Age 50 Plus Career Coach Blog

Welcome.  This is our blog for the age 50+ job seeker and is part of our web site at www.50pluscareercoach.com. 

My name is Camille Grabowski and I am a professional career coach with over 25 years of experience in matching the needs of employers to the needs of job seekers.  My web site describes the coaching services I provide. They cover the job search process from finding that job to keeping it. Examples of these services are creating job search strategies, developing resumes, preparing for interviews, and strategies for keeping that job in today's turbulent job market. 

Today's Job Market

The age 50+ workforce is being hammered by economic pressures from all directions.  Our goal with the blog is to provide tips and suggestions across the width and breadth of the job search process.  In working with our clients, I see the same challenges over and over; issues with resumes, interviews, and reactions to job loss.  Today's job market is different from the job market of even just a few years ago.  You have to understand how the job market works, how resumes are used, and what employers are looking for. We'll provide specific tips on how to work today's system; how to increase the odds that your application will be closely reviewed, and how to excel in that all-important first interview.

PLAN A and PLAN B.  Do You Have a Plan?

If you have just started to look for a job or you are newly unemployed, you should begin to create at least two job search plans:  PLAN A and PLAN B. 

PLAN A will be a job search to find a replacement equivalent job.  This might be your dream job. 

PLAN B is your job search for an immediate alternate job; this is also called a bridge  job, an interim job, a survival job, or your parachute job. Which plan you work on first is defined by your financial situation, described in the steps below.

The most important point for the newly unemployed 50+ job seeker is not to waste your most important resource, time.  If you've just been laid off, you can't afford to wait, you must get moving and prepare for your PLAN A and PLAN B job searches.  In the highly competitive market of today's economy, getting a new mid-level job may take a while.  The figures vary; I've heard from 3 to 5 months to even longer. Another metric is one month for every $10,000 of salary.  So, if you have just been laid off, immediately do the steps below:

Five Steps to PLAN A or PLAN B

1. BUDGET: First, prepare a budget for your annual expenses, and then figure out your average monthly expense. Include taxes, utilities, car payments, transportation costs, food, housing.   You should know where you are spending your hard earned money. What can you give up?

2. UNEMPLOYMENT:  If you are eligible, immediately apply for unemployment.  For example, in California, this is an on-line process.  Remember, there can be a delay of a couple of weeks from when you apply to when you start receiving a check. Scrupulously follow all the rules about searches, resumes, and interviews.

3. CASH IS KING: Look at your cash, unemployment payments, savings, and other liquid assets. Figure out how long they will last based on your average monthly expense rate. Don't know what your average monthly expense rate is?  Re-do Step #1.

4. LESS THAN 10 MONTHS CASH:  And here is the most critical point in this blog entry.  If you have less than 10 months of available liquid assets, you need to put PLAN B into effect, NOW! Not in five months, not in two months, not next week, but now. 

5. PLAN B: Your PLAN B job search should provide you with that interim job sooner rather than later. It will probably pay less, and from a career perspective, be less desirable than your PLAN A job.  But it will delay or even eliminate running out of cash.  

I'll revisit this topic in future blogs. 

Internet Resources

Finally, there is a tremendous amount of job search information available on the Internet.  I'll go through many of the on-line resources with you, making recommendations to maximize their value to you.

So again, welcome to the blog, and let me know what you think.  If you have a career search question, send it in.

Camille