You Have to OWN Your Career!

You brush your own teeth, try to make healthy food choices and take vitamins. Take responsibility for your career in the way you manage your health. I can’t take enough spoons full of liquid fish oil to help you realize the benefits of Omega 3s. Expecting someone else to manage your career for you is like asking your spouse to get a knee replacement to alleviate your knee pain.

Two interesting things happened this week. I took a couple of days of PTO to reconnect with friends and was totally inspired by two career stories.

The first is about a friend who put together a business case to ask for a raise. That in itself is career management and owning your career. How many people think they deserve to be paid more? Most. How many people can put together a business case that shows that above and beyond performing their job in an excellent way—they presented a plan to save their organization a lot of money and have helped another department meet their goals?  Very few. My friend called her meeting with her boss an “Epic Fail.” She wanted a merit increase or a substantial bonus. Instead she received a one-time (4-figure) bonus after meeting with her manager.

I don’t consider this an Epic Fail at all. My friend doesn’t realize her conversation was probably a genius move. First you have to understand how organizations work (sadly, this does not apply to family-owned businesses). No matter how much power, clout or bravado your manager has-their hands are generally tied in matters of compensation. The HR professionals that read this blog will confirm that “Comp” is 80% science and 20% art. Compensation is benchmarked with similar roles in the market, industry and region. There are minimums and maximums your salary must land in or you find yourself in the unenviable position of being paid more than your range. If you receive a flat one-time payment when everyone else receives a 1-5% merit increase—you’ve maxxed out of the range. The only way to stop that madness is to be promoted to a “Senior” title in your current role or increase a step like moving from a Scientist II to a Scientist III or make a lateral move that puts you in a different classification. If your organization does business with the federal government, paying employees random salaries can land them in BIG TROUBLE with an acronym that strikes fear in the hearts of HR professionals across America—the OFCCP.

Why is it Genius Move? Her boss now knows more about what his employee does which could help at merit time. If she can do her job, identify organizational saving strategies and help another department while performing her job highly—maybe it is time to leverage her skills in the next level job. No matter what happens internally, it is time to update her LinkedIn profile incorporating these new accomplishments. Her options are to stay put if she’s happy and look around if she’s not—she’s given herself options. That is career management at it’s finest in my opinion. (Read About the Second Story in Part 2).

Encore Careers in Unlikely Places

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Working past the age most people retire improves the chance that you won’t outlive your money. 70 is the target age to stop working according to a study from the Center for Retirement Research and was reported in the most recent issue of Money magazine. One of the big questions I am asked both online and at presentations is, “who will hire me at 64 (insert any age 50+)?” Actually there are jobs for older workers and as the economy continues to improve more and more people who dropped out of the workforce are finding there way back. Here are suggestions and if you know great careers for experienced workers, please share. I would love to hear about them.

• Work for Yourself: You don’t have to begin Kentucky Fried Chicken like Harlan Sanders did when he was 65. You could turn a hobby into a business or use your business expertise to provide consulting. I know a couple in their mid-50s who quit their corporate jobs to start a promotional item/event planning business that carried them into a more secure retirement over the next 15 years. If you have the good health, energy and risk-tolerance to start a big business, go for it! Remember my friend chronicled in this post who began a vineyard after a 25 year career in medical sales?     http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2011/11/turning-your-passion-into-career.html   I’ve heard real estate, professional organizers and home stagers are new favorite encore careers that will require certification and/or licensure to be competitive.

• Teaching: Yes teaching! It is not what it used to be. There are so many options. With a Master's degree you can teach at the community college level in your area of expertise. Many time your students are also non-traditional, so you are interacting with people who want to be in class hearing the knowledge and experiences you have to share. You can also teach online in your bunny slippers and no one will know. One of my “retired” neighbors teaches a few days a week at a preschool and she loves the interaction. Visit ccteach.org to learn more about teaching at higher grades.

• Health Care: While some positions in health care are being downsized, there are entire new health care job functions being created. Jobs for patient navigators or patient advocates are worth looking into if you like the idea of helping people and have an interest in health care. There are certification programs to make you more competitive. You can learn more by visiting the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants.

• Government Work: Am I crazy? No, I am not. Check USAJobs.gov to see which agencies are hiring in your area. I met a woman who mid-career decided that a government position would provide her the pension that none of her corporate jobs had offer even thought she spent 18 years in the workforce. So, she transferred her corporate training skills into a position with a federal agency and transferred to the Department of Homeland Security when we met. That agency didn’t even exist when she moved into the public sector. Since its inception in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security employs 240,000 with an annual budget of $60B in fiscal year 2013. Oh yeah, and that pension…they still have them through the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

Think creatively about encore careers especially if could not imagine doing your current job until age 70. You may want to go back for certification or training earlier (in your 40s or 50s) to make yourself more competitive and prepared for a new career when you are ready to make your move. Also, watch out for scams offering training, certification or education that sounds too good to be true.

Combining a Paycheck with Your Passion

Monday Morning Pep Talk

The nonprofit sector may offer experienced workers a second career combining passion, social interaction and a continued income. The thought of “doing well by doing good” may not have been a possibility early in a career, however the idea of finding work with meaning is often of high importance choosing a second career. According to the Urban Institute, from 2001 to 2011 nonprofit jobs grew 25% while new jobs in the for-profit sector rose half of one percent.

As mature workers consider moving from for-profit organizations to nonprofit work, here are three major misconceptions to be aware of when making the career change to a nonprofit:

Myth #1: Working in a nonprofit is less complicated than corporate employment. The reality is that nonprofits have the same complexities and organizational structures as corporations. Nonprofits have the additional burden of constant fundraising and the transparency required to donors insuring their contributions are primarily directed to programs supporting their mission. Nonprofits also require the same infrastructure of any corporation including information technology, human resources, accounting, legal services, communication strategists, purchasing and project management along with a dependence on volunteers. 

Myth #2: Nonprofit employees spend all their time focused on their cause. The reality is while a nonprofit is not focused on shareholders and stock prices, the organization needs a revenue stream to maintain their programs and services. Fundraising and funding again becomes a focus. Whether the revenue stream comes from the government, businesses, individuals in the community or a mix of these sources, time is required to build and maintain relationships with funders. There are fundraising events to plan, grants to be written and after action reports due explaining to donors how their gifts were utilized.  In the nonprofit setting employees wear many hats, so “that’s not my job” is not an appropriate response.

Myth #3: Everyone working for nonprofits is “nice”.  As a donor, board member or volunteer people see nonprofit employees at their best. Many employees in the nonprofit sector are passionate, mission-driven individuals focused on their cause, however, all people have their flaws and that’s true in the nonprofit arena as well as corporate America. Work stress and burnout from difficult co-workers, office politics, a poor work environment or negligent leadership happens at nonprofits just like any other organization. The same skill sets used to manage challenging relationships in earlier jobs will help in the nonprofit environment.

Before making the switch from the for-profit world to the nonprofit sector, do your homework to insure the organization you plan to join is legitimate and a good steward of donor contributions. This can be done by consulting resources including www.guidestar.org, or the Better Business Bureau Charity List or Charitynavigator.org.

The 2014 Purpose Prize

$100,000 Prize from Encore.org Seeking Nominations NOW!

What are you doing after work? If you know someone 60+ that is making a difference for their community and making society better, you can nominate them for The Purpose Prize sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies and run by Encore.org. There is a second $100,000 prize in 2014 for an individual whose approach to helping society will grow steadily over the next five years.

The Process: 

You may nominate yourself or someone else. They must be at least 60 years old at the time of nomination.

Nominations are accepted until January 31, 2014 at 11:59 Eastern Time.  Nominees will be contacted by encore.org and must complete the online application and application narrative by February 7, 2014.

Semi-finalists are required to submit a resume, references and have a telephone interview by March 28, 2014. 

Learn more about the awards, encore fellowships, view a 2:40 minute video and learn more about past winners at www.encore.org.

GO FOR IT:

 In the 21^st Century there is a new vision for 60-year-olds. With over twenty years ahead of them, today’s sixty-year-olds are redefining personal fulfillment, social impact and passion. People at sixty are not fading away; they are moving from success to significance in their lives. According to encore.org, the top five encore careers are: 

Health Care Encores

Green Encores

Government Encores

Nonprofit Encores

Education Encores

Even if this year is not your year to pursue a Purpose Prize; this is a great time to learn more about the award and work toward becoming a finalist. This is the ninth year of the program and it shows no signs of going away. 

The Early Retirement Myth, Part Two

Early feedback from part one of this series was clear, retiring early is a myth of youth. The more years we work either as an employee or an entrepreneur, adults realize retiring at forty or fifty-five years-old is an illusion. An e-mail I received this week summed up the myth, it read:

“...if you have the smarts, passion, energy and focus

to achieve the financial resources needed to retire at 45 or 55

and live another forty years; you are by definition a driven person.

The same goal-oriented, successful individual is not going to be

satisfied with what you term a “3-G” retirement...”

Many times “early retirement” is a euphemism for trading in an unsatisfying job or career for work that is more meaningful and rewarding. It is not about ending employment to spend forty years on the beach relaxing; it is about reinventing yourself and discovering happiness in the second half of your life. Life after fifty looks different for everyone and the options are endless. You can continue to work if you like your job and the company values the expertise of mature employees. There are more options to work from home as technology improves or to have a flexible work schedule if you must go into an employer’s building. All of these changes make it easier to continue working into your 60s and 70s if you choose.

Over the years, I began to view the retirement life stage more  holistically including health, financial well-being, satisfying relationships, meaningful activities whether they are paid or unpaid, physical activity and spirituality. As the global economy sputters towards recovery, the financial impact of retiring early cannot be ignored. According to the Census Bureau in 2010 nine percent of U. S. senior citizens lived in poverty. A global income study, Elder Poverty in an Ageing World, by a team of researchers (Smeedling et. al) was published in 2008. In their study, the United States had 25% of seniors over age 65 in poverty leading Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Canada with 6 percent based on 2000 data.

I know many workers experienced forced “early retirement” through a lay-off, company shut-down and unexpectedly being terminated from employment in their 40s and 50s. “The element of surprise is the worse feeling,” according to one 50+ blog reader that emailed me about their small town plant closing last summer. The human resources professional did not see it coming. New owners acquired the manufacturing plant two years ago and assured the senior management team their operation was performing satisfactorily two weeks before filing the WARN Act (impending plant closing) paperwork. Recently I received an e-mail through LinkedIn. The 54-year-old former HR Director found work at a higher salary after a four month job search, lots of networking and earning certification in her HR specialty. In the past few months, more experienced workers are finding good jobs again. One blog reader recently purchased a franchise after reading the post in July, performing their research and contacting Jim Gleason.

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2012/07/buying-franchise-is-it-right-for-you.html

Maybe early retirement is an oxymoron. What is your plan for your life after work? Retiring early? Share your views in the comments section anonymously if you prefer.  I'm interested in hearing from you.

 You have 168 hours, make it a great week!