Mind Your Body Episode 22 with Brian Grossman, Ph.D.
In the current economy, getting a job really is a full-time job—now more than ever. Consider that:
- The overall U. S. unemployment rate in December was 8.5 percent.
- For workers ages 55 to 64, unemployment more than doubled from 3 percent in 2006 to 7.1 percent in 2010.
It’s a fact that we older workers have a harder time finding work in a world where so many are having a hard time, period. Good: Research shows that we boomers are less likely to lose our jobs than other age groups. Bad: When we do, we’re also out of work for longer periods of time than ever before, replaced by younger, less experienced and less expensive workers. After all, it’s not our fault that we turned 50, yet the circumstances surrounding our inability to do what we often love to do can lead to depression, frustration and hopelessness.
The Sloan Center on Aging & Work report of Nov. 2010, “The New Unemployables,” verified that older workers really do consider age discrimination a factor in finding a job, and that so many are discouraged that they’ve given up.
In an October 2011 story in U. S. News & World Report, Sara Rix, the senior strategic policy advisor for the AARP Public Policy Institute noted that “older workers are continuing to look longer than in the past before they drop out of the labor force.”
You can get another great job
In this video, we ask communication and relationship expert Brian Grossman, Ph.D. about creative, measurable ways to move past the emotions and get to work. His tips, all very doable, include:
- Get up, get dressed, get going and get on the phone—to anyone who might help.
- Do affirmations and visualize yourself in that next great job with a great salary. Believe…
- Be confident, and don’t appear desperate. Yes, you can be strong.
- Focus on your values, skills, and most of all, your attitude: Try to keep it positive.
- Don’t be too narrow in your approach, i.e., “I couldn’t work THERE.” Consider new industries or developing new skills.
- If someone says you’re “overqualified,” that may relate to your age. Respond with great reasons why your experience can be shared with others, and that you wouldn’t waste the interviewer’s time if you weren’t really interested. So there!
- Try to connect with someone at the company who might give you a leg up: LinkedIn is a good way to do this, and a super resource for job-seeking.
- Work on your resume and practice interviewing skills. You have lots of competition, and others will do this. Nose to the job grindstone!
- If you’re computer-savvy and good with social media, sound that trumpet. If you’re not, you can be.
In fact, you can still be anything that you want–and get another great job.
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