Wiser Worker Blog

Now you might think because I manage a job board in this fast paced world I might be somewhat adapted to change.   Well that couldn’t be further from the truth, in fact truth be told I usually fight change kicking and screaming, and I never win.  Change Happens. However, as I age I’m getting more comfortable with change but sadly I’m not sure I will ever accept it with open arms. Baby Steps……right? I especially like when people quip that the only constant in life is change, oh boy does that get me excited!

My point today is that change is going to happen regardless and the only way to lessen the effect is expect change and accept it.  The biggest and scariest change happens is when you discover you have to look for a new job or perhaps a new career.  Especially if you are looking at a career change, where do you start?  Never fear you have tools to get you navigate through the task of finding your new employment home.  

AARP Foundation WorkSearch -Whether you’re looking to re-enter the workforce or upgrade from your current job, AARP can help you.

WiserWorker.com- Job Board designed for older workers, easy to navigate and find a job in markets across the country.  

You’re not alone in the quest to seek out a job and don’t worry to the best of my knowledge change has never killed anyone and in fact after change is over I am always happy with change. It’s getting and living with change that will make you stronger.

Good Luck to you and give me a shout out if you need help!

Have you ever been truly wowed?  Have you even met someone that was so full of energy and excitement that it wore you out?  I mean the type of person who literally saw no boundaries? The type of man who has never met a task too great. If he took on a project you knew that not only would it be completed but the outcome would be beyond your expectations?  I have and his name was Dave Harmon.

I looked forward to national meetings because I knew Dave would be there and he always made the event more interesting and well…..just more fun. He had the ability to light up a room by simply walking in, and YES he was always surrounded by people.    Many times I would call Dave to seek advice on a project or idea, or more often just to say hi because he always made my day brighter.

Our Employment Guide Family today is a little smaller but I know we will always carry the memory of Dave with us, because he was a big part of our family. I hope Dave knew the impact he made on The Employment Guide, our family of products and the people who make them run. My only regret, I don’t know if I even took the time to tell Dave what a great man he was to me and my vision.

Don’t cry because he’s gone. Smile because he was here.  Dave Harmon….Thank you for the contribution you made and for being the man you were.  You will be missed and never replaced.  

Older Worker…what does this term mean?  Does it infer age, experience or maybe a segment of a marketplace? Perhaps it means all three of those combined?  What it shouldn’t do is turn you off.  To me the term older worker should be looked at as a badge of honor, it means this particular employee has fought the employment battle and has the expertise to prove it; it’s a trait every employer should be seeking in a candidate.  

Still it’s a constant point of conversation when you bring up any fraction of the word old; rather it is old, older or oldest.  So when we ventured in this quest to create WiserWorker.com. I was a bit timid at first because we really are serving the older worker, however what to call them? So the research. Began I started with talking too many and I “mean many” people about what term really fits the target market. 

What do the people who we are targeting (older workers) react to?  You might be surprised to know the only people who turned their noses up at the term older worker really don’t fit into the category!  The people who do fit into our demographic didn’t really seem to mind.
Moreover, I found it was a case of “call a spade a spade!”

You see what I found out is getting old can be one of two things an adventure or a death sentence. You can boldly accept the fact you are going to age because whether you accept it or not it’s gonna happen….then accept with it with grace!  Being older is a badge of honor; it’s a sign of distinction.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?  ~Satchel Paige

When you enter a interview….it’s a question your likely to encounter and goes something like this: What are your expectations for this position if you were to be the candidate chosen? Stop and think how you would answer this question, and before you speak realize there isn’t a right or wrong answer. What your response can indicate is how much time you have invested into determining if this is the right position for you.

Ideally before you interview for any potion you should have a clear picture of what you expect beyond your weekly paycheck. Some of my expectations of my job at WiserWorker.com are as follows:

Clear expectation of what my career path looks like both now and in the future.

What’s expected of me by my superiors.

What my customers expect from me - both internal and external.

What and how I will be compensated.

I have a clear understanding of my schedule.

So take a deep breath and decide what you want out of what your next job. Find out if they can and will meet your expectations and if you can meet theirs. It’s important to set those expectations from the very start because if you don’t you run the risk of being let down or even worse letting your employer down.

Over the weekend I witnessed an interaction between a group of people and frankly I thought it was “cute” and as I have moved along through this week I realized what I witnessed was more than cute it was a desire for more.  This single event has given me renewed hope that people are still striving for more; and moreover it’s never too late to do more or perhaps be more.  

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day; I was planning on taking my grandmother to lunch as usual I arrived early at her retirement home.   Admittedly I like to arrive early because I love to sit in the lounge as the people there are so nice, and there’s always someone to talk to!  This Sunday was no different, and the ladies were dressed to the nines!  I had only been there moments before 3 nice ladies sat down next to me and quickly identified themselves as the “singles” I must have displayed a look on my face as they offered further explanation. You see these three ladies were all single; but certainly not alone.  However I quickly learned that they were looking needed a 4^th person to complete their group. I noticed how quickly they worked to scan the room for the 4th lucky person who they would be invited join their lunch group. It wasn’t long until they found their target.  The rest of the story is much as you expected; one of these ladies went and caught the lucky gentleman who would be their lunch date.  As sure as I’m sitting here I bet he has a grand lunchtime!

All week I have thought of these ladies and smiled, but it wasn’t until today that their lesson caught up with me. NEVER give up. Each morning when these ladies wake up they have a choice they can be a “single” and stay up in their rooms and be alone or they can venture out and join the ranks of their single comrades and have FUN. These ladies seemed to enjoy life in fact they seemed to be enjoying it a little much!

The lesson: is it’s never too late to do anything…..get a date, find a new job, or make a new friend. These are all chances and take an element of adventure but I urge you to take the leap….the rewards are plentiful.   

This week marks the 1^st Anniversary of Wiserworker.com online, ONE year; the time has flown mostly because we are having FUN! As I look back at the last year it’s been an incredible journey full of adventure, learning and most of all creation. This last year we have put a product out on the market to help the older workers in a niche environment. There have been alternations along the way and improvements around every corner.

We wanted to get feedback from the users both on the employer and the job seeker side and use that information to make a better product. After 12 months we will begin using that feedback to enhance WiserWorker.com.  Keep your eye on us as we move towards these new enhancements. At WiserWorker.com we strive to have a better product; that’s always has been and will be our top priority.

Over the last year I have written several times about scams; particularly how to avoid them.  It seems that as we as a country tries to dig out of this economic shape we are in we are in the more we see scams surface.  I will never understand how people can prey on others in a time of need but that’s not the topic of the day. 

The topic is avoiding being a victim, only you can protect yourself.  Each one of us has the ability to navigate and avoid scams; we just have to make smart choices.  The best place to start is by remembering this: “If it sounds too good to be true, then perhaps it is.”  People by nature like to take the road most traveled because well it’s easy; the problem the road most traveled is where the scam artists live and find their victims.  

Anyone who is searching for a job knows that the job market is tough right now, so naturally that’s the latest place we are seeing a new crop of scam artists.  In a recent article in The Arizona Republic the reporter highlighted all the possible ways to scam the unsuspecting job seeker some of these were new and some of them we have talked about after reading the article I noted one commonality among all the potential scams. They ALL involved the job seeker sending in money to gain information or for an interview.

You have heard me say it before but I will say it again:  You are looking for a job where you will EARN a living; this should not cost you anything. Anyone who wants money to help you look for a job is probably not on the up and up. Protect yourself and don’t become a victim. Look for a job the traditional way online at wiserworker.com, its hard word to find a job. Nothing worth anything comes free in life. 

DON’T take any shortcuts that you will end up regretting!

Time’s almost out to take advantage of this great resource!!!

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Expectations can either make your life easier or build barriers depending on how you manage them. I have been working on this particular entry for a few days.  This particular subject is confused in my own mind…maybe I had an expectation this blog would be something that it’s not…hmmm there’s a thought as well as a common theme.

Expectations can get in the way of our life experience if you let them. As human creatures we have the habit of plotting out exactly in our minds how something should be, not what it CAN be.  We spend so much time trying to figure out what something should look like that sometimes we miss the experience.  Why not let nature take its course?   It’s a loss of control, and that freaks us all out.  The problem with this behavior is you set yourself up for failure because you will never fully allow yourself the luxury of experimenting or going with the flow. We allow ourselves and our expectations to be controlled by other people or most times ourselves.

Example:  I recently attended a job fair hosted by a local agency; unfortunately there were too few jobs and too many job seekers.  This is a result of our economy…..it’s just reality. Due to the sheer volume of job seekers there was a line.  The end result of this situation was many unhappy job seekers.  Since there was a line and people waiting I figured it was as good as time as any to talk to people to see what they were thinking.  I found out the real problem and you might be surprised at what I found out…it seemed that the lack of jobs wasn’t the issue. It was the fact that they didn’t know what to expect, the common expectation was that once they got inside the doors there would be the ideal job.  I also found that many people didn’t know what the ideal job for them looked like.  Then it was also the people who were leaving who were unhappy that got everyone in a tizzy.

What might have helped people get more out of this event was a little reconnaissance. Before any event job seekers can called the promoters and asked what companies were attending the event and what jobs would be available.    That way the expectation of the event would be set and both parties could set up a realistic expectation. If you knew whey kind of jobs were going to be at an event then you would know if there would be a job that would fit your skill set.

My one and only point is set your expectation based on quality information, and give yourself the chance to experience life and what it has to offer and don’t be limited by  expectation.

“Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.” Charlotte Bronte

That’s what every adult has always taught me, always followed with an assortment of the following comments:

So you need to work hard

Keep focused

Keep your eye on the prize.

You get the picture, so you can imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to the news that there are several establishments where you can indeed go to get either a free meal or meals at a discounted price. Pretty impressive especially in our current economic condition, there’s nothing more impressive than when companies all pitch in and help out the American people.

Here are the Deals I found they are all in the form of a coupon you will have to download:

Kentucky Friend Chicken 2 Piece Meal

Wendy’s lots of different coupons

Denny’s You will have to join their club

Schlotzsky’s Deli - Special Offers posted periodically.

Baskin Robbins EVERYONE loves Ice Cream

So in the end it does turn out if you able to access the internet and hunt for coupons you can find maybe a free meal and this does help out especially when you are looking for a job!