Wiser Worker Blog

Growing up, I loved reading Dr. Seuss books.  Green Eggs and Ham was my all-time favorite.  I also liked the stories about the Zax and Sneetches.  Even now as an adult, I like giving Dr. Seuss books to my friends who are having kids.

What I am realizing as an adult is how influential those books have been in my life. The lessons in them that were transparent to me as a child are now a reminder of the things I try to be and do.

Green Eggs and Ham is still one of my favorite children’s books.  I love the persistence of Sam I Am and how hard he tries to get the green eggs and ham eaten.  Sam I Am has taught all of us to not be afraid to try new things.

Another one of my favorite stories was bout the North Going Zax and the South Going Zax.  They came to a point where they both faced each other and refused to move.  They were so set in their ways, that a whole city built up around them.  I learned that is it not always ok to be stubborn.

Then there is the story about the Sneetches.  One set had stars on their bellies and the others did not.  The ones without stars on their bellies wanted to get stars to be considered cool and equal to the star belly Sneetches.  After a bunch of adding and removing of stars, the Sneetches forgot who originally had a star on their belly and who did not.  They realize that as long as they were Sneetches, it didn’t matter what was on their belly.

All of these lessons were great to learn as a kid and stuck with me as I was growing up.  Now that I am an adult, these lessons are just as applicable.

In a new or current job or in life in general, it pays to be willing to try new things, being flexible and be true to who you are.

Thank you Dr. Seuss.

What things that you learned as a child still help you today?

I’ve seen several news sources lately that present quite a positive outlook for the 60+ workers considering getting into the workforce. It’s not surprising with the Baby Boomers gearing up for retirement it seems that there’s a lot of hype about whether or not we’ll have enough people to fill all the jobs that are available. Even now with a lack luster economy, it seems employers are looking for more experience, better quality candidates. Alot of these news stories have been saying that mature workers are actually preferred in some of the jobs that traditionally have been for teenagers or college students.

Quote from the Birmingham Post:

More than a third of businesses in the region are relying on older employees to plug skills shortages in their businesses, according to the Tenon Forum.

And more than half of owner-managers in the region are concerned about skills shortages and many claim younger recruits are often just not up to the job.

A lack of work readiness amongst graduates and poor literacy and numeracy amongst school leavers were key issues cited by businesses.

And many business owners are now looking to the previously untapped potential of older workers to plug the gap, with 63 per cent of SME leaders agreeing that the employment of workers aged 50 plus is a good solution to skills shortages. About one in six entrepreneurial businesses in the West Midlands actually prefer hiring older workers over college leavers as a solution to staffing problems.

(Read the full article: Older generation can solve the skills gap.)

Gazette.net in Maryland also had a similar story that emphasizes how hard it is this summer for teenagers to get their summer jobs. They’re finding that their biggest competition is more experienced adults who either have been laid off or looking to get some extra money to supplement their retirement or social security checks.

‘‘There are still jobs, but they tend to go to older workers who were laid off,” Mance said. ‘‘Kids tend to go to the back of the line, if you will, because more experienced workers are available and taking an interest in retail.”

When young people do find jobs, they either lucked into them or traveled to a tourist destination to live for the summer, she said.

‘‘Their parents want them to have jobs for the summer, but it’s brutal,” she said. ‘‘You have to be aware where the jobs are or stay where the jobs are if they provide housing.”

(Read the full article: For teens seeking a job, it’s summertime blues)

Now, I think the job market is different in every city and whether or not it’s as dire as the article makes it sound for teenagers, I think that there is one thing that is for sure - that mature workers really have a benefit of experience and that employers really have started considering them as a desireable (and in some cases preferred) demographic.

(Photo by ™bluhousworker)