Thomas Friedman points out that as boomers coming from a generation of "Spend & Borrow" we are still leveraging from our parents generation of "Save and Invest". With the back drop of Zero job creation in August Meet The Press discusses the current jobless recovery. What the President and Congress might do during this new congressional session? The problem is politics will certainly get in the way. Its pretty simple: One Political party sees government as a job facilitator. The other Political party sees government as a inhibitor of job growth. If you are unemployed it is very difficult not to have government affect you through its policies or programs. Just go down a quick checklist:
Unemployment payroll benefits
Food stamps including supplemental nutritional food assistance
Cobra health insurance and HIPPA
Education: Federal Pell grants
With an average unemployment for a worker over 45 yeasr old lasting approximately 55 weeks and a rate of unemployment still at over 7% (varies both by exact age and sex) what role do you think the Federal Government should have in helping us get out of the worst economic slump and job creation since the depression? Nothing , something or the Full Monty? (Editor's Note)
PBS News Hour interviews "Sudhir Venkatesh on the New Meaning of a job market Recovery". Peoples perception has changed as how people and companies re-define what their relationship is between employers and workers . The future includes more subcontractors and less of the long-term IBM "for life" type of worker. If you want insight into understanding the future job market as an older worker this is a definitive piece. (Editor's Note)
What do you think of this list of jobs. Is it just pure BS or do you agree? Be sure to comment below. A nationwide survey from "More" asked midlife women to define the most important elements of a great job including salary and benefits. With top salaries at over $141,000 dollars for a C.T.O. and starting salaries for Local Farmers at $35,020. (Editor's note) 10 Best Jobs for Over 40 Women:
"Community Service Coordinator/Manager(volunteer coordinator, program director)Salary: Most earn $42,110 to $73,470
Personal Financial Adviser(financial planner)Salary: Most earn $46,390 to $119,290
Environmental Scientist(hydrologist, environmental ecologist, environmental chemist, ecological modeler)Salary: Most earn $45,340 to $78,980
Registered Nurse(critical care, emergency, oncology, clinical)Salary: Most earn $51,640 to $76,570
Computer and Information Systems Manager(chief technology officer, management information systems (MIS) director, information technology (IT) director)Salary: Most earn $88,240 to $141,890
Education Administrator(principal, assistant principal, provost, dean of students, school district administrator, director of student services)Salary: Most earn $68,360 to $102,830 (elementary and secondary school)
Strategic/Crisis Communication Professional(crisis manager, strategic communication specialist)Salary: Most earn $38,400 to $71,670
Accountant(public accountant, management accountant, government accountant, internal auditor)Salary: Most earn $45,900 to $78,210
Human Resources Specialist(job analyst, compensation manager, employee benefits manager, training and development manager, recruiter)Salary: Most earn $35,020 to $67,730
Small-Scale Niche Farmer Salary: Most earn $26,800 to $76,230"
The Department of Labor has many resources that are very beneficial to laid off workers and employers. This is one of those that is available for emergencies. (Editor's Note)
Being laid off from your job is one of the most traumatic events you can experience in life. However, you do not need to go through this transition alone. Working with your employer, there are services and resources that can be brought to you, on site at your company prior to your layoff date. These services and resources are part of a program called Rapid Response, which will customize services and resources to your needs and the needs of your company, with a goal of getting you back to work as soon as possible and minimize the disruptions on your life that a layoff will cause. The Rapid Response team will provide you the means to maintain an income (unemployment insurance), information on health insurance options, access to skills upgrading and training resources, and much more. This service is extremely valuable: the earlier services are begun, the better. Services and resources vary, so be sure to attend Rapid Response sessions when they are offered so that you are aware of the full array of benefits for which you may be eligible.
Notice of Layoffs
Rapid Response is initiated when the state Dislocated Worker Unit or Rapid Response team learns of impending layoffs. Many companies will contact the Rapid Response team to notify them of a layoff and invite them to come on site to help the workers who will be laid off. In some cases, employers are required to provide 60 days notice before a layoff. Certain mass layoffs and plant closings will meet the criteria of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act; the criteria are complex, but some basic levels are layoffs of 50 or more workers at a single site, where 50 is at least one-third of the total full-time workforce at that site, or any layoffs of 500 or more workers at a single site. Other times employers may publicly announce layoffs through the media. If you know your company is planning layoffs and have not been told that Rapid Response services will be available to you, or your company laid you off without notice, please contact your state's Rapid Response team.
Rapid Response Services to Laid-Off Workers
During Rapid Response, specialists trained to help you cope with job change will gather information about your needs and begin to organize the services necessary to help you return to work. At employee orientation meetings, you will be informed about services and benefits designed to help you get back on your feet, including:
Career counseling and job search assistance
Resume preparation and interviewing skills workshops
Local labor market facts and figures
Unemployment insurance
Education and training opportunities
Health benefits and pensions
Local services that may be available to you include use of computers, telephones, and fax machines for your job search; financial planning and stress management workshops; financial support for training; income support if your job was lost due to foreign trade; and special services for veterans and adults with disabilities.
Once again, services, resources and benefits vary from state to state; attending any Rapid Response events will provide you with the information you need in your particular case.
Connections to Other Re-Employment Services
In addition to many direct services, Rapid Response on-site meetings will introduce you to many other program partners and their representatives, who often have access to further resources.
Perhaps the most important of these Rapid Response partners is the One-Stop Career Center. The One-Stop system was designed to bring together many separate partners to seamlessly provide an array of services, from resume preparation to job search to placement to supportive services, for anyone who wishes to have access to them. Every state has a One-Stop network that is open to all residents, including those who have been laid off or expect to be laid off from their jobs.
Benefits of Rapid Response to Workers
When your company allows Rapid Response activities to take place on the company site and on company time, you will be able to begin services, including training, before you lose your job. The sooner this process starts, the more quickly the stress of a traumatic event such as a layoff can be managed, through access to important information and services that will enhance re-employment opportunities. Be sure to take advantage of whatever services are provided during the Rapid Response process, while you are still employed or while unemployment insurance benefits, severance payments or other financial resources are still available to you.
Trade-Related Layoffs and Plant Closings
With many American jobs being lost due to foreign trade and the phenomenon commonly known as "offshoring," the federal government provides additional services to workers whose jobs are lost due to foreign trade or shifts in production out of the United States. While not all job loss due to foreign competition meets the requirements of the Trade Act, the Rapid Response team will work with your company to provide information on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and the benefits you can receive if your company is certified as trade-affected. Your company, the Rapid Response team, or the workers themselves can file a trade petition with the United States Department of Labor. For more information on the Trade Act Program and its benefits, contact your state's Dislocated Worker Unit.
If you want to enhance your ability to get hired into a long term career with adequate compensation (not $10.50/hr) it may be time to retrain.The gap continues to grow, in the USA, between the skills of currently unemployed workers and the skills that employers are seeking. It is forecasted that half of the jobs in 2018 will need specialized technical skills. So who is going to train these workers? Are we preparing our youth for this evolving job market place? Are we in need of more business MBA's or skilled HVAC mechanics? (Editor's Note)
Did You Know That 25 Million Friends, Neighbors, Children, Husbands, and Wives Need Real Jobs. (FYI:That is only in USA)
Do You Feel Obsolete? 5 Job Market Realities For Over 40 Workers.
With Presidential Politics ready to catapult the Nation head on into the hotly contested debate on how to best lead us out of a jobless future, it is time to quickly review the current market conditions for an Over 40 job seeker. There are 5 principle job market realities for an Over 40 Unemployed Skilled Worker :
Many older workers are now part of a large group of long-term unemployed (average 55+ weeks), under employed or those that just have given up looking for a job (AKA Discouraged Workers). That adds up to an astounding population of almost 25 Million job seekers.
There is a serious mismatch of current skills to current job openings.
Many of the jobs available require Over 40 workers to start at salaries of 25-50% of what was previously earned with few benefits, such as Health Care.
Many available positions that are created are temporary or as a independent contractor. Resulting in a temporary respite from the anxiety of job hunting.
4.5 unemployed people are competing for each newly created job.
So the question is will the President and Congress implement a jobs program that includes the retraining of a few million older workers whose skill set has been categorized as currently obsolete. Can these type of programs ignite long term job growth. The rumor is that the President with include a retraining Internship program for Older Skilled Workers that have suffered with being unemployed for a long period of time. We hope this is true. Do you know that "Over 60% of internships lead to Jobs". You are never too old to start a new career. Do you think companies should offer more training programs targeted to skilled older workers? If so, would you participate if it was without pay? (Editor's Note)
To be sure, the Web can also thwart your job search if you're not careful in how you use it. "Whatever you put on a profile or networking site sends an impression of who you are. It becomes part of your personal brand identity," says Lauren Doliva, a partner at executive-search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. in San Francisco. "The key is to be thoughtful about the content you are conveying and what others might assume as a result of reading or seeing it."
Also bear in mind that any information you post online is likely to remain in cyberspace indefinitely. "This is a broadcast medium where you may not really have control over who sees, reads or shares the information," says Ms. Doliva.
If social networking just isn't for you, another way to build a Web presence and boost your odds of being found by recruiters is to write a blog on a topic related to your career interests, says Ms. Doliva. "A blog can demonstrate your thinking on a given topic," she says. "In effect, it's a series of white papers."
Is it really the end of the American (Global) Dream? (Or for that matter: Greece, UK,Italy, Ireland,Australia, etc). After World War II our parents had expectations that their future would consist of a good paying job, a home for their family and a solid education for their children.
With a little help from the Government, Labor Unions and Hard working Americans the economy began to expand resulting in the growth of businesses, confident consumers purchasing an every expanding variety of goods/services and most of us smiling all the way to the bank. The quality of life for the middle class was shining brightly for a few DECADES.
But so much has changed in 50 years. The Financial Institutions: Banks,Mortgage Companies, Credit Card Companies are gone or corrupted. Just think about the current Facebook IPO who won big: the small retail investor or the large commercial underwriters? The Public Unions are a shadow of their previous role and government is in a state of ineffective chaos. The economic and political divide between the wealthy and the middle class has grown and with it some of the American Dream seems to have died.
We have gone from a country of shared values to a country of my values (or else). So very :((((. What do you think? As a job seeker are you ready to wrestle your way back to embrace the dreams of the middle class?
Share The good news: Yes there is finally growth in private sector jobs. But a record number of people have lost hope and are staying out of the job market. Less then 65 % of the USA Civilian working population is working full time. When more people re-enter the job market it is likely that the unemployment rate will grow. In addition wages continue to decline making it harder to make ends meet. To many job seekers it sure feels like deflation. What do you think? (Editor's Note)
**Please Post Your Thoughts In Comment Box Below**
Is there still hope for the economic revival of the middle class? Or is the 21st century were the gap between the aristocracy and the proletariat (working class) continue to grow . Does this picture really reflect the way it feels for a worker in America today? Maybe it is not just America. What about Greece, Syria, Egypt, Russia , UAE, Somalia, China and others. What do you think? Post your comments below.
Does the wealth that divides the world accelerate the decline of Western Capitalism? Do a few wealthy individuals (aka the 1%) continue to control your future? Are there those that execute on their sense of responsibility to society such as Warren Buffett? If you are a interested in our future then take the 14 minutes to listen to the MSNBC discussion with Ex-Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski. What do you think the future will bring?
Are you a 99 weeker ? Or afraid of becoming one. Most of you never thought that you would be collecting unemployment benefits for over one and a half years. How long should the federal government pay unemployment benefits? Do you think it should be 2 or 3 years? Should a re-training program be required? Since unemployment hovers around 10% what should the role of government be. If real unemployment (U6) really is over 20% in many states does the government have a role in keeping its citizens from falling off the soci-economic cliff. Some say pay now or pay later. It really is simple. No work and no money a likely to lead to a decline in a persons physical health , mental health and economic contribution to society. Thousands of our readers have expressed their desire and willingness to work. It is not just about having the perfect resume. Perfecting your interview skills. But having enough jobs that fit the skills of the available job seekers.
If you were trained to be skilled retail direct mail marketing expert. Over the last 10 years you watched as your industry has shrunk, your skill requirements changed and younger skilled workers entered the work force. Some would say "loser" why didn't you retrain, change industries and get a new job. Some job seekers did. We applaud them. But others missed the cue's or perhaps found it difficult to change behavior or OMG just loved their job. Do you remember when people LOVED their work. So I again ask you what role should government have? What voice resonates with you: "Let the Free market prevail". "Protector of the norm". "Facilitator of change".
Tell us your suggestions and comments below?
Editorial: Is it time to have your voice heard and join the Occupy Wall Street Movement. We all agree that the current political parties have failed to lead the middle class of America to the promised land. Instead it seems that they are continuing to function as proxies for well financed special interests.
The result is a country that no longer can create enough high quality, high paying jobs to support a reasonable quality of life. (notice I did not say Great quality of life). What our system of capitalism has evolved to seems to be more about creating perceived shareholder value so that the C class executive can extract as much money from the system. A C class (CEO'a) exec's compensation is no longer defined as a reward for success. It is now a given or is that a give me, when you are part of "the club". The corporate model for success is simple. It is played out in these steps over and over.
Hire a new CEO or the current one is born again.
Restructure with fewer employees (fire them)
Get higher short term productivity (duh, less people more work- Genius)
Improve Profitability
Shareholders and Wall Street applaud. Just listen to talking heads like Cramer and Kudlow drone on.
Get paid a big fat bonus
Year 2 or 3 lose market share
Profits Sink
Get Fired with Golden Parachute.
More employees get laid off. Now that you need to cover the golden parachute bonus too.
A terrible sad commentary when you realize that many of these execs are fellow Boomers. Born at the edge of the protest movement of the 60 and 70's. Now just a bunch of old , fat guys sitting around sipping fine wine while they trade derivatives or suck the latest life energy out of the other 99% of America's workers.
So what can an organic movement do? That is up to you. We still have an electoral system that allows us to facilitate change. Was Egypt, Tunisa, Spain just the beginning?
Perhaps America has lost its self respect. Maybe it is time to take it back. Whats your reaction? Do you really care? Are you feeling enough pain to get out of your Sunday Football Lazy Chair? Would you like to scream " I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore".
In Spain unemployment is at a record 21 %. People in Barcelona and Madrid have taken to the streets during the last few weeks leading up to their election. In the United States unemployment sits at about 17% (U6). So do you think we will take to the streets? Your Comments Below?(Editor's Note)
As reported in the Huffington Post. "Tens of thousands of Spaniards angry over joblessness protested for a sixth day on Friday in cities all over the country,
Dubbed "los indignados" (the indignant), tens of thousands of protesters have filled the main squares of Spain's cities for six days, in a wave of outrage over economic stagnation and government austerity marking a shift after years of patience. But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has failed to contain the highest unemployment in the European Union, at 21.3 percent, "I have a great respect for the people protesting, which they are doing in a peaceful manner, and I understand it is driven by economic crisis and young people's hopes for employment," Zapatero said during a radio interview. "We are not going to budge from here," said a 44-year-old unemployed man who declined to give his name, during an assembly at Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, where protesters reached an informal consensus to stay in the square despite the ban. The man was among hundreds who have camped out all week at Puerta del Sol. His wife and daughter join him every day and the crowd swells to thousands every evening. "Our next move is to spread this to the rest of Europe," he said.
Many protesters told Reuters that they are scared the police will crack down, but analysts said police action against the protesters would be a disaster for the Socialists. The protesters have called on Spaniards not to vote for the two main parties, the Socialists or the center-right opposition Popular Party. Spain has struggled to emerge from a recession, and the collapse of the construction sector and a slump in consumer spending have hit the young particularly hard -- 45 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds are unemployed.
"They can't kick us out. The politicians won't allow it, it'll make them look bad right before the voting," said Virginia Braojos, 32, a logistics technician who has come with three friends to the protests every night this week."
Editors Note: In a competitive global economy and job market it sometimes may feel as if you have become a competitor in the soccer "World Cup". Job searching is not a spectators sport. As a result you need to have your best game on.
If you have been struggling to find a new job then perhaps you have not yet developed the skills (or execution) to articulate a personal "Two-minute job Pitch". This could be a game changer during your next employer interview. Like a world cup soccer player it takes job seekers hundreds of hours of practice, focus and energy that when utilized at the right critical moments may determine those who go home with "The Cup" and those who go just go home:(. Success or Failure in just a blink of the eye. A "Two-Minute Job Pitch" can help you achieve this type of success. So what are you waiting for?
"White Collar Reset: The two-minute pitch
So it's come to this. Eight months into my job search, eight months of clinging to my old magazine journalism career like an alcoholic clutching his last Scotch, I arrive at the weekly Penn Station Meeting of The Five Club seeking absolution and a new life. The Club, one of the country's largest executive and professional job coaching firms (in addition to three physical branches in New York City, it holds eight teleconference branches in the Eastern and Central time zones each week), reports that of the 17,000 people it's helped over the past decade, 58 percent change careers. Given the woeful state of my former industry, the statistic provides a kind of anxious hope on the same week the stock market has shrugged off news that continuing jobless claims have now reached the highest level since the statistic was first recorded, in 1967.
The meeting is held every Wednesday evening in a large fifth-floor conference room directly across Seventh Avenue from the station. The crowd of fifty includes a handful of men in their twenties, a smattering of African-American, Asian and Hispanic women, and a lot of white, middle-aged males, the 21st century's answer to he Man In the Grey Flannel Suit Looking around the room, I count 13 (sorry, make that 14) bald or balding heads. The smell of Old Spice and stale coffee fills the air.
. At the front of the room, a counselor named Kim is lecturing us about the "two-minute" pitch. The two-minute pitch is the summary of who we are, what we've accomplished and what we bring to a prospective employer that we are supposed to have down cold for use in interviews, informational meetings and random networking encounters. The key, as Kim explains, is to use "action" words and to focus on how what you did benefited your previous company. "It's one thing to say 'I organized a sales training program.' It's another to say 'I organized a sales training program that boosted profits by 50 percent.'"
I can see her point. Around me, fellow longtime jobless jot down notes, their lips silently moving as they rehearse their own two-minute pitches. I, too, give it a try, but, as a refugee of the long-suffering magazine field, I don't think it's quite coming out the way Kim intended.
Ok, let's see . . . I survived the firing of five editor-in-chiefs in five years in a tyrannically-run vanity publication that never once failed to finish in the red . . .
Or, no, wait, I got it . . . I turned around my company's most successful division, leading it to $400,000 in annual losses before the company filed for bankruptcy, owing 350 creditors some $4 million
A short while later, Kim announces that we have a special guest tonight, a Five Club "graduate" who has returned to share her success with us. Everyone claps and a smiling, middle-aged designer of distance-learning systems walks to the front and describes a months-long struggle that recently culminated in a job with a non-profit agency and would've been really inspiring if it didn't remind how much better off I would have been if had gone into distance learning. "
Sorry you need to go to Updated Article URL: Click Here or go to http://internsover40.blogspot.com/2011/09/boomer-are-you-part-of-spend-and-borrow.html
Share More than 50% of the unemployed over 45 are out of work for more than 40 weeks. 7 weeks longer than others that are unemployed. This group of older job seekers tell their story.
