Marcia Barhydt

As far back probably as Year 1 in the workplace, there’s been a conflict between senior management and hot young cannibals new to corporate life. Traditionally, the older, more seasoned employees have been the ones to train new faces.

That was then and this… it seems… is now. Traditional roles are being reversed and we Boomers need to (in Ted Turner’s famous phrase) get on board or get out of the way.

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, this new premise was debated, investigated, and tossed around. And once this new concept is accepted, everybody wins.

The trend is most apparent in technology and social media, but encompasses other scenarios, like the advertising industry.

It turns out that this thinking was pioneered by JackWelch when he was a CEO of General Electric and had a 20-year-old mentor toteach him about surfing. Reverse mentoring also has evolved to include, for example, a 42-year-old exec at advertising icon Ogilvy & Mather who says his mentor is showing him how to perk up his humdrum tweets.

Of course, this younger generation doing the mentoring has already exploded to a global level thanks to Skype, videoconferencing and all kinds of virtual communications.

The lesson here is that Boomer execs, or really anyone in any position where younger workers can help, need to be open to and welcoming mentoring from co-workers who are younger than the exec’s own kids.

Now, we Boomers are no slouches when it comes to adapting and escalating our use of new technology. Think tablets, readers, and smartphones that do everything but make your coffee. Boomers are snapping up these new toys like it’s Christmas every day. We truly understand that we need to be on top of all this new technology. Okay, plus it’s fun, fun, fun.

Within many large companies where reverse mentoring is happening, the Boomer execs are wanting to get on board in a sort of “Hey, I want one too” kind of thinking.

Sure, there are hold-outs who cling desperately to the old regime and their old seniority way of thinking. But their numbers are diminishing every day.

We Boomers are once again showing that we’re easily capable of accepting change. No wait, we’re embracing it!

Why doesn’t this surprise me? It’s how we’ve been with every other stage of our lives. Why would we change now? Why would we balk at the idea of reverse mentoring?

Thanks Ted – we’re hearing you. We’re getting on board.

©2012 Marcia Barhydt

Click here for Marcia online.

Many of my boomer friends argue that midlife is the absolute worst time to change careers. Lots of them have grown weary of their current jobs, struggled because of a layoff to land a new job in the same field, or worried about the future of their current positions in a declining economy. They often conclude their arguments by noting the amount of time, education, and hard work they dedicated to their current professions.

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Then they mention obligations. Boomers have spouses to support, elderly parents to care for, kids in school, and mortgages to finish paying off. These obligations seem to contribute to their argument that the reasonable action would be to stay the course. But that’s conventional wisdom and I have some issues with that. Boomers have not been famous for succeeding by following conventional wisdom. We grew up admiring Dick Tracy’s watch phone and Captain Kirk’s communicator. Now we carry around cell phones that Tracy and Kirk would give their eye-teeth for. Last decade’s “Someday you will” advertisements have turned into “We already are” and “What’s next?” Our generation certainly rolled with the changes.

The thing is, sometimes we really don’t have any other reasonable choice than to consider a different profession. Here’s why:
Unemployment rates for people over 50, who have been looking for work for more than a year, rose in 2010 by almost 50%. The number of people who reported themselves as unemployed for two or more years rose by more than a quarter.
Baby boomers can also see a “grey wall.” Sure, everybody suffers from a tight job market. But boomers have been suffering more. The unemployment rate for workers over 55 has tripled over the last decade. Younger employers may be judging us as stodgy, selfish, and unwilling to embrace change.
Some professions, like healthcare, are still growing, and they are hiring plenty of boomers. It may be a bit late to consider going to medical school, but you might be a great fit as an administrator, patient counselor, or medical equipment salesperson. You can still find real jobs with benefits if that would satisfy you.
Baby boomer entrepreneurship has taken off. At Harvard, students are encouraged to “create their own jobs.” Maybe there will never be a better time to build that dream business you always meant to start.
I see all of you boomers swiping the screens of your 4G cell phones just as quickly as the kids do it. You can certainly pick up any new technical skills that hiring managers desire. Online classes and community colleges make this convenient and affordable too. You already know that new technology can be fun. Figure out why your resume keeps getting shoved to the bottom of the stack. Then figure out how to fix the problem.

A career change will not waste your years of experience, education, and networking. You just need to figure out which potentially more satisfying and hotter jobs can use your talents in a different way. You may have to consider taking one step back in order to move forward again, but you can avoid totally starting over.

If you still think this is a bad time to consider changing careers, I have to wonder what time would be better.

Check out the Over 50 Website online.

In the past year that I’ve spent interviewing women for my forthcoming book on navigating midlife, something rather interesting has come up. In almost equal numbers, midlife women are lining up either for or against the notion that they feel “invisible” as a result of being 40 and older.

Evelyn Kalinosky

I wasn’t really expecting any one answer when I asked the question about whether or not they felt the media was ignoring them, but I guess I was assuming the responses would be less divided between two opposing camps of thought.

After talking with more than 150 women from all across the country, about 50% expressed concern that they were becoming marginalized because of their advancing years. The other 50% had no such concerns. In fact, I had to define more clearly and concisely what I meant by “invisible” for them to answer the question. It just wasn’t on their radar.

It got me thinking about what could account for such a stark difference in perspective. Did it have anything to do with how each person felt they had been noticed in their younger years? Would someone who was attractive and used to having attention paid to her because of her looks begin to feel the world is seeing past her as she ages? Does it have anything to do with attractiveness, or is it something else entirely?

I do know that regardless of which camp a woman lands in, neither side had any intention of actually being invisible. Whether or not they felt that the media has failed to keep pace with the midlife woman, they weren’t buying into the outdated belief that any woman past the age of 35 should be fitted for support hose and a rocking chair.

The women I’ve talked with are keenly aware of the various challenges that come with aging, and especially as a woman in our culture. There are few, if any, role models to show them the way, so once again they are the trailblazers for the generations of women coming up behind them -– just as they were in previous decades. It’s a responsibility they don’t take lightly.

I’ve interviewed women who are changing their careers at midlife and beyond, women who are going back to college to get their advanced degrees (one shared with me her decision to get her PhD so that she can work with teenagers— she’ll be 82 when she’s done with school), and women who are becoming artists, writers, vagabond travelers, social activists. The list goes on and on.

What truly makes the difference between aging positively, and the kind of aging that smacks of loss and decline, is attitude. What women should be focusing on -– and many, many already are -– is acting their stage, not acting their chronological age, since improved health, wealth, and resources have given most of us the opportunity to live another 25 years or more once we pass the 50 mile marker. That’s a tremendous stretch of time to spend sitting idly by, watching the world move on without us. Trust me, that is not a role I expect these boomer women to accept.

As a woman who sits squarely in the 50+ demographic, I have never felt more alive, more certain of who and what I am, and more passionate about what I want to share with the world. I do find it rather ironic that just as I feel like I’ve got it all together and am ready to explode out into the world, I’m sensing the cloak of invisibility nipping at my heels. But no worries -– I can and definitely will outrun it, and I expect to have a lot of company along the way.

Follow Evelyn online … click here.

That’s the conclusion of a study released Tuesday, which looked at the financial outlook for Americans age 36 to 62.

The report finds that nearly half of “early baby boomers,” currently age 56 to 62 are at risk of not having sufficient income to pay for basic retirement expenditures and uninsured medical expenses. The “late baby boom” generation is not much better off, with 44 percent at risk. And 45 percent of Generation X (age 36 to 45) are in a similar position.

The study was conducted by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) in Washington. Although the detailed study suggests a significant financial challenge lies ahead, the findings are not entirely grim.

Read more … click here.

As the largest generation, it comes as no surprise that there are millions of Boomer-owned and operated businesses. While it is vital that we support all of our local businesses, there are additional reasons to support Boomer-owned businesses. Especially now.

The current economic downturn has been especially hard on Boomers. Those who have been down-sized, right-sized, or otherwise unemployed often see little in the way of employment opportunities as millions of people fight for the few available jobs. Boomer unemployment rates and the length of time it takes to land a new job have never been higher. And no one really knows how many Boomers have given up and stopped looking for work.

While the job market is weak for all those on the outside looking in, we often face an additional obstacle: ageism. It doesn’t take many clicks of your mouse to find bloggers, writers, and others who blame Boomers for just about everything that ails our country today. Some admonish us for not retiring from the workforce so more jobs will be available for younger workers. Others rant that our collective retirement will suck the economy dry as we collect Social Security and receive Medicare benefits without contributing to society.

Boomers have worked long and hard to rise to the top. We didn’t just fall into positions of power and influence, with wages to match the responsibilities. When we entered the workforce we faced a tight job market because there were so many of us. At the time, that helped to keep wages low. It also helped to make us “loyal” because it was harder to change jobs amid the sea of other applicants. So Boomers often stayed put, worked it out, and rose through the ranks until it was their turn for the corner office. Some got to sit in the big chair but the dream ended for many as the recession forced employers to shed costs and people, especially people who commanded high wages like the Boomers.

Today’s challenges are great and they come at a critical time for many Boomers as we watch our nest eggs erode for the second time in a decade. Some will not have enough savings to sustain themselves in retirement. Add the loss of a job along with growing ageism and outright age discrimination and you can see that many Boomers are in real trouble.

Boomers are as resilient as anyone else, though, and when faced with a problem, we can find a solution. For many that means starting a business. I call it Boomerpreneurship. Boomerpreneurs may be new business owners or they may be veterans. But one thing is certain. New Boomer-owned and operated businesses are sprouting every day. Some are started out of necessity and others are built upon a great idea or a novel product. Still others tackle problems or meet challenges that others have not addressed.

It doesn’t matter why Boomer businesses exist. It is enough to know that they struggle during these challenging times and they need our support. This may well be the worst business climate that Boomers will see during their working careers. It has certainly been the most challenging in terms of unemployment. Before it is over, it is very likely that either out of desire, out of a dream, or out of necessity, many more of us will start a new business. Are you thinking about becoming a Boomerpreneur?

Imagine the jobs you could create, the financial security you would have, and the contributions you could still make to society and to your family if hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of the nearly 79 million Baby Boomers actively and religiously supported your new business.

All business owners have guts. In bad times, they also have extra fears and worries. But Boomerpreneurs face additional challenges. They have fewer years to achieve their goals and little opportunity to recover financially if they fail. That is why all Boomers need to support Boomerpreneurs. If the day comes when we join their ranks, we will know just how important that support will be.

Follow Shelly Scriba online … www.myboomer2boomer.com.

Fewer Baby Boomers were unemployed in January than in December.

But joblessness is still a problem for older workers — they remain out of work longer than other age groups.

AARP Bulletin reported the unemployment rate for that the 55 and older group fell to 6.8 percent in January, down from 7.2 percent in December. For those ages 45 to 54, the jobless rate declined to 7.6 percent last month from 7.9 percent a month earlier.

Compare that to all age groups: The jobless rate fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent in December.

The AARP Bulletin offered the following stats on the length of unemployment for Boomers:

• Just over half of unemployed people age 55-plus had been out of work for at least six months;
• The average length of time that older workers were without a job in January increased to 35.9 weeks, up from 34.7 weeks in December;
• Workers under 55 were out of work an average 27.8 weeks last month, compared with 28.1 weeks in December.

That tells us that the jobs are coming back, but might not be coming back enough yet to turn the tide for unemployed Baby Boomers who are currently looking for work.

The recession, at least economically, is over. But many analysts call this a jobless recovery: the economy is getting better, but the jobs outlook isn’t yet.

The recession — and the fact that so many Baby Boomers are out of work — is given as a reason why the Social Security fund is now so much lower that analysts would have expected.

Boomers who hadn’t planned on retiring yet are out of work and taking advantage of their eligibility for benefits.

Experts have been rather taken aback by the fact that the average age of retirement in Finland rose noticeably from 59.4 in 2008 to 59.8 last year, in spite of the ongoing recession and rising unemployment figures.

In comparison, the pension age in 1999 was below 59 years. The pension age keeps rising, as the rules have been changed and as people also live longer.

The increase as such is in line with the forecasts made following the major pension reform of 2005 that introduced a so-called flexible retirement age from 63 to 68 years. The objective of the pension reform was to encourage employees to stay at work longer.

However, a severe economic decline hit the country, and news stories on senior employees being urged to take retirement were reported from various parts of the country. At the same time, it has been said those employees suffering from burnout have left the workforce prematurely since they have been granted disability pensions. This development has nevertheless not been reflected in retirement figures – at least not yet.

Read the full story, click here.

Evelyn Kalinosky

Ready for a “ReCareer?” Maybe you first need to know what it is. Evelyn Kalinosky has written “Finding Personal Meaning Is An Inside Job.”

For women, the second half of life brings many career choices and questions. For some women, continuing in a current career doesn’t fulfill personal, spiritual, or financial needs as it once did. For others, re-entering the workforce has become a necessity due to the changes in the economy. In either case, a ReCareer may be the answer. What is a ReCareer? According to Dr. Richard P. Johnson, nationally renowned expert on maturing adult development and founder of ReCareer, Inc. it is: “Personally authentic work that feeds your mind, your heart, and your spirit.”

Women at midlife who are “seekers” want something deeper out of life. They want more personal purpose, more meaning, and they want their efforts to align more closely with their core beliefs. They seek a more authentic way of living. To these women, who may be 45, 55, 65 or older, age holds no meaning. What does hold meaning comes from work and interactions that renew their life purpose, revitalize their passion, reignite their soul, and reinvigorate their inner desires.

One of my closest friends is a seeker. She was courageous enough to listen to that persistent voice inside her that said she needed to take a new career path. For the past several years she has commuted back and forth between the home she shares with her husband in Pennsylvania and her apartment in New York City where she runs her own executive coaching business. She was in her mid-50s when she made this change.

Largely because of seekers like her, there has been a fundamental shift in how we perceive getting older. Previous assumptions about life’s second half are becoming passé as a new set of beliefs is giving birth to what it means to live optimally. Aging is no longer viewed as a forced march down a path of decline and constriction, a path that narrows the older we get. The path we’re on now is one of expansion, with an accent on gaining new wisdom, and discovering a new authenticity and significance greater than anything previously experienced.

Certainly the goals of working over our lifespan have changed. Our former jobs provided a financial foundation. They paid the mortgage, put the kids through school, and got us through the daily expenses of living. All of this was necessary, but for many reasons women are now searching for something more, something that gives rise to that small voice within that longs for achievement of a different type— something that feeds their very being.

But there are relatively few, if any, clear-cut directions for women in midlife who are seeking that blending of career and life passion. So how do they begin this ReCareer journey? The first thing is to commit to a personal assessment, a personal excavation of sorts. A ReCareer represents much more than a set of skills and functions; it’s a woman’s personal response to her inner call, her investment in the mission of her life. A ReCareer determines much of a woman’s total environment: physical, social, mental, psychological, even spiritual arenas of living.

There are five essential competencies that women need to tackle before they can successfully launch themselves into a ReCareer. This journey of discovery will bring them personal fulfillment as well as meet their individual needs, and put them solidly on the path to ReCareer success:

1. ReCareer Identity. This is defined as the degree to which women derive a personal sense of identity and definition from their work. How much of their personal identity, their unique definition of self, comes from their career? In addition, it’s important to look at attitudes, beliefs, and feelings women hold about themselves and determine if they are still true or if they are self-limiting. It’s also important to construct a personal definition of their potential ReCareer (new career), and to assess each of their formerly held positions in terms of skills and functions performed, and any personal feelings generated by these positions.
2. ReCareer Self-Assessment. It helps women identify their ReCareer values, interests, and skills. Do they know their inner values, motivated skills, and most cherished interests well enough to accurately translate what’s truly best for them in their ReCareer process?
3. Transition Hardiness. The definition of “hardiness” is the ability to be adaptable and flexible, two qualities that are critical to successfully engaging in Recareer life change. Women need to determine if they have developed the necessary inner qualities of hardiness: commitment, control, challenge, and connectedness which will enable them to better achieve their ReCareer goals. By looking at past career and personal life experiences, women can assess these qualities and work on those areas that may need shoring up.
4. ReCareer Success Perception. This looks at women’s personal and career worlds and how well they can perceive the events in their careers and personal lives as self-enhancing and self-affirming. That’s done by uncovering and analyzing the successes women have achieved to date. Success perception is the foundation of positive self-esteem. Without that, women are denying their innate power— the energy that calls them to their ReCareer Success. It’s important for women to define what “success” means to them, and to ask themselves if they have successfully clarified their unique formula for ReCareer success.
5. Setting ReCareer Goals and Making ReCareer Decisions. The purpose is to help women establish ReCareer and life-goals that can assist them in pursuing a clear ReCareer direction. To do this, it’s important to look at all the life arenas: work, family, relationships, self, leisure, and spiritual. Then they can assess how well they exercise solid decision-making skills and what areas they need to address to formulate the most compelling ReCareer goals and bring them to reality.

Read more by Evelyn Kalinosky. Click here.

One of the most popular endeavors for those in this age bracket is that of a certified professional business or life coach, reports Newsroom Jersey. Boomers are well suited to this professional calling based on their vast business and life experience. Coaching is the practice of focusing existing talents and channeling them to create true significance and empowering change in the lives of others.

New Jersey Baby Boomers Katherine Poehnert and Marc Weiner, like so many in their age group, can’t imagine retiring. They are entrepreneurs who have found a profession that is perfectly suited to their values and passions. They are certified professional coaches.

Read the whole story.

Many baby boomers are choosing to postpone retirement and stay at their current jobs or find new ones. Some can’t afford to retire, but many want to explore new avenues. After decades of working in jobs that paid the bills but didn’t fulfill them, they’re moving to different industries.

For their book “225 Best Jobs for Baby Boomers,” authors Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin decided to comb through data to discover what the best jobs are for baby boomers. They looked at salaries, projected job growth and the number of openings to calculate which jobs have the most promise.

Read more …