Retirement, Previously Known As Work
Retirement as a time of extended leisure may well be ending for some. As Michael Winerip recently reported back in 1988, only 11% of people 65 and older were still working. As recently as two years ago, 16.8% of those 65 and older were still working.
Now, with nest eggs depleted from the Great Recession, and a collective desire to remain engaged, there’s a new study out from the Department of Labor that looks ahead to 2018 when those 65 and older will be mostly boomers. And Mitra Toossi, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that 22.4% of them are expected to still be working.
The issue is drawing attention. This week The New York Times has a story which shows what a delayed retirement might look like. And The Economist weighs in on what’s ahead as businesses learn to master managing an aging workforce.
For a generation where both genders entered the workplace in record numbers, and grappled with work/family responsibilities, it may be time to break out the cartography tools once again. There’s only a sketchy road map of what its like to be “Working Retired” to use the phrase coined by Mark Penn in Microtrends.
This week we’ll be taking a look at some of the issues surrounding this new concept of retirement that was previously known as work.
Tags: Retirement, Working
Career Reinvention in the New Year
January is a time to feel optimistic. Any New Year’s resolutions are probably still being kept. For some, they involve finding a new career. With the economy still shedding jobs, a career hunt may be a more formidable undertaking than in the past.
Alexandra Levit who previously wrote How’d You Score that Gig? and They Don’t Teach Corporate in College, is back with a lively and insightful new book entitled New Job, New You. (Ballantine Books) She has put together a toolkit that includes everything a job seeker needs for career reinvention culled from the experiences of people who have made a transition some more than once.
Ms. Levit assembled a winning and diverse group of career changers, all younger than 40. And one almost wishes we could see them in five or ten years after they’ve gained more seasoning in the aftermath of the economic crisis.
She sets the tone early in the book with a reinvention assessment, which when taken honestly, can separate those who are merely musing from those who are ready to reivent.
We caught up with Ms. Levit recently to talk about managing some of the challenges of career reinvention.
Here are several of her tips, with suggestions for first job seekers and baby boomers.
Define your motivation in career switching. A twenty-five item questionnaire in New Job, New You gives a reader insight into whether a career reinvention is a necessity or a passing whim. Sample question—True or False, You feel you are a different person now than when you first started your career.
Remember everything you do is a measured risk. Just because the economy is in trouble is no reason not to pursue your dream job. You only need one small thing at a time to move forward. Sign up for the week-end workshop or take that on-line webinar.
Choose a first job by the knowledge you’ll gain. When weighing offers chose the job offer with as many transferable skills as possible. These might include project management, sales, marketing, finance and client relations.
The first job is not the be all and end all. Trust your instincts, when making a job choice, especially a first job choice, but also dial back the pressure. Again ask, will the job allow me to have transferable skills? You’ll be able to walk out of that job with a resume to make you proud.
If you are considering a graduate degree ask if the lifestyle applicable and good for you. Sure parents and peers may be thinking that grad school is a good way to sit out the recession, but unless you have a couple of years experience under your belt and an affinity for the field, it might be a waste of time and money.
If you are a baby boomer seeking reinvention, realize you have an advantage. Yes, you may encounter age discrimination, so consider deleting dates from your resume, but you know the business world and hopefully have learned something about packaging yourself. You have more to draw on than someone with just a few years of experience behind them. If you want to do something you feel passionate about, now’s your chance.
Tags: baby boomers, career transitions, Careers, job seekers
Question About Executive Leadership
The Business Roundtable released their Fourth Quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey recently. There was good news since the CEO’s anticipated increased capital expenditures and sales during the next six months. The news about jobs was decidedly gloomier with employment growth continuing to lag.
Theirs is only one opinion however. In another release by Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc. the outplacement firm, found the rate of turnover of CEO’s had slowed from a year ago.
Still there was a caveat offered by John A. Challenger “However, the slower pace of CEO turnover may not last. Signs of recovery are beginning to emerge. As a turnaround gains momentum, there could be a surge in CEO changes as organizations change from a hold-the-line strategy to one focused more on risk-taking and expansion,” he added.
In the New Year could it be the lagging employment growth in the New Year will come from the downsizing of the CEO’s themselves?
