Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

What’s age got to do with your career?

By

There’s no question that generational issues play into job search. I wanted to share a few key details I learned in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Atlanta’s conference this week, “What’s Age Got to Do with It?” Presented by Maureen Kelly, Atlanta Regional Convention, Heyward Williams, Georgia Power and Rosalia Thomas, IBM, the talk focused on how companies can help retain workers who may be retirement age and touched on generational issues in the workplace.

Boomers

The session addressed the issue of how companies can plan for and harness the power of their more experienced workers who may plan to retire in search of flexibility, but may still be willing to and interested in contributing to the organization’s brain trust. Job seekers may not realize that some companies are actually concerned about the fact that their more seasoned, knowledgeable workers may leave the organization high and dry when it is time to leave. With the projected number of people aged 65+ expected to grow exponentially, it’s an important topic to consider.

The presentation shared the following statistics:

– By 2010, 40% of the U.S. workforce will be over 40.

– Regarding the federal workforce (1.6 million civilians):

  • 50% can retire in the next 5 years
  • 70% are supervisors
  • NASA: scientists and engineers over 60 outnumber those under 30, 3 to 1.

In 1991, 11% planned to continue working past age 65.

In 2010, 33% expect to continue working past 65.

When I was tweeting this session, I heard from several Twitter friends questioning if people really wanted to stay in the workforce, or if financial considerations were primary decision factors. In fact, the presentation suggested that 71% of these workers are happy with their job and do not want to leave. (Per CNNMoney.com). (Of course, this is just a statistic, and will vary from person to person, but there was a strong feeling in the room that people WANT to work because they enjoy it and want to continue to contribute.)

The presentation noted these companies as having best practices regarding keeping their experienced professionals engaged in programs such as mentoring, consulting, advising, etc: Pfizer, Georgia Power, IBM, WellStar. These are companies that value age and experience. This is important to note.

(An aside: for those interested in exploring “encore careers” – work that combines passion, purpose and income, check out http://www.encore.org/.)

Gen Y

At the end of the talk, Rosalia Thomas from IBM shared some interested points regarding her impressions of Gen Y employees. In her view, Ys want everything quickly, want to move up and quickly take on leadership roles. They don’t offer any loyalty. She believes they focus mainly on how they will benefit from the job and how they can move to the next job. In fact, she related a story of a young hire who explained that she was only in the job for as long as she was benefiting, and planned to move on as soon as it was feasible. While Ms. Thomas’ explained that Gen Y job seekers have seen their parents burned by loyalty, the explanation didn’t seem to temper her opinion of employees so blunt about their goals and plans.

Ms. Thomas seemed very concerned with the trends she is seeing with Gen Y employees. It is important to point out that, while being loyal to a company may not be realistic or even expected, it may not behoove entry-level workers to be quite so direct about their plans. There is a lot of focus on authenticity in the blogosphere, but, for Gen Yers who wish to gain traction in certain companies, this talk was a reminder that those sentiments may not be received well.

All of this advice is fine, but you need help actually find a job? Check out THE CAREER SUMMIT for lots of great career advice.

The topics include everything from how to think about finding a job you love, to what has changed in search, demystifying the recruiting process, online career management, interviewing and (last but not least) — strategies and tips for your resume, social media profile and job search. Read more HERE or visit the site HERE to learn more.

http://t.co/iYaUIhG

Looking for meaningful work?

By

I’m excited to share an opportunity for those of you looking for an encore career. In case you are not familiar, Civic Ventures, which is “a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose,” defines “encore careers” as jobs that “combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact.” Sometimes, these may be post-retirement careers, although retirement should really be in quotes, since it seems the term has taken on new meaning in today’s economy and because many people are not ready to stop working at a traditional retirement age.

I understand than an encore career can come any time in a person’s work history, not only after a lifetime of working. Are you tired of doing what you are doing? Maybe it is time to think of a new direction, and lucky for you, there is a great resource to help. Here is the information from Civic Venture’s press release:

What: Civic Ventures is partnering with the New York Times Knowledge Network to offer an online seminar for people interested in encore careers. The interactive course will offer practical advice about how to succeed in today’s job market to combine continued income, personal meaning and social impact.

Marci Alboher, careers expert and former New York Times columnist, will be leading the course. According to Alboher, “The idea of encore careers — second acts with social purpose — has started to take hold, but more people are now seeking guidance from experts and others who can teach by example.”

Topics will include: Will there really be enough jobs for the number of people who want to do meaningful work in their encore years? What kinds of job opportunities exist, and how do you make the leap into a field where you may have no experience or contacts? What should you do if you want to work but don’t have the interest or ability to work full time? How can you deal with age discrimination?

Who: The course will feature advice from experts as well as people who have or are on the path to meaningful encore careers. Speakers will include:

Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures

 Suzanne Braun Levine, founding editor of Ms. magazine and author of Fifty Is the New Fifty

David Bornstein, author of Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know and founder of Dowser.org

Laura Gassner Otting, president of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group and author of Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector

Lester Strong, CEO of Experience Corps and former television journalist

Stephen Alderman, Purpose Prize winner and co-founder of the Peter C. Alderman Foundation

When: Fridays, October 22 and 29, from 12-1:15 p.m. ET / 9-10:15 a.m. PT.

How: The online seminar costs $95. For more info and to register, click here.

Made possible in part by a generous grant from the New York Life Foundation.

—

If you are looking for a job, you may also want to check out THE CAREER SUMMIT. Tons of career advice, all for a low price of $99 for a short time. Check it out now, before the early bird is over.

The topics include everything from how to think about finding a job you love, to what has changed in search, demystifying the recruiting process, online career management, interviewing and (last but not least) — strategies and tips for your resume, social media profile and job search. Read more HERE or visit the site HERE.

photo from gossamerpromise

Job search resources for Boomers via Civic Ventures

By

civic.ventures.logo_cvWith record levels of unemployment, all job seekers are looking for new ideas and resources to help move their search forward successfully. I can tell you from experience that Baby Boomers come to the table with concerns that are unique to their generation. They worry about ageism, about interviewing with bosses young enough to be their children and about the fact that job search techniques and methods have changed dramatically since they last looked for opportunities.

For Boomers ready for a real career change after their primary career has ended, a terrific resource is available. Civic Ventures, a think tank on Boomers, work and social purpose, provides information and advice to help Boomers transition to what they term, “encore careers.” Civic ventures recently hired Marci Alboher, a highly respected expert on career issues and workplace trends, author of the book, One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success (Warner Books, 2007) (and one of my favorite writers on the subject of career and job search issues), to help boomers hoping to transition to meaningful and different career opportunities.

I spoke to Marci recently about her new position and about Civic Ventures. She described  The Purpose Prize, which the organization offers annually to social innovators over 60 who are using their talents to make a difference in the world. (They receive between $50,000 and $100,000 for “creating new approaches to solving tough problems – from education and job training to global warming and hunger.” Read about the recently announced prize winners HERE. You may be inspired to follow in their footsteps.)

However, Marci explained that Civic Ventures does so much more. She noted, “Civic Ventures is committed to reinventing the years formerly known as retirement. Most Americans over age 65 are not planning to idle away their ‘retirement years.’ Many want to do work that matters after their primary career has ended. Civic Ventures is creating pathways to connect these talented professionals with meaningful and fulfilling work that provides continued income, personal meaning and social impact.” (Read more about Civic Ventures on Marci’s blog post announcing her new position.)

Marci also alerted me to Civic Ventures’ new guide for for those hoping to succeed in an encore career who want to get started on the right foot.  The guide is available as a series of free downloads HERE. It covers a myriad of topics, including what to expect, job hunting tips, volunteering as a bridge to your new career and updating your skills, among other key topics.

The opening of the guide resonated with me:

“We like to think that the key to a successful career change is knowing what we want to do next, then using that knowledge to guide our actions, writes Herminia Ibarra, author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career.

But, she continues,

“Studying people in the throes of the career change process…(suggests that)…Change actually happens the other way around. Doing comes first, knowing second…It’s a transition, not a transaction.”

If you are a Boomer thinking of making a change to a fulfilling “encore career,” don’t miss the resources at Encore Careers. Even if you are not sure of your next step, explore the quality materials and resources. Remember, as Herminia Ibarra noted, “It’s a transition, not a transaction.”

I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching?  If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.