The Acceleration of Career Angst

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Anecdotally, I have observed people are worried about careers at an earlier age. When the idea of blogging about aging in the workforce first came up;  I consulted a variety of people  and one consideration was should age should I target-- 40+ or 50+. Initially, I wanted to align with AARP’s age of 50. However, feedback prevailed that earlier career management gave workers more options in their 50s and 60s. The 40-year-old age also aligned with protections offered by the Age Discrimination Act. Work, Careers & Jobs@40+ was born!

Now employees in their early-40s are having the types of  job issues that were once reserved for workers in their 60s. I wanted to focus on experienced workers in their 40s and older; then 37-year-olds started telling me about the problems they face with Millennials in their workplace trying to push them out. This week the I was stunned at an encounter with a very intense 14-year-old concerned about his “career.” Returning from a professional conference, I sat next to the high achiever and his parents in the airport boarding area. The young man struck up a conversation because my (free) laptop case is emblazoned with the name of the pharmaceutical company I once worked for and he may be interested in a career in drug research and discovery. Both parents were involved in healthcare and it was obvious they supported their son’s brilliance. Without my asking, they volunteered their son was assigned a gifted/talented track at a private school in third grade. He was allowed to take 3 days off school to attend the conference we  attended and had assignments related to his experience. The son was trying to decide if medical school had better ROI than medical research—at 14!

Younger Americans are down on themselves, the economy and the country in general according to a study by the Institute for College Access & Success. To them, the American Dream has become more elusive and unobtainable than at any time in the past 80 years. Tax firm H&R Block surveyed American young adults and teens, and what they're worrying about financially and eight of every 10 teenagers (ages 13 to 17) are worried about finding a good job as an adult.

It is not just a U.S. problem, the career angst felt by younger workers is global. Work and career distress by young adults in the United Kingdom is well-documented. Having angst and becoming anxious won’t help, mature workers from any country will confirm. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), nine million Americans took a full week off in July 1976, with July traditionally being the most popular month for summer vacations. In July 2014, just 7 million did, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. That’s especially startling considering the fact that 60 million more Americans are employed today than in 1976. So, this week plan some time away from work for 2015 and realize the younger employees you work with are stressed out and maybe even more than those of us that have been around awhile.

Owning Your Work/Life Balance

Monday Morning Pep Talk

You are one of the lucky ones, you have a job. If you feel like you’re working harder, you are probably right. According to the mandarins at the U.S. Department of Labor workers over fifty years old work harder than their younger counterparts because they value work more. In 2010, Professor Jean Twenge, from San Diego State University, published results of a generational differences study in the Journal of Management. The study found, “young workers place little value on teamwork, company loyalty and see their jobs as merely a means to make a living; they like their leisure time, want more vacations, and don’t want to be under a lot of pressure at work.”

It is up to you to carve-out some “me time” away from the pressures of work to create some work/life balance. Your company isn’t going to do it for you and working 60 hours-a-week is no guarantee you won’t get laid off in the next round of  job cuts.

"The impact that taking a vacation has on one's mental health is profound," said Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who specializes in stress and relationship management. "Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out." Various other studies support the impact of vacations and time away from work on increased productivity, stress relief and a boost to overall health. So, why don’t more people take time off?

 Corporate America has a “24/7, never stop culture” and when senior corporate managers work seven days a week it permeates throughout the organization. Europeans embrace the idea of time away from work to recharge almost religiously. Vacations are enshrined in law. In countries like Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, employers are required to provide up to 20 days of paid leave. Americans, on the other hand, get an average of 12 days every year. A study conducted by the Families and Work Institute found that less than half of U.S. employees take their full vacation benefit.

Probably the best evidence of the “vacation effect” can be found in the Framingham Heart Study, which scientists have examined for years to understand what contributes to our well-being. More than 12,000 men who were at risk of heart disease were followed over nine years to see if there were ways to improve their longevity. Among the questions they were asked annually was about vacations. "The more frequent the vacations, the longer the men lived," says Karen Matthews, of Pittsburgh’s Mind-Body Center, who analyzed the data to assess the benefits of vacations.

Even if you can’t afford a trip away or you are unemployed and feel guilty about taking any time off your job search, a “stay-cation” in your own town or house-swapping with friends or relatives from another city are ways to recharge your batteries. According to Matthews,"It is important to engage in multiple leisure activities, both as a way to enjoy life more, but also to potentially have a benefit on health and be a stress reliever.” This Monday Morning Pep Talk was written a little late as I am taking my own advice and enjoying some time off.

Happy Labor Day in the USA

For those of us who labor and those looking for employment, a good rememberance for Labor Day.

 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Resumes that Win Interviews: 4 Secrets from Mr. Resume

I met Don Bauder (aka “Mr. Resume”) at an employment networking event last month. When someone gets introduced as “Mr. Resume” I’m thinking he better be good (mildly cynical). Don’s presentation earned him the title. I found myself taking notes and wanted to share a few nuggets of his extensive resume wisdom with you.

If you haven’t updated your resume in a few years...everything has changed. Here are four of Mr. Resume’s secrets in creating a winning resume that leads to an interview.

Secret #1: Skip the career objective at the top of the page. Bauder explained, “Objectives focus on what YOU (the job seeker) wants to do. In this competitive environment you have to stand out and create value for the employer.” He says what you want to do is to explain in this resume what you bring to the table. You have to set yourself apart by communicating your BRAND.

Secret #2: Tell a story. In the past we did a chronological data dump. With bullet points define your brand so your career makes sense to the reader. Examples of your results show what a job seeker can accomplish. According to Bauder, sometimes our experience doesn’t seem consistent for the job we are applying for and it is our job in the resume to tie it together for the reader.

Secret #3: Understand keywords: Computers screen today’s resumes, not people. The computer searches for keywords. Bauder explains that job-seekers have to do their homework and look for potential keywords in the job posting. If the person has that experience, put it in the resume. This is also the point he tells job seekers to never lie on their resume. “It is the worse thing you can do,” says Bauder.

Secret #4: Customize every resume you send out. Bauder explained that each resume has to position your brand a little differently depending on what the employer is looking for. The keywords are going to be different for each posting. He cautions if you use the same resume for your job search, you will be eliminated early in the search.

You can reach Mr. Resume via e-mail at: don_bauder@hotmail.com

Here are other links to blog posts with information related to resumes:

Successful Online Job Searches for Experienced Workers:

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2011/08/successful-online-job-search-tips-for.html

Turbocharge Your Career with Social Media

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2011/10/turbocharge-your-career-with-social.html