Wiser Worker Blog

Senior citizens represent 12%of the U.S. population, but are 35% of all fraud victims.

It’s a fact criminals historically target on the older demographic they report it’s easy to scam older people because they trust everyone. It’s not far but it’s a fact of life. The good news is scams are preventable and you have the power the power to stop yourself from being a victim! Where to start, well a good rule of thumb is this:  if it sounds too good to be true….well it is! Follow your gut, who cares if you upset the apple cart?  If a service provider doesn’t like your reaction then find a new service provider. You’ll be surprised that most service providers will be okay with your cautious nature as everyone has a set of parents.  

Scam Read Flags!

·         A phone caller asking for a donation however won’t tell you exactly how the money will be used and how you can verify the charity and what it does.

o   Legitimate charities are willing to tell consumers who they can check with to confirm that they are legitimate

·         A phone caller you have to take the offer immediately or you’ll miss the opportunity.

o   Legitimate companies don’t pressure people to act without time to look into the deal.

·         The caller asks for your credit card number, bank account number, or other financial information when you aren’t buying anything or paying with those accounts.

o   Legitimate companies only ask for financial information to bill you or debit your account for purchases you’ve agreed to make.

·         Remember, giving money to a fraudulent telemarketer usually means losing it forever.

o   Don’t let a criminal break into your home through your telephone line!

·         Law enforcement agencies don’t ask for payment to try to help consumers get their money back, and it’s illegal for a company to ask for advance payment for such services.

Remember you have to be careful, you have to be cautious and you have to watch out for yourself and your bank account.

Really? Yes you heard it here first a company out of London has created and marking a computer made especially for the senior demographic.  The new computer even has a cute name:  SimplicITy designed to help people over the age of 60 who have never before used PCs or the Internet experience the simple pleasures of chatting, social networking, online gaming, online shopping. The computer opens up to an operating screen called “square one” simple version windows and is built on a Linux operating system. Users can replace the SimplicITy desktop with a standard Linux desktop if they feel confident enough to move on.

Hold the phones and put away your credit card, the people over at Geek.com claim that the SimplicITy computer isn’t worth the hassle.  In fact the SimplicITy computer are so widely available now that makes two recently announced SimplicITy  brand computers seem so egregiously cynical and mercenary. The SimplicITy  suite of computers are low-powered, low-performance desktops.

In short it seems you would be better off finding a deal at Best Buy and getting the whole package for your investment.

Happy Shopping.

In honor of Friday the 13^th I thought we could celebrate it by celebrating why older workers will substantially benefit any business.  

1.    Everything can be improved: Experienced workers take pride in their work.

2.    You get what you expect: Older workers stay on task until it is completed.

3.    Pleasure in the job put perfection in the work: Older workers have a knack for paying attention to detail.

4.    Finally being old pays off: Older workers have many years of experience

5.    Only those who do nothing make no mistakes: Older Workers make excellent mentors and role models

6.    Act the part and you will become the part: The older worker is not afraid to voice his opinions

7.    Concentration is the secret of strength: Less likely to play office politics.

8.    The best vision is insight: They can be left unsupervised more often and get the job done efficiently.

9.    Just go out there and do what you’ve got to do: Willing to stay over and work until the job is completed. 

10. Quality is everyone’s responsibility: Older Workers often know where problems may occur and how to prevent it

11. Only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it: Older employees are able to take things in stride and find workable solutions without “losing it.” 

12. Built in Training Department:  Older workers can easily train younger workers and encourage their progress.

13. We all have ability. The difference is how we use it : Usually they only have to be told once how to do a job.

You have the power to change; Hire an Older Worker!

To my readers on the east coast this blog won’t hold the same meaning as us west coast dwellers, you see over the last months we have gotten a new place to gather for a cup of morning Joe. That’s right Dunkin Donuts has taken the west coast by storm; and I for one am VERY EXCITED.

Not that I don’t loved paying for $6.00 coffee; but Dunkin Donuts offers so much more than just coffee….though I have it on good authority that it’s REALLY good. If you are an ice tea drinker stop the presses they offer ice tea…and it’s amazing and comes sweet or unsweetened. Yet the excitement doesn’t stop there they have many nonfat or low fat breakfast options, oh and don’t forget the diet donuts (Munchkins) and they are YUMMY and filling.

In closing Dunkin Donuts provides an alternative to the coffee market giving people choices to gather and just maybe provides jobs for older workers!

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.