One third of job seekers are now over 55!

How are we doing?

U.S. News and World Report and Mary Eileen Williams are saying job seekers 55 and over are getting more jobs than any other category of workers. We have the lowest unemployment figures. That’s good news!

In a recent television [see right sidebar] interview, Mary Eileen Williams, detailed the good news for those over 55 seeking jobs and offered some critical tips.

Among her tips:

• Tech Skills – get technical skills, sign-up for online training or a course. We do need some of those skills.
• Resume – you must customize your resume to the position skill set that is posted otherwise it will not come up in their scanning. It will not even be seen.
• Presenting your Age/Dates – on a resume you only need to go back 15 years. Put some job titles in a separate category – additional experience – with titles and no date. Do not try to make yourself sound 30 or 35! That’s a mistake.
• Regular Networking – ask friends to review your resume – see if you pass the 30-second test. Employers spend 30 seconds or less before they decide whether to read a resume; your skill set has to pop out at them.
• Action Verbs – take ownership of skill set you are presenting and focus on the results you have produced.
• Younger Employers – it behooves one to bring this up in the interview; for example: throughout my career I have worked with people of all ages, people younger than I am and it has never been a problem.
• LinkedIn – your profile should line-up with everything you have on your resume.

What about a “Thank you” email? Botox? Gray Hair? Find out more by watching the interview.

For a complete guide to getting “The Job You Love!” order her book!

Mary Eileen Williams, M.A.,N.C.C. has more than twenty years combined experience as a career/life transition counselor, workshop facilitator, and writer. She is a Nationally Board Certified Counselor, and specializes in working with women in midlife and mid-career transitions. Her most recent book is, “Land the Job You Love!: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50,” Click Here to Buy

She is the founder of the popular blog, Feisty Side of Fifty and host of the Live blogtalkradio program of the same name http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feisty-side-of-fifty

One thing about being an older mother is that you are constantly reminded of the truism that age doesn’t really describe the shape of a person’s life. Nor does our place on the family tree, the generation we are assigned to at birth. When my daughter was born I was 44, old enough to be her grandmother. When she went to school, I was old enough to be her teachers’ (and her friends parents’) mother. At the same time my contemporaries had long since forgotten about coping with babies and young children – they were on to the joys of grandchildren. My most meaningful cohort was other women with children my children’s age, but not my age themselves.

In other words, for most of my adult life I have belonged to no generation – or all generations. If anything defined me it was in the trajectory of my life, not where I was in the timeline of my life. Therefore, even though the teachers were half my age, their insights about my child and their expertise about teaching made for a very intimate and respectful relationship. They had acquired an understanding of children in their short lives that I was in need of at that parenting starting point in my long life.

Only now that I am way beyond bonding with other parents of young children and just one more “older woman” have I become aware of the ageism that abounds in our culture and the way our accumulated years divide us. More than once I have been chatting with a young man and catch his eyes floating away over my shoulder. I am rarely asked what I “do” although I am still doing it. And “dear” has become a put-down in my dictionary.

Having experienced the intergenerational community of those years when the age of my child was more meaningful than my own, I don’t want to lose that in my Second Adulthood, the new stage of life that we – older mothers, empty nesters, childless-by-choice friends, women in the process of starting over – are all defining as we live it. We are demonstrating that self-invention is a life long process. That is a starting point for a bond among women of all generations.

But there are obstacles to finding common ground. One is that we are not in the same place at the same time often enough. That’s fairly easy to remedy. The technological barrier is a little harder to work around. Women my age talk of a culture gaps in the workplace; for example, we older workers are used to stepping into a colleague’s office to touch base.

To a younger woman, the face at the door is an intrusion; e-mail is the way to go. Technology also enables young women to meet and share and protest in ways that we have a hard time keeping up with. If we are going to “sit down over a cup of coffee” – virtual or not – we will have to meet (or tweet) them half-way.

I believe that women young enough to be our daughters (but aren’t) want to connect with us as much as we want to connect with them. I experience it personally in the tense alliance between waves of feminism. We Women’s Movement types complain that the younger ones have abandoned the cause; the younger ones resent what they perceive as our assumption that we defined the cause for all time. The mass marches that we associate with activism have been replaced by on-line mobilization and actions that we have been slow to sign on to.

Yet when we do engage each other over the issues, they want to know what it was like for us; they want to test their ideas out and get knowing – but not condescending – feedback. And they want to know how it is for us now.

At first I was surprised when a young woman would come up to me after a bookstore reading with two copies of my first book Inventing the Rest of Our Lives – “one for my mother and one for me,” they would say – but I came to understand that they wanted to read about their own futures. They understand that we are opening up possibilities that they can look forward to taking advantage of when they get there. Together we can be nourished by a community of women, which has no age requirements for entry.

Mary Eileen Williams, the warm, lively and informative host of “Feisty Side of Fifty Radio,” promises her listeners: “Give me just fifteen minutes of your time and I’ll give you interviews with authors, actors, and experts who will inspire you to make significant and positive changes in your own life.” And, she delivers on the promise.

Her recent guests include:

• Kathy Smith, leading force in the fitness industry for close to 30 years whose latest video – Ageless with Kathy Smith: Staying Strong – celebrates growing better with age.
• Louise Knight, author of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action, talks about the remarkable and revolutionary Jane Addams and her essay on aging written in 1914: “Need a Woman Over Fifty Feel Old?”
• Marc Freedman, author, boomer expert, and CEO of Civic Ventures whose latest book, The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife, is a call to redraw the map of life and what we typically know as retirement.
• Christina Haag, author of Come to the Edge, a tribute to John F. Kennedy Jr. and a look back at their fifteen-year friendship.
• Linda Francis Lee, bestselling author of Emily and Einstein, an exploration of second chances, reinvention and redemption.
• Kim Johnson Gross, author of What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style, talks about latest trends and tips for Spring fashions.
• Barbara Hannah Grufferman, Huffington Post columnist and author of The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts’ Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money, and More, who motivates and inspires women to reach for their dreams.
• Betsy Werley, Executive Director of The Transition Network, shares her thoughts and professional experience on transitioning from the corporate world to a career in the nonprofit sector.

Visit Feisty Side of Fifty Radio for LIVE, On Demand or Archived programs. All programs available on iTunes (FREE). You can listen to recent programs here – click on Listen and Share (right sidebar).

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feisty-side-of-fifty
http://www.feistysideoffifty.com

Second Adulthood is all about change…the changes that befall us and those we generate. The first without the second creates a miasma of disappointment. The second, if it doesn’t incorporate the first, is frustrating and discouraging…

While some women can redesign their lives from top to bottom–and keep on doing it–most of us can only manage small changes at first…The changes need not be as dramatic as parachuting out of a plane or as operatic as running off with cable guy, but they will probably feel as momentous.

Going back to school may be too big an undertaking right now; try exchanging a regular TV show for the crossword puzzle every night. Opening a craft store would be fun, but maybe all you can handle for the moment is a pair of knitting needles and an evening at the local yarn shop with others in the same boat. Quitting an oppressive job may be a necessary objective, but getting a wardrobe together for the job search may revise your self-image, which can make taking a life-changing risk imaginable.

Moreover, changing the metabolism of our days is not only about adding on experiences; it may be just as much of a healthy shake-up to pull back from a time commitment, an emotional involvement, or a long-standing responsibility….

The change can even be a one-time thing. I know a woman who dared herself to sign up for a Harley motorcycle course for women over forty. She did, and she loved it. But she says, she’d never do it again “Just driving a motorcycle one time set me free!”

Big or small, moving forward or retreating, a change of any kind gets the currents moving…What does matter–very much–is the deceptively simple insight that nothing changes, if nothing changes.

The good news is that any action–large or small, proactive or reactive, affirming or denying–will make something happen. I’ve paired each piece of advice with its opposite to underscore the point that there is no, and there can never be a one-size-fits-any-two-women, let all one an all-women Guide to Change: Scale up. Scale down. Acquire. Discard. Give. Take. Join a Group. Quit a Group. A Master Plan. Unplan. Tell Your Demons to Shut up! Engage Just One Demon. Go for it!

Whatever act seems most doable is the one to start with. It doesn’t matter what we change first or even whether that change will make any difference in the long run. Anything that gets you moving will help get you where you want or need to be.

Copyright © Suzanne Braun Levine, “Fifty Is the New Fifty: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood” (Viking, 2009).

Where do You Want/Need to be?

Join my conversation with host Mary Eileen Williams:

Wednesday, April 20 (1:00 p.m., EST)
Feisty Side of Fifty Radio (Live)

http://www/blogtalkradio.com/feisty-side-of-fifty
http://feistysideoffifty.com

There’s no official vacation day, very little media coverage, and you won’t even find it on the calendar—but this holiday commemorates a movement that’s made a huge impact on our lives both personally and professionally. March 8^th is International Women’s History Day. Even more, it marks the 100^th anniversary of the acknowledgment that women, too, made and continue to make contributions to the progress of society.

So why isn’t there more publicity? Doesn’t this day deserve at least as much fanfare as the Super Bowl, Halloween, or even Groundhog Day? Apparently not! This lack of mention is not only distressing; it’s one more instance of the devaluation of women that’s gone on since recorded time. And I, for one, wish the Great Goddess was still around to kick a little butt!

But since her return isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, let’s launch a fitting celebration of the holiday and commence some butt kicking of our own. Tell your friends and neighbors, inform your coworkers and clients, and even shout it from the rooftops: “We are women—we still roar—and we gals have a proud and rich history of our own.”

Suzanne Braun Levine, former editor of Ms. magazine and author of numerous books on women’s issues, shared an insider’s perspective on International Women’s History Day in our interview on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. If you ever wanted to feel pride in your gender’s history, be sure to give this a listen. (I promise, it’ll be well worth your time.)

Then take this feeling one step further and share your thoughts on the unsung contributions of women over the years. As evidenced by a recent article in The New York Times entitled Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List, women tend not to toot our own historical horn. This is a huge mistake because history reflects those who write it. So stake your claim, be proud of your accomplishments, and make your voices heard. Check out sites like The Women’s Media Center, Women For Women, and Feminist.com. Contribute your thoughts to Wikipedia, start a blog, begin a women’s group.

Whichever means you choose to employ, be sure to speak up and speak out. That’s the only way future generations will know the truth about the remarkable strides we boomers have made. Perhaps the greatest contribution we can claim as a generation is our passion to ensure equal rights to all people—regardless of race or gender. Don’t let this noble mission get lost in the mists of time or be relegated to the sidelines of the past like an unremarkable afterthought.

Now, more than ever before, we boomers are called to rewrite history. This time, however, it is in service to our own HERstory. So let’s get busy: we’ve got to write, post, and speak our truth whenever and wherever we can. That’s the only way we’re certain to go down in the annals of time as the feisty and fabulous generation of women we are—and that fitting reference should please even the Great Goddess herself!

Now that the majority of us boomers have blown out the candles on our half-century birthday cake (and many have waved goodbye to our fifties altogether), I like to say we’ve become the generation to transform the spirit and style of aging. Remaining true to our trailblazing history, we’re far from dissolving into the invisible shrinking violets older women are “supposed” to be. No way—our bodacious, revolutionary spirit is showing zero signs of wilting. In fact, thanks to a hearty dose of menopausal zest, it’s going stronger than ever before!

Special Club for Feisty Boomers

There’s one special club that embodies our celebrated joie de vivre and legendary spunk, The Red Hat Society, and this remarkable organization has become the largest women’s social club in the world. Although attendance at this group’s events will have you seeing red, members are encouraged to pursue the five F’s: fun, friendship, freedom, fulfillment, and fitness. (I might suggest a sixth F—for feistiness. That particular descriptor may have been officially omitted, but it’s certainly implied.)

The Red Hat Society is dedicated to reshaping the way women are viewed in today’s culture and, in pursuit of this mission, has created an impressive legacy of achievements. One of the most recent accomplishments this legendary club can boast is inclusion in the premier cultural collection of the land: The Smithsonian Institution! Yes, the original red fedora purchased by founder Sue Ellen Cooper as well as her purple-feather boa are now nattily displayed in all their colorful glory.

Sue Ellen, the Exalted Queen Mother herself, and Debra Granich, CEO of the Red Hat Society, have graciously shared their thoughts on what it means to wear the eye-catching combo of red and purple in a recent interview on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. Be certain to tune in to this very special broadcast with these two remarkable women.

In fact, you won’t want to miss a single word. With advice such as “gaudy is good” and “give yourself a title and call yourself a queen” you know these women are celebrating the feisty side of fifty. In the oh-so-colorful fashion befitting the boomers’ spirit and style of aging, the Red Hat Society is one fabulous group. And, better yet, there’s not a single invisible shrinking violet in sight!

Mary Eileen Williams - M.A., N.C.C. – is the founder of Feisty Side of Fifty/ Boomer Women – Celebrating Women 50 and Better, with close to twenty years as a career/life transition counselor, workshop facilitator, and writer. Her most recent book: Land the Job You Love! 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50. www.feistysideoffifty.com

Red Hat Society – For more information – How to join, Find a chapter near you or Start a chapter – please visit: www.redhatsociety.com

Feisty Side of Fifty/ Baby Boomer Women

I always enjoy my conversations with Mary Eileen Williams on “Feisty Side of Fifty Radio.” She is an enthusiastic interviewer and friend of women over 50.

I am sharing her post on our most recent program because she again shows what a feisty supporter she is on my behalf and the subject of my next book about love, sex and intimacy in second adulthood…

“Women Over 50: Make Your Story Heard!”