Article 43
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Working Wonders - Old Farts
Older workers, stay positive in your job search!
By Marvin Walberg
Scripps Howard News Service
May 22, 2009
I know that it’s not going to go away, but the DOOM AND GLOOM stories about job loss are simply spreading MORE DOOM AND GLOOM. How about SOME ADVICE and positive news?
This morning the article started on page one. A 61-year old man with 40-years of experience lost his job.
"Where is a man MY AGE to find a job that pays more than minimum wage, even though I have more than 40 years of management experience?”, he asked in an on-line posting. “I am lost. In the morning I will awake and....have nowhere to go,” he continues. Then, the article goes to page seven. They get your attention, TOTALLY DEPRESS YOU, and then leave you with pages to turn!
On page seven, the article does make reference to a counselor who works with older job searchers, but still offers little in the way of direction or guidance. Bad news sells.
A 61-year old man, with health, energy and passion for his work, who also has over 40-years of management experience, just might be someone high on an employer’s list of “must-haves”—if he positions himself correctly and starts networking and selling.
But first he has to think outside the box. He has over 40-years of management experience that just happened to be in the foundry industry, but can be transferred to any other industry that needs people with experience in the following: Hiring, training, motivating, leading, disciplining, coaching and teaching a work ethic that comes with maturity and more than 40-years of experience.
So who will hire a 61-year old man? Any employer may who needs experience and realizes that a 61-year old man is in the prime of his working lifetime. Let’s talk positives, not negatives!
Instead of just sending out resumes and posting on Internet sites, he needs to think about his accomplishments and how to transfer his expertise to other industries. Then get out and network like crazy. Find support groups in churches or your local Chamber, tell everyone you know all about you and do some homework on the Internet. Find employers who need managers, get names and titles and start making contact and asking for interviews.
Be positive and believe in what you have accomplished and what you CAN STILL DO FOR YOUR NEXT EMPLOYER.
Sell yourself!
Marvin Walberg is a job search coach. Contact him at mwalberg(at)bellsouth.net, BLOG, or PO Box 43056, Birmingham, AL 35243.
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Hiring Older Workers Is Good For The Office, Study Shows
By Ann Brenoff
Huffington Post
January 31, 2014
A study in the U.K. says that hiring older workers might actually be good for your company.
They not only serve as mentors to younger staff, but they also don’t call in sick as much when they are hungover and have a great track record for showing up for work on time. They also are just as technologically savvy as their younger counterparts, the study found.
According to a Daily Mail REPORT ON THE SURVEY, conducted by the Nationwide building society, even younger workers liked having some gray hairs around. Around 16 percent of Nationwide’s 17,000 employees are over 50, and two percent are 60 or older, said the Daily Mail. The study reported that almost half of the Nationwide workers over the age of 55 hadn’t taken a sick day in the past year, and most people in that age group “usually arrived early to work.”
And it’s clearly a good thing that their younger peers see the VALUE IN HAVING THEM AROUND because by 2019, PREDICTS the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, workers 55 and older will comprise 25 percent of the workforce. The Urban Institute PREDICTS workers 50 years and older will make up 35 percent of the labor force by 2019.
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Employers are turning to older workers to fill job needs
By Dr. Steven Lindner
The Workplace Group
October 4, 2016
The oldest Baby Boomers reached the full retirement age of 65 years old in 2011, yet we are seeing many of the workers in this generation refusing to go into conventional retirement.
Rather, they are reinventing themselves and changing society’s view of the older worker.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Baby Boomers totaled more than 75 million people in 2015 and were supplanted as the largest age demographic by the Millennials, who now represent more than one-quarter of the nation’s population.
Baby Boomers who have retired from their long-term employers are now more likely than ever to take on other employment opportunities.
Retired from your previous employer no longer means retired from working altogether. Many retirees will take time to travel, play golf, complete the long overdue home project they have been wanting to do or some other project of theirs.
But after a short hiatus from a daily work schedule, a large number of Baby Boomers are coming back to the workforce.
At this stage of their lives, Baby Boomers are in a position to follow several different paths. With a good 10 years left of active employment, they tend to choose paths that have meaning and passion to them.
Although many continue in their life-long occupation, an equal number change course and pursue a second career.
With employers’ growing demands for workers across professional and trade occupations alike, there are big knowledge, skill and leadership gaps in the U.S. workforce.
But employers are turning to the older worker not just for their industry knowledge and skills, but to assist with filling in at positions that remain open due to lack of available job candidates.
To boost the supply of talent in the job market, smart employers are turning to older workers.
For example, THE WORKPLACE GROUP has launched recruitment strategies to attract them for everything from key leadership positions, advisory roles, IT and engineering roles, to serving as contact center agents assisting customers with orders, billing, and product and service related questions.
Older workers are also sought for seasonal hiring needs, particularly as the holiday season quickly approaches.
Whereas many companies have shied away from seasoned employees out of concerns that they won’t be able to afford them or offer them the job they once had, the truth is older workers value other aspects of work.
Many don’t want to return to their stressful full-time roles and are less interested in making the amount of money that they once did. Rather, they are far more interested in work that appeals to them and want employers who value them.
According to Laurie Pellegrino, founder and principal at Pellegrino Associates in New Providence, N.J., and who specializes in Executive Coaching and Leadership Development, older workers enjoy stimulating work environments and being part of the team.
They enjoy diversity of thought and often adjust better to changes in corporate organizations and practices than their younger colleagues.
After all, they have had a lifetime of learning how to deal with continual change. Ms. Pellegrino reminds us that older workers deeply appreciate being recognized for their help.
“A sincere thank you goes a long way,” she says.
Older workers often have greater flexibility with their schedules, as well as their finances, since most now have children living on their own, and large expenses like mortgages and college tuition generally are behind them.
Employers need to be creative in attracting the older worker. They are not necessarily looking for online job ads. Thus, recruitment strategies that reach out to workers over age 55 and invite them to consider an opportunity tend to be most successful.
Older workers who want to help recruiters and employers find them, should:
Energize their network
Track down former colleagues you enjoyed conducting business with and speak with them about what they are doing now. Utilize various social media channels such as LinkedIn to re-establish connections with past co-workers.
Keep their LinkedIn profile current
Continuously update your LinkedIn profile. If you’re not on any professional social media outlets, now is the time to take the leap. Meaningful job opportunities are more likely to come your way when your peer group knows what you have done and what you want to do next.
Utilize online job boards
Websites such as Career Builder, The Ladders, simply hired, and Monster.com have emerged as go-to sources for employers to advertise open positions and search for rsums.
Some sites such as RetiredBrains.com and Seniors4Hire.com specialize in job seekers age 50-plus. Consider uploading your r驩sum to make it easy for recruiters to find you and applying to job openings that interest you.
Stay active in their target profession
Attend professional conferences, take continuing education courses, pursue certification, or join a local business chamber.
Not only will this help you stay current and “in the know,” but it will also help you forge new relationships and potentially lead to your next fulfilling career opportunity.
Dr. Steven Lindner is the executive partner of The WorkPlace Group, a leading “think-tank” provider of talent acquisition and recruitment process outsourcing services helping employers find, screen, assess and onboard best talent.
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