Wiser Worker Blog

The NPD Group, reported recently that Baby Boomers were taking the internet by storm…watch out teenagers your parents are surfing the web. 61% of Baby Boomers have viewed and downloaded video.  Videos give you a big impression in a bite size format and leave you wanting for more. This gets the baby boomer generation thinking and researching for more and that’s more information.  Guess what? The Older Worker Generation is spending 87% of their time surfing the internet, or about 123 minutes online daily.

Not only have that 41% of Baby Boomers been taking in the social networks sites, they are interacting.  That’s right they are taking advantage of the social features and meeting people. You might run into your parents on Facebook so you better be nice! These sites are no longer for the teeny boppers. 

On average the typical Boomer will experience two major life events surrounding career, family, finance or health each year. These events can and will have a major impact on attitudes, life goals and consumer behavior.  You bet they will turn to the internet to find solutions from finding a job to seeking advice and WiserWorker.com will be here to help.

Next week is the BIG week, the job fair series designed - just for you the older worker!  Visit WiserWorker.com for an event in your city. Are you ready for the job fair series?  Over the last few weeks WiserWorker.com has provided you will all the tips and tricks on how to get prepared for YOUR big day.  You have all the tools to make this day the day you found a job.

When you arrive at the job fair you will be ready because you took the time to do all the research we talked about in: Advanced Preparation for the Job Fair.  You wll be confident because you learned what type of questions you should ask employers when meet them: Job Interview Questions For the Employer. Let’s not even talk about how ready your resume is because you took the time to read Is Your Resume Job Fair Ready? Finally you are sure to the best dressed because you know what to wear to a job fair.

What’s left to get ready for the job fair?  You got it all! Go with confidence…you are prepared review the informationm put your best foot forward. Rememeber employers are eager to talk to you because you are the best candidate for their open positions.

My hope is that I gave you the information you needed to be ready, but if you need more information drop me an email or call me (813) 775-6279.   After the event let me know what happened: Did you get hired?

Good Luck…..You won’t need it you took the time to prepare.   

Over the last few weeks we have talked about how Baby Boomers have changed retirement and because of this there are more “older workers” in the workforce. I thought if might be fun and maybe useful to take a look at jobs that are perfect fit for the older job seeker! If there is career field you would like to know more about send me an email, and I will do my best to give you all the information I know and any information I can FIND.

Did you know that over 65% of truck drivers today are over the age of 50?

I didn’t, this caused me to take a deeper look into truck driving and who is hiring and why? Then finally what you the job seeker would get out of a career in truck driving.  I would venture that truck driving companies have turned their recruitment efforts to focus on the older worker because they have taken a look at the candidates and know they are the best for the job.  Mostly because what they bring to an employer: their work ethic and their loyalty to the job is unmatched.

What I found was pretty interesting, read on and maybe it will spark your interest.  

When thinking about truck driving Schneider National was the first company that came to mind, mostly because I have worked with them in the past and I know they make an effort to recruit older workers. Last year 15% of their recruits were older workers.  I was lucky enough to find a video about a couple who work for Schneider Trucking; it does a great job telling their story. I learned they started their second career truck driving as a way to supplement their retirement, keep insurance, see the country and finally reconnect with their family and each other. They found that truck driving provided and way to achieved all these things.

They have traveled over 200,000 miles in their first year of trucking driving and have seen their family many times in their travels.  Think about it: Many retirees purchase a RV and travel the country seeing family, this couple outfitted their truck be very much like an RV and are getting paid to be retired, drive see the country the only difference is they are also carrying cargo with them and getting PAID.  Talk about the best of both worlds!   

 Does this sound like something that might be of interest to you?  Well if it does check out WiserWorker.com or our sister website Careersingears.com dedicated solely to transportation jobs.  I also learned that over 65% of the CareersinGears.com visitors are over the age of 50. Many people are already driving in retirement! Our websites have many resources you might find useful when researching if a career in truck driving is right to you.   

As a company we selected this statement to represent WiserWorker.com and our older worker program and almost 2 years later I look back and think of all that this statement stands for: Older Workers, Baby Boomers and helping them find jobs.  I remember sitting around the conference table trying to select a statement that truthfully described what we were doing and what we hoped to accomplish in the future and thinking “hmmm I wonder if WiserWorker.com will live up to this”. 

So what are we doing to help you the Older Workers find work?

As company our hope is that through the continue education and awareness process we will help make a change in the recruitment world, because recruiters are the people who are make the hiring choices. Still I think older job seekers have doubts…so our job is not done.  I wrote a blog about benefits and the part time employee. I received feedback asking: “do these companies really in fact hire older workers?”  Well the companies in that particular blog are part of AARP’s national employer team as well as advertisers on our site.  I have in the past worked with them and to the best of my knowledge not only do they hire older workers they make it a practice.  Apply with confidence and know you are the best candidate!

WiserWorker.com: We created an online job board specifically designed for the baby boomers and older worker demographic. We make changes to the site based on feedback we get from job seekers. Our product was designed to be user friendly and for you, so if you would like to see a change email and I will see what I can do.  

Job Fair Series: Along with The AARP Foundation are co-hosting our biggest job fair series ever.  Last year The Employment Guide hosted over 40,000 job seekers in 40 cities nationwide and we are here to top those numbers in 2008.

Helping YOU the job seeker; I implore you to confidently attend job fairs. Contact your local WorkSeach program provided by the AARP Foundation, you will be amaze!  Finally apply for jobs that interest and share your knowledge and experience with others

WiserWorker.com has been online for 6 months and our job fair series is in its second year, while we have scratch the surface of the older worker issue, and sure we have made some strides, I realize that we have a lot to do still.   Our goal is to create a marketplace where older workers can easily find the job of their dreams. We aren’t there yet but we are closer.

I was reading an article the other day that focused on the realization that Baby Boomers and older workers would contribute huge numbers of qualified workers as we enter the period of time that aligns with the declining numbers of “younger workers” in the labor pool around years 2010-2015. You can read the full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4916661/

What got my attention was the discussion about the specific experience one older job seeker had while applying for a job.

She was clearly qualified, clearly enthusiastic about the opportunity, and seemed to appear, on paper, like a promising candidate for the position. However, once she got to the in-person interview, the hiring manager seemed turned off by her age.

I was disappointed.

Despite the progress we have made in America over the last 30 years concerning equality; issues like this may still be prevalent. Of course, the article was written four years ago and thanks to organizations like the AARP and the Department of Labor, we have come further, still. Awareness of mature workers’ value is becoming very well known. Companies of all sizes are being proactive in getting their employment opportunities in front of highly qualified, loyal employees who have a history demonstrating the best work ethic in older workers years of experience. Resources are sprouting all over the Internet for older candidates to find “Boomer-Friendly” employers and fast-track their applications to hiring managers for immediate consideration without the fear of discrimination.

Here are just some of the companies you can find on WiserWorker.com:

ADT Security Gate Gourmet

Aflac, Inc. Guardsmark

Bob Evans H&R Block

CBRE HMS Host

Cracker Barrel Intercontinental Hotel Group

Dollar General Stores Internal Revenue Service

Embassy Suites Jani-King

First Cash Harris Teeter

First Student And Many More….

(This guest post was written by Jeff Lebel, The General Sales Manager for the Washington D.C. Employment Guide.)

(Top Photo by criggchef)