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February 2021

When It Comes to Hiring Boomers, Some Employers "Get It"

Krakenimages-8RXmc8pLX_I-unsplash OntheClockThere's a slowly growing phenomenon in the American workplace that represents some optimism for Boomers who want to keep working. While the pandemic has turned the workplace upside down for Boomers as well as other workers, some employers not only see the wisdom in retaining Boomer employees, they actually recruit them.

It is heartening to see journalists and job search sites reinforce this notion. In a recent article on Entrepreneur.com, for example, journalist John Boitnott (who appears to be younger than a Boomer) cites "5 Advantages Older Workers Have Over Other Job Candidates." Among the advantages Boitnott lists: "There's wisdom in experience," "They help create long-term organizational knowledge at your company," and "They're more technology-savvy than you think." Similarly, for recruitment service Recruiterbox, outreach manager Erin Engstrom positions hiring Boomers as increasing diversity. She writes, "When you hear 'hiring for diversity,' you likely think about efforts to hire more female employees, or members of underrepresented minority groups. Another important way to diversify your team, though, is through age." Engstrom offers "6 Reasons Baby Boomers are Great for Business" and discusses each in detail: Experience, Leadership, A Different Perspective, Credibility, Interpersonal Skills and Adaptability.

Granted, it remains a reality that Boomer workers are often discriminated against because of age, and that some employers are only too happy to dump a higher salaried Boomer during a downsizing. Still, enlightened employers recognize the value of the Boomer worker. Such efforts are boosted by initiatives like the "AARP Employer Pledge Program," which encourages employers to "stand with AARP in affirming the value of experienced workers." A list of over 1,000 Boomer-friendly companies who have signed the pledge can be found at https://www.aarp.org/work/job-search/employer-pledge-companies/ Increasingly, there are also other lists of companies that welcome Boomer workers, such as FORTUNE magazine's "20 Best Workplaces for Baby Boomers." We haven't yet reached the point at which every employer values and respects Boomer workers but we're slowly making progress.

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

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Your "Second Act"

OnaWhim Hands-1345059_1920One of the more popular phrases around the retirement circuit is "second act." It's a euphemistic way of acknowledging that an individual, typically a Boomer, is leaving a profession, career or long-standing job to embark on a new path. That new path may be entering an entirely different career, starting a business, volunteering for an organization or some combination thereof. Sometimes, a second act happens by choice, but it often occurs when an individual loses his or her job and the curtain involuntarily comes down. Sadly, ageism plays a leading role in such instances.

The pandemic has hit Boomers particularly hard. According to Bloomberg, some two million workers age 55 and older have left the workforce since March 2020. While about 2.7 million jobs have been created for workers under the age of 55 since August 2020, only 28,000 jobs were created for workers over 55 during the same period.

That's one of the reasons second acts are increasingly common right now among Boomers. Many times it is your second act that imbues you with a new passion, invigorating you with vitality that may have been waning in your first act. For over two years, Andy Levine has been cataloging second acts through his podcast, "Second Act Stories." By analyzing the stories of his guests, Levine has identified five "themes of successful second act entrepreneurs" that are worthy of mention:

  1. "Find what feeds you"
  2. "A successful second act is rarely a straight line"
  3. "There are planners and there are leapers"
  4. "The rise of the reluctant-preneur"
  5. "You're never too old to make a change."

I highly recommend you read Levine's article about these themes at NextAvenue.org, but for purposes of this post, I'd like to concentrate on the first and last of his themes.

The first theme, "Find what feeds you," gets to the heart of what drives a second act. Not surprisingly, writes Levine, those second acts that achieve the most success "involve finding meaning and purpose." What's striking about a second act is it may involve a radical departure from a person's previous path. Often, a second act is built around a childhood passion or hobby. For example, one former software executive I know was creative and liked working with his hands. After he spent his first career on the corporate side, he learned to become a wood sculptor for his second act.

The last theme, "You're never too old to make a change," is perhaps the most obvious theme, but it is an important one. This theme reinforces the reality that age is nothing more than a state of mind. There are countless stories of people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s beginning a second act.

You'll be well on your way to a satisfying second act if you embrace your passion and disregard your age.

Image: Image by John Hain from Pixabay

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The Boomer's Gift: Giving Back

OntheHouse United-nations-covid-19-response-g4z85Zc-ZqI-unsplashAmerican poet Louis Ginsberg wrote, "The only things we ever keep, Are what we give away." I've always liked this quote because I think it suggests that giving back can do so much for the giver. It also reminds me that older Boomers who have left the traditional workforce have the gift of time -- a gift they can use, if they so choose, to give back. Those Boomers who have been fortunate enough to accumulate wealth, no matter how modest, might also choose to give back financially.

Not all Boomers are in a position to give back right now. The pandemic may have created a difficult health or financial situation that precludes generosity. For others, however, this is a time when Boomers recognize that the world is hurting and needs our help. Look around in your own community and you may see the ravages of the pandemic in food bank lines, closed schools and homelessness. If ever there was a time to give back, this is it.

For Boomers, "giving back" is also a way of showing gratitude for what we have accomplished in life. It could mean adopting a cause we feel passionate about, helping others less fortunate than us, getting involved with an alma mater, or doing something else for the good of society. Personally, I think the "what" is less important than the "why."

There are so many ways to give back that it may actually be somewhat intimidating. I think this article, "How to Help Make the World a Better Place This Year" from the Eblin Group is a good place to start. It does an excellent job of outlining some of the strategies for making a difference in your life, including picking a cause and leveraging what you have to offer.

There are those who believe the Boomer generation is defined by selfishness, but I believe the opposite is true. I think we are a generation that indisputably created positive change in our society, particularly through protesting against an unjust war, advocating for racial and gender equality and pursuing environmental justice. That passion remains with many of us today. Today, plenty of Boomers exhibit kindness to others and give back in any number of ways small and large -- through financial donations, volunteering, mentoring and more. Giving back is truly the Boomer's gift to society and the world.

Image: Kindness Contagion. Image created by Adam Niklewicz. Submitted for United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives - help stop the spread of COVID-19.

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Is It Wise for a Boomer to Start a Business Now?

Danielle-macinnes-IuLgi9PWETU-unsplash OnYourOwnIn my previous post, I noted that the number of Boomers who retired in 2020 dramatically increased. I also indicated that pandemic-related job losses, as well as ageism, contributed to many more Boomers leaving the workforce in 2020. These factors suggest that the U.S. job market won't be a particularly good one for Boomers this year.

At the same time, however, the U.S. Census Bureau is reporting a significant uptick in new business applications. For example, for the week ending October 3, 2020 -- while the pandemic continued to rage around the U.S. -- there was an increase in new business applications of 40 percent over the same period in 2019.

It turns out that Boomers play a major role in small business growth. According to Guidant Financial, a firm providing small business financing and a founding member of the Small Business Trends Alliance, "Boomers make up 41 percent of small business or franchise owners, second only to GenX at 44 percent." Even more encouraging, "Seventy-eight percent of boomer businesses are profitable, making them the most profitable age group of small business or franchise owners." Despite the current difficult economic and political environment, Guidant Financial found that 60 percent of Boomer business owners were "somewhat confident" or "very confident" about small business.

So is it wise to start a business now? As a Boomer, you are uniquely positioned to have a strong chance of success. Most Boomers bring a wealth of solid experience, in addition to maturity, to opening their own businesses. Just as important, many Boomers already have the kind of professional network that would serve them well as a "Boomer-preneur." In the marketing world, it is well known that companies who market their products and services during an economic downturn tend to come out of the downturn even stronger. The same could be said about entrepreneurs who start businesses during tough times.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce offers three reasons for starting a business now:

  1. "Bootstrapping know-how" - "When a downturn hits, savvy business owners learn how to bootstrap to survive. ...The bootstrap mentality -- a mixture of frugality, innovation and agility -- can be crucial not only in the startup stage but also as your business grows."
  2. "Business model changes" - "Across all industries, patience, ingenuity and adaptability were the ingredients needed for business survival and these new norms are here to stay. This is good news for startups."
  3. "Time of innovation" - "...smart business owners understand success depends on the ability to adapt to constantly changing consumer needs. Startups have the means to step in where big companies cannot necessarily fill the gaps (think food delivery services). After all, innovation is just problem-solving at its root and who better to problem solve than an entrepreneur bursting with new ideas."

The question of whether or not to start a business demands serious consideration. Obviously there are risks as well as rewards, and not everyone is suited to business ownership. But more than enough evidence exists for Boomers to feel confident that this may actually be an ideal time to start a business.

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

HappilyRewired.com is a Wearever Top 20 Senior Blog and a Top 75 Baby Boomer Blog

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!