their immortality, and with it, their big advantage. As you move forward in your search, you will see just how competitive the job market is. Don’t ignore colleagues or other people you meet who might be looking at the same opportunities as you. Remember, you’re in the same situation, so find ways to share leads and ideas. After all, an ally made today, can be an ally for tomorrow, too.

8. Don’t Store All Your Back-ups In One Place (Or Store All Your Effort In One Opportunity) – You need back-ups – lots of them. Yes – that interview went great, and yes, it’s a perfect job for you. But – do not let your other leads get away from you until you actually land. The market is tough, competitive and you need to make sure you have contingencies in place.

9. The Mission Can Change At Any Time – Humanity found Earth, but Earth had been rendered uninahbitable by a nuclear holocost 2,000 years before the fleet arrived. The new mission – find another home. Your search may have mnay starts, stops, turns and twists. Be flexible. You simply never know where that next great job might be.

10. Beware of Visionaries – There are very few truly great visionaries out there. On the other hand, there are a lot of Admiral Cains who are out there for their own self aggrandizement. Unfortunately, there are people preying on the fears and insecurity many of us experience in this very troubled economic and job market. Avoid them. Pay attention to offers of help and assistance from people with no stake for themselves in your success.

Are we there yet? Or – has the economy finally bottomed out?

Wouldn’t we all love to know the answer to that question! The simple truth of the matter is that nobody knows for sure. But – we are starting to get some glimmers of hope.

Concern Over Economy

1. The stock market. I really don’t like to pay a ton of attentionn to the market. Day-to-day swings aren’t very good barometers of the real health of the economy, and that’s certainly true if we look carefully at the last 20 months. However, more than 50% of Americans now own stock of some sort – 401k, IRA, etc. SO the market – in an odd way – serves  a a sort of “national mood ring” on thebroader economy. As the market cratered from September through February, everything in the economy came to a grinding halt. Consumer confidence fell, and everyone – businesses and consumers – basically stopped spending, which, in turn, helped drive down the market, which then slowed spending, and, well – you get the idea. The past couple of weeks have seen a nice rally in themarkets. Whether this is the start of a long recoveryremains to be seen, but it is very encouraging for the start-up of a real recovery.

2. Sales of existing homes. This index showed a 2.1% jump in February, which was quite a bit higher than expected. The housing market and its long, deep slump has been and remains a real drag on any recovery. But – if existing inventory starts to move again, this vital segment might really be looking at the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s definitely a buyers’ market, and may – just maybe – buyers are entering the market and taking advantage of both high inventory and low interest rates.

3. Consumer spending. This is another tell-tale sign things might be coming around. Spending is up a bit, and it just might trend upwards for another month or so. That would be great news, because the ripple effect on inventories, manufacturing, etc. could be important.

4. Stimulus spending. It really doesn’t matter whether you like the stimulus package or not. The infusion of billions of federal dollars into the economy will impact the pace of any recovery. While we’d all like to see lower deficits, the simple fact of the matter is this federal spending will find its way into the pockets of millions of Americans a thousands of businesses. This extra cash will spur spending, and speed up the recovery.

The one fly in the ointment, however, is the job market. It looks like large scale hiring will not rebound as quickly as other elements of the broader economy. But – there is reason to hope, and reason to stay in the hunt.