Baby Boomers and the Job Search

Last night at a local community college, I gave Part One of a job search program that I've designed for older adults. The program called, You Lost Your Job, Now What? is designed for people over the age of fifty. Last night we addressed organizing a job search and career assessment. Part Two is all about resume writing and cover letter preparation and Part Three sums everything up with interviewing and networking.

It was a toasty 19 degrees as I slid out the door at 4:30 pm and I thought that of the five people who enrolled, perhaps one or two might show up. The temps were dipping further south and there was no way people would want to head out to the school, park a mile away and then trudge through the ice and snow to a job search class. 

I was wrong. While one man came in early, eleven people trooped in right before the session started. They weren't all local either. They came from different counties and one woman came from another state. Their stories were all different yet all the same. Of the twelve people there, two were former business owners who were having a tough time finding work for companies, one left on his own to knock off a couple of bucket list challenges and the rest were unceremoniously dumped from their former positions while in their fifties and after giving their organizations long-term careers. I could relate; I've been in their shoes. I told them my own story.

The program was great and our objectives were hit. As we wrapped up I asked the group if they wanted to continue with the remaining sessions of the class in February as scheduled or wait to finish in the spring. They all wanted to pick up next week. Why am I not surprised?

The Baby Boomer generation continues to be slammed in the job market although the monthly unemployment numbers tell us an altogether different story. This is the generation that is picking up consulting work or toiling away at two or three jobs to keep the lights on or get their kids through college. I was in a room surrounded by hundreds of years of knowledge, experience, persistence, successes and failures. Organizations view them as money sucking dinosaurs; I view them as heroes. 

I cannot believe that I thought that no one would show up for the training.

A Celebration for Many

This past weekend my sister and I traveled to Massachusetts to attend a bridal shower for my daughter. It was hosted by her future mother-in-law and was a delightful celebration for family and friends. It was a warm, beautiful day and springtime was on display both inside and outside of the house.

After an amazing lunch, we moved into the dining room for coffee, tea and the most beautiful celebratory cake that I have ever seen. I joined a small group of new friends and someone asked me about my profession. When I said I was a job search trainer and coach, the conversation turned to unemployment and underemployment and how difficult it is for “older” job seeker. What were the odds that of this small group of women chatting around the dining room table, 75% of us had been released from our former companies later on in our careers? Luckily we have all moved on and found other meaningful work somewhere else or in another field. 

I am proud of the resilience of the Baby Boomer generation and how a job loss at an older age didn’t break any of us.  It only made us stronger.  That was another reason for a celebration!