Wiser Worker Blog

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.

What does $2 trillion dollars look like?  I am having a hard time picturing it, and we miss it, since it disappeared from retirement funds.  When $2 trillion dollars disappears it gets everyone’s attention and FAST.   I just read a story on CNN  and they are reporting that retirement plans suffered a loss of $2 trillion dollars.  To me this is much more of a crisis than a bunch of CEO’s who frankly are probably overpaid losing their jobs.  Still what does $2 trillion dollars look like?  I know it is a enormous amount of money and I worry that what a loss of this magnitude will do the older worker.

What $2 Trillion Dollars will buy?

·         Fully fund the cost of healthcare for the 47 million Americans who have none, thru the year 2020.

·         Fund almost 2 billion full scholarships-that’s 6 times the population of the U.S.

·         Adequately clothe, feed and nurture every child orphaned by war or inflicted by savage cruelty and abuse.

We now know what $2 trillion dollars will buy, but what does a loss of $2 trillion dollars mean to older workers?  That’s right the people who have been WORKING and saving for 20 plus years towards the next phase of their lives? For those people the cost is HUGE and painful. We’re talking about money that they needed to live on in their golden years and guess what there lucrative buyout plan isn’t waiting for them.

What does $2 Trillion Dollars look like to the older worker?

·         More years they have to remain in the workplace.

·         Less trips to see the grandkids.

·         Less money to be able to invest in the golden years.

·         Rising mortgage payments.

·         Increased healthcare costs.

To the older worker $2 trillion dollars is a lot of money and amounts to miss opportunities and empty dreams. They must and will continue to stay in the workforce out of necessity.  $2 trillion dollars is much more money that I thought.

Over the last few weeks I have been doing research on the older worker in general, but specifically on the older worker returning to the workplace. We know that our labor market is shrinking and we need the older job seekers to fill the open positions.   That’s what we know but what I didn’t know was how we can get them hired – or simply put get the older worker in front of the hiring managers.

I set out to learn: What the REAL perception of the recruiting manager of the older worker?  What does the term “older worker” mean to recruiters and the population at large?  How does the average younger co-worker interact with their older co-workers?  What is the perceived value of the older worker to a business?  Lot’s questions, since I had them I would imagine that maybe you do as well. So here is what I found out…

What is an “older worker”?  Of course there is not a simple answer but according to researches Gergen and Gergen found that current American perception is that “those between ages 18 and 35 were considered young; those between 35 and 60 were considered middle aged, and those between 65 and 80 were considered old.” Current generations do not think of themselves as “old” until age 80.   And we know that anyone over 40 is protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and you are eligible for AARP at the ripe young age of 50. 

One could surmise that a worker starts to be older worker at age forty for hiring purposes.     

Play Nice? We have several different generations in the workplace; each generation has different goals and expectations of the workplace. Even with the different values, attitudes and expectations the different generations   have found a common ground in the workplace and work well together. Its phenomenon has left management with the task of muddling through generational differences that different groups have created; it’s nothing more than a process. 

Traditionalists: Born before 1946

Baby Boomer: 1946-1964

Generation X: 1965-1980

Generation Y: Born since 1980

What do older worker bring to the table? Older workers have a good work ethic, and a good attitude toward work. Employers over the last 15 years have the skills of the older workers highly when it comes to loyalty, dependability, experience, and customer relations.

Workers 55 and older…

…can serve as mentors to younger workers.

…adapt well to new technology.

…are eager for training.

…have great loyalty to the company.

…are flexible.

When all is said and done, I think older workers have come a long way in the mind of the recruiters. Business need to realize that older workers are very positive about themselves and the company they work for. They see themselves as more reliable than younger workers, more productive, and as having great loyalty to the company.

The older job seeker has been on my mind more than usual over the last few weeks.  It’s nearly impossible to escape the media coverage on the bailout crisis the American economy; I find myself entranced by it for many reasons.  Most of all because it has a direct impact on the American job seeker and I think it has a more direct impact on the older job seeker. The older job seeker the one who have already worked HARD for the last 30 years and has been saving for the time when they could kick it into cruise control and enjoy their lives and what the next phase may bring. What happens to them?  That’s what’s been on my mind over the last few days and leaves me with the question:  “What’s next for the older worker?”   

The only conclusion I can come up with that makes any sense to me is this: Keep moving forward and stay positive - Keep your head to the grindstone.  Companies need to continue to hire qualified employees to keep their business moving forward. American’s need to continue to go to work and spend their paychecks and we will rebound.  Simply put if everyday every Americans move forward a little bit at a time we and our economy will recover.  In the meantime stay tuned to WiserWorker.com for useful hints and skills that will help you get a job. Check often for job opening in your area and we will still have job fairs in markets across the country.

Its business as usual at WiserWorker.com we’re moving forward!

American Specialty Health is the latest company to make a commitment to older workers and join WiserWorker.com in the quest to get older workers hired! I am excited to share what I know about their company and to direct you to their job openings.  They are hiring for lots of different positions from administrative to management, you can check out their job listings online at WiserWorker.com. 

American Specialty Health is one of the nation’s premier personal health improvement organizations, providing specialty benefit programs, fitness programs, health coaching and worksite wellness programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Based in beautiful San Diego; they have over 600 employees and cover more than 13.4 million members in specialty benefit, fitness, and coaching programs.

They have both Full time and part time positions available; excellent benefits for all shifts!  

What makes American Specialty Health such a great place to work? I took a look at their website and they have lots of great employee perks too many to mention.  Just to give you a preview here are a few:

·         Exercise Rewards Program (employees receive cash for working out)

·         Eleven paid holidays plus Floating Holiday

·         From our corporate-casual dress code (Jeans & Tennis shoes Monday-Friday!)

I encourage you to take a company tour on their website via video. Then come back to WiserWorker.com!  Let American Specialty Health know you heard about them here! 

Good Luck!

Well great because guess what companies have started to realize your worth and have become enthused about your demographic according to media reports this week. The Employment Guide and WiserWorker.com has further proof that companies are ready to hire older workers.  The events had record turn outs as the National Employ The Older Worker Job Fair Series continues this week. Check out the local coverage:

Phoenix        Las Vegas     Louisville      Kansas City

It’s always exciting when you start to see a message catching on and today it is in the air, companies are and will continue to see the benefit of utilizing the skills and knowledge baby boomers and older workers alike have and we are ready to benefit from it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the unemployment rate for workers 55 and older was 4.1% in August while the overall workforce unemployment rate is at 6.1%.  Yes that the proof in the numbers you need to know that while times are tough, tough people last and older worker have made it thought tough times before.  They know how to weather the storm and navigate your business

Enjoy our job fair series as it was designed for you and is our tribute to America’s older worker.

If you need more information drop me an email or call me (813) 775-6279.  

What was your experience?  Did you get hired?