The Early Retirement Myth

                           The Early Retirement Myth: Why I am Not Retiring Early
                                                    and Neither Are You

I have a friend named Fred who constantly asks me when I’m going to retire. This is simultaneously a compliment and it is annoying. It is a compliment because obviously Fred imagines as a single mom/head of household for nearly twenty years; I am financially savvy enough to make the numbers lineup to retire at age 55. It is equally annoying because:

(a) The numbers are FAR from lining up despite my best efforts

(b) I enjoy working and the social engagement that comes from interacting with others

(c) With my genes I could easily outlive the Institute of Medicine’s forecast for U.S. women’s life expectancy of 80-85. My grandma died at home in her sleep at 104 of no particular disease and other family members are living well past IOM’s predicted expiration date

(d) All of the Above.

At forty-three years old, Fred has a rockin’ career, 2.0 young children, a wife, suburban home and seems to be on the trajectory to “Dream Street.” He assures me when he’s my age—he’s closing his office door for a life of 24/7/365 leisure. With a 401(k) approaching seven figures, Fred thinks his future is going to be an endless vacation. This is the point when I bring out the stick pin to burst the bubble of Fred’s Early Retirement Fantasy. If you are reading this in your 40s (and I know some 20s & 30-somethings read this blog even though I tell them there are secrets spilled here you have to be at least 40 to comprehend), let me guarantee you this: Barring some extraordinary life event, 99% of employees and business owners will not retire by choice at 55. There is a good reason for this. Fred, take notes.

Most of the people who talk about early retirement only focus on the financial aspects. From researching and interviewing people who have retired well and marginally before starting this blog; the happiest retirees approach leaving work from a holistic perspective. If you aspire to the traditional 3G retirement lifestyle of Golf, Grandkids and General Practitioner with no extra revenue being earned; it is very expensive. In 2012, according to Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old couple is estimated to need $240,000 to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by the Medicare plan in place today. Imagine carrying the weight of all your family's health care needs on your broad shoulders at 55—you might even still have kids in college!

When I was consulting a financial planner in the roaring 1990s—she said I would only need 70-80% of my income when I retired. What did she expect me to give up? Driving? As I was shredding her proposal a few nights ago, I realized her projections were before Starbucks, iPhones and DirectTV were even in my budget. Anyway, the retired people I interviewed said in the early years of their retirement, they spent much more than when they were working. Many retirees wanted to travel and never had time when they were employed full-time. Other retirees found time to indulge in hobbies and it cost money to pursue these activities—even gardening can become pricey. You have your first grandchild and lose your mind buying “stuff” even the most boring grandparent will donate money to their namesake’s College 529 plan. Uber-cool grandparents splurge on the $$ (not available in stores) 6V Hello Kitty Quad ATV scoring it on eBay.

It doesn’t matter how much is in your 401(k) in 2013 or if your company is the rare one with a defined benefit pension plan. At fifty-five you’re walking away without the full company benefit that kicks in at 62 or 65 anyway. If Fred thinks he can retire at 55 and then cruise into Social Security with a reduced benefit at 62—oh please! When he turns fifty and joins AARP their website will warn him of the folly associated with that strategy. Claiming social security benefits early is the right choice for only certain situations. Still not convinced? In Part II we’ll cover that other non-financial reasons, you may want to nix the early retirement idea and think again. Forward this to someone!

Get Ready for Your Close-Up: Interviewing in the Video Age

You say you want a revolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world.......

                                                        Lyrics from "Revolution" by John Lennon

When it comes to interviewing, the future has arrived. Technologically advanced organizations and some others that would surprise you are already using video interviewing, Skype and video conferencing technology to source candidates. What began as a recruitment tool used by Silicon Valley

companies is now being used in organizations as diverse as the VA Hospitals and non-profit organizations. As the technology becomes more accessible and recruiters become more comfortable with the camera, you can expect to interview via video at some point in your career.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to be part of the selection panel for a non-profit agency seeking a high-level member of their leadership team. Three candidates were in the final round after telephone interviews and the online application process. Of these three potential candidates the final two would come to Indiana for a face-to-face interview that would cost the organization airfare, hotel, meals and ground transportation. In the past few years, I’ve had an opportunity to advise blog readers preparing for their first video interview and participate in additional selection panels.

Here are a few tips from what I experienced:

1.      If you are not going to the company’s local office for the video interview with a remote office—manage your environment. If you are using Skype from home, make sure your surroundings are quiet, lighting is adequate and the background is professional. Don’t set up your laptop in your bedroom! I’m not joking, I heard of someone that did. No crying babies, no barking dogs and no ringing telephones. Hopefully you will be at your recruiter’s office using their professional video conference equipment and they will prepare you, but I’ve known others who have interviewed from home.

2.      Reduce the shine—I’m being a little picky here (and you may say superficial), but image matters. Shiny faces, dirty smeared glasses lens and men with light reflecting off a bald head comes across poorly in an HD video environment. I asked a friend in the television business how to combat this and they suggested you do what the stars do and apply a little powder if your image is gleaming. If you wear glasses, like I do, clean them before the camera starts rolling. Since I’m being superficial—avoid highly patterned dresses or ties. Go with solid colors that make you feel great.

3.      Appear relaxed—the best way to look natural knowing that you’re on camera with people interviewing you from various locations for a great job, you really want is PRACTICE. Ensure your technology works by using your webcam with a relative or friend first. Have your silenced cell phone nearby in case their equipment fails and it becomes a conference call interview. Become comfortable with the microphone, know its range, so you don’t appear to lean forward and speak into it. Also, insure the camera is at eye level so you don’t appear to be looking up at the interviewers or with the desk mounted camera, you don’t want to look down. Looking down gives all of us a double chin (I am being superficial again, sorry).  Remember to smile when appropriate especially during the initial introductions and the sign-off, the interviewers will remember your smile.

4.      Know your Interviewers Names—this is important because video interviews have their limitations. When one interviewer is at the corporate office in Boston and two others are at a field office in San Antonio, you cannot make eye contact with one person specifically. I was particularly impressed with a candidate who occasionally called us by name when answering a question. If it were done too much, it would be annoying, but it is a great way to acknowledge a specific interviewers question and serves as giving them eye contact.

For experienced job candidates, don’t let this technology throw you off your “A” game. This is one area where younger workers and more mature workers are on close to equal footing because video interviewing is new for everyone even the hiring managers. Yes, they are going to see how old you are (even before they ask your birth date to book your flight to come for the face-to-face interview) and the interviewers will also see your maturity, your self-confidence and adaptability to technology.
Get ready for your close-up and your new job!

Job Interview Tips for Experienced Workers

Interviewing for a job in your 40s, 50s, and 60+ is not the same as the interviews of our youth. Part One of this guide is for the elements that are the same, like not bashing your former employer or boss. Part Two focuses on the high tech changes because video interviews are here to stay!  Please read Part One even though it is a refresher, Part Two is video interviewing and will be posted soon. Part two is especially important if you haven’t interviewed in the past five years.

First, congratulate yourself because your resume won you a chance to move to the short list of candidates.

The Basics Are Still Worth Repeating:

1)     Even if someone on the interview team talks badly of your current or former company because they have worked there and know how bad it is, DO NOT speak badly of your boss, the company or senior management. Focus on the job you are interviewing for and how excited you are about this opportunity.

2)    Be on time. Leave early, allow for traffic and plan ahead.  However, if you are at the interview “stalker-like early” just sit in the car nearby until 15 minutes before your appointment. Arriving two hours early and wanting to sit in the lobby or being in the parking lot before the company opens smacks of desperation (and it scares people).

3)    Dress appropriately. Even interviews at health clubs deserve attire you wouldn’t work out in while you are trying to win the job. A man can never go wrong in a suit that fits great. A visit to the tailor for alterations can update an older suit. I always err on the side of conservative dress for women, but NOT the interview suit of the 1980s—remember the navy or black skirted suit with the white shirt with a bow tie? A visit to the free personal shopper at a high-end department can help you put together an ensemble worthy of an interview with C-suite executives.

4)    Avoid being patronizing to younger people on the interview team or women. Recently, I heard from a female business owner that a 40ish man she was interviewing referred to her as “dear” and “my dear” several times during the interview. He didn’t get the job. I have also seen 40+ interviewees act dismissive toward 20-somethings that are either human resource professionals or members of the interview team. Balance being professional and respectful to administrative staff with being obnoxious. (Note: To the guy who was doing magic tricks for the secretaries; they thought you were a weirdo. If you want to work again, stop the magic tricks.)

5)    Practice Practice Practice! Find someone to role-play with and practice how you will answer the basic behavioral interview questions—the ones that begin with “tell me about a time when you…”  The interviewer is expecting a succinct response to how you solved a work problem in the past. These types of interview questions are asked under the premise that what you’ve done in the past predicts how you handle situations in the future.

6)    Above all else, don’t talk too much—it seems the older we get, the more we enjoy talking. Stay focused. Answer the questions add appropriate SHORT examples, insure you’ve addressed the issue by asking and be quiet. At the end of the interview, “CLOSE” for the job! 

Avoiding a Mid-Life Career Skyfall

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Over the weekend I saw Skyfall, the new James Bond movie (which I highly recommend) and from a mid-life career management standpoint, this is a case of art imitating life.

New (younger) management comes into the company and tells the older person in charge to retire voluntarily “with dignity” or get dragged through the mud and be forced out. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. But in the movie (and I am not giving the plot away) the older person says, “To hell with dignity! I’ll retire when the job is done!” and storms off. That’s the part when you remember it is a movie.   It never quite plays out like that in real life.

In Skyfall, our hero James is older and somewhat worse for the wear. Obviously, the very negligent HR professionals at his employer have never suggested the Employee Assistance Plan for his hard-drinking or counseled him about habitual sexual harassment and gratuitous violence he’s shown in getting the job done.

Here are a couple of Skyfall moments to pack your mid-life career parachute with:

1. When a mistake is made, organizations make someone pay. The bigger the error, the more heads roll. Skyfall had an embarrassing security breach and people died. Hopefully your job it is not quite that intense.

007 TIP: Don’t sign up for any high-visibility projects tipping toward the probability of failure, lead a project that is not fully-resourced or align yourself with someone in career freefall. I know it is not always your choice. If someone signs you up for a project with the Codename: TITANIC, update your resume.

2. If you are not constantly adding to your skill set, reinventing yourself and expanding your network; you might as well get measured for a blue vest at the nearest big box store. In Skyfall, the war was fought technologically. The weapons were laptops, computer hacking and viruses. The days of exploding pens are long gone.

007 TIP: Is your latest education over ten years old? It is time to supplement your experience. Bond’s nemesis asked, what was the super-spy’s hobby—his answer “resurrection”. Get comfy with technology. There’s always going to be a new boss to prove yourself to if you want to stick around.

3. What comes around goes around. In business as in life, time heals wounds and time wounds heels. It is better to err on the side of being kind (even in the hard cold world of business) than being a heartless robotic jerk, because over the span of a career lifetime, it comes back at you in spades.

007 TIP: Skyfall was the most dramatic Bond movie with the least amount of special effects. There were plenty of explosions and the Aston Martin DB-5 was back, but the drama was in the emotion. M was stoic as her past actions were called into question. Over the years, we become more introspective. A philosophical Bond had to go home literally and metaphorically to face his past.

From my vantage point, it was great to see 007 hold on to his job and be given a chance to work with the new management team.  Although the HR part of me still thinks his employee relations rep should have that heart-to-heart talk with Bond and begin documenting (just in case)- lol. You’ve got 168 hours to make it a great week!

Keep Your Dream Alive

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly....proverb

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Midlife can be overwhelming, there’s no other way to describe it. On Friday a good friend of mine started her day off being robbed at home---and all the hassles that entails along with the feeling of being violated. She arrived at work to find unexpected turmoil there and additional situations flared throughout the day. Some things you can try to plan for like Hurricane Sandy barreling its way to the East Coast this week. Other life events blindside us and knock us off balance for a minute. Sometimes in mid-life you begin to think, when will I finally get a break?

Here’s a tip someone gave me that I really consider a gift; so I’ll share it with you. Never stop dreaming. Keep at least three dreams: #1 The impossible dream, the one that is really out there. You can’t even share it out loud because people might think you are crazy. #2 The dream that with the right breaks, the right people coming into your life, the hard work on your part, you could see it really happening. #3 The dream future you see for yourself in whatever timeframe you are working on. It could be next week when you are on vacation. Maybe it is next month visiting friends and family for Thanksgiving. It could be next year; in five years when you retire—whatever.

In our hectic lives, it is easy to lose sight of our dreams. In the middle of the e-mails that must be read; the phone calls that must be returned; and reports that are due, find a minute and remember your dreams. If you don’t have a dream, create one. I asked the person who shared the 3-dream idea with me, “where am I supposed to find the time?” He told me about going to sit in his car in the parking lot at work just to take a few minutes to remember the big picture and his dream of a home on the coast overlooking an ocean. It energized him. For years, my friend and his family had experienced the worst of times—job losses, serious illness and unexpected family deaths. Years passed and later, I visited my friend and his family in their incredible home overlooking the ocean. They were changed, tested by what the years had put them through yet, stronger, wiser and more confident having survived it.

I reminded my friend of what he shared with me about holding on to my dreams and the impact that conversation has had on my life. I asked, “what’s the encore?” looking at their expansive home and incredible ocean view while almost feeling the positive vibe in the air.  He smiled and said, “You ain’t seen nothing, yet!” So, this week dig around and find your dream if you’ve lost it. Create a dream if you don’t have one. Remember your dream, if life has gotten in the way. You have 168 hours to take the first steps toward making your dreams reality. Have a great week!

Bring Your Wounds to Work Week

Monday Morning Pep Talk

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I know this because when I had a prescription filled last week, the bottle had a pink cap. It is a good cause with fantastic marketing, so I put a dollar in the pink bucket at the card table volunteers had set up by the pharmacy window. At home, there was an e-mail. It was an appeal from the daughter of a dear friend to sponsor a child for National Bully Prevention Month. Of course, it is difficult to ignore the plight of kids, so I pledged my support and sent a donation.  Secretly I was hoping some kid wouldn’t get teased like I did about my light blue plastic-framed “cat” glasses in third grade. (I’m still somewhat sensitive about that).

There are a lot of birthdays for me to remember in October, so I was busy sending Facebook “shout outs” and making birthday calls when National Boss Day arrived October 16. That’s kind of a sticky one. If I sent a card would it look like pandering and sucking up? Probably. If I ignored it would it look even worse? Probably. I opted for a text message to the boss and donated a can of food in the barrel outside the grocery store for World Food Day also October 16.

As the weekend rolled around there was one more birthday to acknowledge which required a log into Facebook where I learned Saturday was World Statistics Day. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, “Happy World Statistics Day!” “Congratulations on not being a Statistic?” My statistician FB friend posted this announcement in hopes of some reaction, so I “Liked” it.

Between now and Halloween there is: International Stuttering Awareness Day today and United Nations Day Wednesday. The entire week is Red Ribbon Week.

 I have added my own commemoration: Bring Your Wounds to Work Week. I figured people do it anyway. Every workplace is filled with "your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...sorry that’s the inscription on the Statute of Liberty. Seriously, every workplace is filled with people that have a back story and drama that makes them who they are---micromanagers, insecure, a bit of a jerk, chronically late, the ethically challenged, not very trusting, lacking confidence, or overwhelmed. Just when you think...I’ve had enough; remember--we only have to work with them. Since most of us missed, "Do Something Nice Day" on October 5—Old Navy sent tweets about it, so obviously DSND is the real deal. This week, let's belatedly have a little compassion for our co-workers. Who knows what they are coping with when they are not on the job.

We all have 168 hours, make it a great week!

Winning Resumes for Experienced Workers

Resumes can be segmented into the good, the bad and the ugly, just like the movie. Recently I read a resume that upped the ante far past ugly. This frightful five-page, single-spaced summary inspired me to address the resume issue again for anyone born when the original movie was released in 1966 or earlier. As gently and respectfully as I can say this to readers everywhere; there is nothing you have done or will do in a corporate setting that requires a five page resume. Okay, there I’ve said it, let’s move on.

The resume exists for one reason, to gain you an interview. That interview may initially be on the telephone and even if it is; the resume has succeeded.

Keep the statement above in mind, and let it guide your resume writing. I disagree with the school of thought and resume practitioners who believe resumes need an objective. Your objective is to gain an interview. The company doesn’t care if you want to leverage your significant strengths in a way to......(zzzzz, I fell asleep). This is not about you, the resume writer—job seeker. This is about the company who is going to pay you, provide you benefits and open a world of opportunities.

Resumes are not read by people anymore mostly for compliance and efficiency reasons. When you apply for a job online on the company’s career page, your resume is entered into an applicant tracking system and retrieved out of that system by someone in the recruiting department (as a rule, the bigger the company, the more junior the person doing the retrieving). Here's an example of what can happen:

500 resumes are received for requisition #56812- Director, Communication and Community Relations for a large regional bank in the recruiting system. These tracking systems use filters. The first filter might be location. The company shouldn’t have to pay to relocate someone with that many applicants. Filtering by location still left the recruiting assistant with over 100 resumes, so he tries a different filter. The bank has had success hiring from competitors; so the junior recruiting assistant keys in the names of competitive banks and voila, twenty-six resumes appear with recent banking industry experience—twelve candidates are local. Two applicants worked for the bank before and are on the “do not rehire list” (yes, that list exists). The ten remaining  resumes are forwarded to the overwhelmed recruiter in charge of the requisition and 490 people will never hear from the company unless their applicant tracking system had an automated, “don’t call us, we’ll call you” screen when they applied. There are as many filters as a company can customize. The bank may have wanted someone with strong media experience, with a certain professional certification or an advanced degree. The applicant tracking system can scan for all of these variables and more.

What can you do?

Have a person who writes and spells well proofread the resume and do not rely on spellcheck.

Read the job posting and use the same keywords in the posting within your resume. (It increases the likelihood your resume will make the scan).

If you know someone at the company have them enter your resume through the employee referral program. Companies often review referrals first.You score an advantage and the employee receive a finders fee after you are hired.

Keep the resume to one page, two at the most. Highlight achievements, not job duties.

There are a lot of long-term unemployed people out there, be honest. Anything you have done to improve your skills while unemployed shows initiative-online classes, free webinars, earning job-related certifications will help if it applies to the job posting.

Keep formatting simple and jobs chronological. The applicant tracking system is a computer program and many of the systems do not process exotic fonts, text boxes and bolding well. Unless it allows a pdf file, you may lose your formatting. Also, a lot of the systems cannot process functional resumes properly.

Consider investing in a professional resume writer if your resume is not yielding interviews. Your local workforce development office or job club may offer these resources at no charge.

Before resumes turn into interviews, it is not uncommon for recruiters to search quickly for you online. Search yourself to insure your online persona and your resume are in alignment, any discrepancies may cost you an interview. Skip the cutesy personal email addresses. Create an email just for your job search if needed.

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2011/12/resumes-that-win-interviews-4-secrets.html

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