Wiser Worker Blog

2009 marks the 50^th anniversary of Alaska and Hawai’i being admitted to the union.  That just blows my mind.  It is hard to imagine only 48 stars on the flag, yet that is what baby boomers grew up knowing.  I will admit, I find American history very interesting, so the process of states being admitted to the union is fascinating to me.

What seems normal and commonplace to us now will seem strange to the next generation.  Just as my generation has always known a country with 50 states, searching for a job on the internet and networking through social media sites will be normal for the next generation.

Gone are the days when you could pick up a paper and flip to the help wanted section to find a job.  That is where WiserWorker.com can help.  We have job postings that contain companies looking to hire the mature worker.

Soon we will be making changes to the site to improve the job seeking experience.  Some changes will be cosmetic (bigger font, more audio features).  Some will be more substantial like making it easier to navigate the site.

Like they always say “Times they are a changing”

What changes would you like to see made to our site.  Take our survey and let us know what you think. http://www.wiserworker.com/survey. 

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

I created and represent a Wiserworker.com and that’s the primary reason why I tend to write on topics that matter/relate to that demographic. It’s where my passion lies, I know there are other demographic groups out there that are just as strong, but I feel this is the demographic that needs help and where I am needed.  WiserWorker.com was created for the older worker, however we knew at that time there were many job seekers and none were ever to be forgotten.

We honor all types of job seekers through our specialized niche job boards; for the trucking industry we have CareersinGears.com for all positions relating to the medical field we have Healthcareerweb.com and then for all jobs that fall into the hourly job category we have EmploymentGuide.com and last but not least we have Jobalot.com our aggregator site.  You can see we cover the spread when it comes to servicing the job seeker! Our goal is to leave no stone unturned.  

Last week I was contacted by a fellow blog writer who respectively disagreed with my position on the older worker being the BEST job candidate…. he offered his opinion and on many levels I think we agree, but just see things from a different prospective. George Lenard, Owner-Editor of George’s Employment Blawg offered the following statement: “Companies shouldn’t be recruiting older workers; they should be recruiting better workers — and realizing that many older workers may meet their needs — as may many younger workers.  We no more need to feed demographic divisions during tough times for all workers than we need to fan racial prejudice or anti-immigrant sentiments.” 

I quickly returned his email and said “WOW, can I quote you?”  George said sure but he thought I would ticked off at this response…..Heck no!  I love when people have opinions even different opinions.  What makes me mad is when people DON’T have an opinion. The fact of the matter is George is right employers should hire the BEST candidate for the any job. Yet all too often age becomes a hiring factor and it shouldn’t, older workers are essential to our labor market.  Just last week I read that the average age of the American worker is 40.  Hence why WiserWorker.com was created, to create a place where job seekers over the age of 40 can come to get job advice and or search for jobs.

George we don’t disagree, I just think that employers overlook the older worker and that’s why I spend so much time on this topic. Thank you for having the opinion and sharing it. YOU make a difference through opinion and sharing it.

George Lenard, the founder and editor of George’s Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. George created George’s Employment Blog in May 2003 as an outgrowth of his online reading in the field of employment law. As the blog grew, he also started reading and posting more about topics of general interest in the employment and HR area.

Who might these super works be? Well it’s none other than the older workers…I beg of you get used to them because frankly they are good for you and they aren’t going anywhere, just like vegetables!  A recent report of Nielsen Online found that the 65-year-old+ age group was the fastest growing in the career development category.

YOU HEARD IT HERE!

Within this demographic there was a 20 percent increase of visitors to job sites, like WiserWorker.com growing from 2.5 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 3.6 million in January 2009, indicating that mature workers are looking for new opportunities.

Some are even taking internships to overcome the stigma of being “overqualified” or to build new business skills.  Businesses that are tuned in will act fast and pay attention to these statistics and make the right move…the move to hire older workers. Folks, this isn’t an April fool’s Joke, its reality and a sweet reality indeed. Hiring older workers is smart for the bottom line and increases customer satisfaction!  Two things ever business needs!

Visit Wiserworker.com today to look for a job or to post your job opportunity or contact me at 1-888-606-7896 Ext 238!  Don’t let your super older worker miss your job opportunity!

Today I read on Forbes.com that there are over 345,000 people that have been laid off their jobs since November of 2008.  Forbes is placing a tracker on their website so that the American people will know exactly how many people are out of work…Kinda bleak if you ask me.   However if you feel like focusing on positive good news….I have some for you.

On Monday I also read on Yahoo that” Employers Avoid Axing Oldies but Goodies” and guess what that’s you!  You read it right employers across the board are trying hard to retain and in many cases recruit older candidates because as this story reported: “We need their expertise,” says Stephen Wing, director of workforce initiatives at CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, R.I. “When you’re in your 50s and 60s, you’re in your prime.” 

If you are interested we have taken a proactive approach to this impending labor market crisis, the first in the line of defense is our “Putting American’s Back to Work” Job Fair series taking place in more than 50 cities across the country throughout 2009. The job fair series allows jobseekers to have personal contact with perspective employers. 

We are so confident that we are going to be successful with these events we are going to track the number of people that get hired and post the results to our website. Stick with these numbers because they are important and they are positive and that’s what we all need these days….a little dose of positive…..

Do have a full time that is just missing something?  Maybe just maybe it’s a part time job that’s missing from your life? Last week I found a company that is looking for the true part time employee, Pierce Promotions is looking for people to work 11 hours a week as wellness brand ambassador. Wait and did I mention they are hiring over 1,000 wellness brand ambassador in cities all over the country?   Pierce Promotions is partnering with the world’s largest retailer to create a in-store event where wellness brand ambassador will provide consumers with information about a variety of health and wellness topics.

Being a wellness brand ambassador for Pierce Promotions is great for job seekers who are looking to work just a few hours a week, and enjoy working with the public and being a part of your community. The position of wellness brand ambassador was created with the goal of helping people live a healthier lifestyle. Peirce Promotions is seeking the right individuals who can bring their life experiences to the position.

So what is a wellness brand ambassador? Is someone who can take their life experiences and apply it to the various health and wellness topics that we will provide you with weekly! You will be promoting products that directly tie into each week’s applicable theme and don’t worry you will not be responsible for any direct selling. Just sharing the information and working and helping get your community healthy!  All this and you get to enjoy a generous hourly rate.

If this sounds like just your cup of tea please check out the job postings on WiserWorker.com.

Thinking back on lessons that stuck with me over the years, the good firm handshake stand out.  My dad always told me to make sure my handshake was firm, because it was the first impression people get of you.   Dad taught me to plant your feet, look the person right in the eye and shake their hand like you are confident in yourself. He told me that people could tell a lot about what type of person I was just by my handshake.  Looking back on it I probable dismissed it at the time but subconsciously it has stuck with me over time.

Then today I read an article that that suggests that a handshake is key to interview success.  Could my father after all of these years have been right?  Well yes it does appear that he was, and I would admit to only you that a limp handshake just does irritate me!  I almost immediately move on, part of me secretly thinks this person doesn’t have confidence in their self why should I?   Sad but true and now it’s been validated. 

So my fellow job seekers for your own best interest learn how to properly share ones hand. I thought you might need some assistance so I dug up the following information Anatomy of a Perfect Handshake:

• Speak Up: Say something when you shake hands, perhaps “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Franklin” or “Good to see you again.”
• Get a Grip: Your grip speaks volumes, A limp one suggests hesitance or mousiness, while a bone cruncher can seem overly enthusiastic or domineering. A medium-firm grip conveys confidence and authority.
• Dry Your Palms: Sweaty palms communicate nervousness, which can subconsciously make people feel like you’ve got something to hide.   
• Know When to Let Go: The ideal handshake lasts approximately three seconds. The hands can be gently pumped once or twice, and then it’s time to pull back your hand, even if you are still conversing.

So like my dad told me many years ago a handshake does make or break a first impression make sure yours is the right one. If you can develop a solid handshake you will be one step ahead at your next job interview.

Don’t get sucked in too crisis mode; The purpose of this blog is to provide valuable insight on improving your life through finding financial security.   In short our mission is to help job seekers find jobs and it’s the hope of WiserWorker.com that job seekers with jobs will be able to achieve financial security.  

Pretty cut and dry, right?  Not so much, the media repeatedly reports what’s wrong with the economy complete with all doom and gloom, you can stomach. For instance; just this morning on MSNBC.com there was an article titled “Hard times have some flirting with survivalism” which essentially talks about people panicking and hording food, the person that was interviewed for the article (who refused to give his real name) was quoted as saying he felt we were “entering the Greater Depression.” Doesn’t it speak volumes that the interview subject doesn’t want to give his name?  

My point, yes let’s get back to jobs and the mission….don’t you think it would serve the American people better by talking about how we can fix the situation we are in?  How you can prevent further doom and gloom? Oh I don’t know maybe let’s talk about how we can create more jobs or maybe how people can find a job with the skills they have or learn new skills to find different jobs. Let’s focus on how to fix the problem and not how to survive as the world gets worse. We have an obligation to each other to get out of the situation.

How can you help?  Well start with the basics: Stay focused, keep your resume updated keep your eyes open and figure out how you can make a positive impact on the situation.  For me I am going to make sure I have the best possible website for jobseekers and provide as many resources as I can.

I am reminded of something I read by Helen Keller “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”     

Every day I write about topics that I think matter most to you, today is occurred to me that you all have your own story that’s unique to you. Today’s blog is dedicated to learning more about you, I want to know what gets you motivated, what resources do you need to have to find a job?  What makes you tick? 

Are you a Baby Boomer or are you an Older Worker?  

Are you a member of AARP?

Have you retired from your first career?

Why are you looking to re-enter the job market? 

How has the stock market affected you?

What types of job are you looking for?

Where in the United States do you live?

How do you think this election will affect your family?

What’s your perception of the golden years?

How do you use the internet and what for?

How often are you on the internet?

What do you think about the job market, how has it changes in your lifetime?

Do you worry about rising medical costs?

Have you attended a job fair?

Did you find a job at a job fair?

These are all things I would like to learn about you. I’ve done the research, but I want to talk to more of you who are in the marketplace and want to share your story. You can comment on this blog, drop me an email amy.hoster@wiserworker.com or call me (813) 775-6279. 

We need to hear your story!

AARP Foundation Bridging the Gap Job Fair AARP Foundation is sponsoring a free job fair on Thursday, October 16, 2008 from 10 – 2 pm.  Employers will be interviewing on the spot.

In addition to employers there will be free workshops on topics such as, “Age Discrimination, is it Real?” Many people over 40 feel they are unable to find work because of age discrimination. Now they will have the opportunity to talk to experts in the field at this workshop. Motivational speaker, Mike Howard will deliver a presentation from his latest book, “From Ordinary to EXTRAordinary: Success begins Within”. Workshops covering resume preparation, and interviewing skills. The job fair finale features an affordable Fashion Show for job seekers on a budget. All workshops are free to the public.

Check WiserWorker.com for all the latest job fair information.