Reinventing yourself after 50

Can an old dog learn new tricks? Maybe, but you should definitely be able to make changes or reinvent yourself after the age of fifty.

Fifty isn’t that old, although society has always made the fiftieth birthday some kind of over the hill milestone. Your life is more than half over and now you are going into the last phase of your existence. Of course that is ridiculous. As you have probably heard a million times, age is just a number not a road marker on a dead end road!

The first step toward reinvention is self-evaluation. Where are you right now and where do you want to be? What would you like to change, your health, and your job, your everything? Write it all down and give it some thought. Over the course of a few weeks, add items and cross out items that you might have changed your mind on. You really want to be sure so take your time.

You made your list and you pretty much want to change everything. Look at the list and decide which item you want to change first. This is important because you don’t want to try to change everything at once. Take small deliberate steps to making the changes because if you try to do everything at once you will fail.

Health is always a great place to start because being in good health will make all your other challenges easier. You will have more energy and you will feel better about yourself. Starting to exercise and eat right takes time so don't get discouraged.

Let’s say another goal is to find a job or a better job. You have read and heard that folks over the age of fifty have a hard time finding jobs because of the myths that are perpetrated by society about older workers. You can’t let other’s perceptions stop you from your dreams and dreams can be as big when you are fifty as when you are twenty. Stay focused.

Change can be exciting as well as nerve-wracking. If you make deliberate and thoughtful plans and stay with them you will find that change very rewarding. You’ll probably wonder why you didn’t make any changes to your life before this.

Turn a hobby into a business

In these uncertain times the unemployed and over fifty crowd must be open to any opportunities. One possible avenue to pursue is to turn a hobby into a business.

The idea of turning a hobby into a business sounds great at first. You can picture your self being at home all day doing the one thing that you love and making a living out of it. Nothing would be finer! Of course those negative thoughts that live in everyone’s minds crept forward and remind you that not everyone is interested in your hobby. And there is no way you will ever make money off of them!

Maybe the negative thoughts are right, but maybe they aren’t.

Don’t shoot down any idea until you have examined it carefully. The world is full of different occupations and that number grows all the time. People make a living off of things that we would never consider. Look at the internet, there are many bloggers out there that make a terrific living and some that just make enough to be satisfied. They start out with a passion for something and stay with it. That is definitely the key to most any successful ventures.

Certainly there are a lot of opportunities available on the web but you can do other things that don’t involve the internet. People have made a career out of such things like: photography, writing, painting pictures, making scrapbooks, making furniture and many other things.

So give it some thought!

Consider Senior Care Giving as a second career

What if you have just lost your job and you don’t know what to do. You are unemployed and over fifty, the job market is bleak and you have to find work. You would prefer not to do the same job as you did before. Maybe you should consider becoming a senior caregiver.

As the population becomes older, there will be a greater need for people to become caregiver. Not all seniors need a nurse or around the clock care. Many just need some help around the house or someone to drive them somewhere. Light housekeeping and making meals might also be part of the job. You would be helping out. It could be a few days a week or even five days a week the time would vary from job to job.

Not only will you be working but you will have the satisfaction that you are helping someone out. And that can be a wonderful feeling.

Care giving has become quite an industry over the past few years. There are many websites, like caregiverslist.com or homeinstead.com that specialize in care giving they can provide you all the information that you need to start as a caregiver.

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What is the WARN Act?

Prior to 1988 a company could shut down a plant without giving their employees any notice. You could be working one day and laid off the next without any warning. In 1988 the WARN Act (The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) became law.

What is the WARN act?

Your employer must provide you with 60 days notice prior to laying you off during a plant closing or a mass layoff. In order for you to receive the 60 day notice the company has to have at least 100 full time employees or the 100 employees must have worked over 4000 hours.

Warn also protects employees if they fall under the following provisions

• Plant closings where at least 50 workers are laid off
• A mass layoff where between 50 and 499 employees are laid off or at leas 33 percent of the employees
• 500 or more employees are laid off at a single site
  
  Federal, state and local employees are not covered under WARN. Neither are temporary employees. ( Part time employees are covered). There are exceptions (loopholes):

• If giving a general mass layoff notice would have an adverse effect on a company that is trying to turn their business around.
• Unforeseeable business changes, in other words something happened that the company didn’t foresee, this seems rather vague like number one
• natural disasters

Some states like New York have their own WARN act.

Older Workers as Mentors

It should come as no surprise that one of the most valuable assets that an older employee has is their ability to instruct or mentor younger employees. Unfortunately with all the layoffs of older workers a considerable amount of knowledge and wisdom is lost. If you are the laid off older employee you might want to consider using that lifetime of experience and wisdom to good use by working as a mentor.

You certainly wouldn’t be alone in the mentoring business, many small companies and large companies have taken advantage of the knowledge of experienced workers.

How do I become a mentor?

When you are looking for a job at any age and you don’t have any experience consider working as a volunteer first. This is also true about mentoring, and one of the first places to start is with the organization SCORE which is a non-profit organization that provides small businesses with mentoring. Although you don’t get paid you will be able to see if mentoring is right for you.
If you feel you are ready to become a mentor right now then check out the job sites like indeed.com or Simplyhired.com to find listing of mentoring jobs near you.

For more information on mentoring, there are some excellent articles at the National Business Association’s website.

A listing of all the State's employment websites

Here is a listing of all the state employment websites including Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

ALABAMA http://www2.dir.state.al.us/
ALASKA http://almis.labor.state.ak.us/
ARIZONA http://www.workforce.az.gov/
ARKANSAS http://www.discoverarkansas.net/
CALIFORNIA http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/
COLORADO http://www.coworkforce.com/lmi/
CONNECTICUT http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/index.asp
DELAWARE http://www.delawareworks.com/oolmi/Home.aspx
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA http://does.dc.gov/does/site/default.asp
FLORIDA http://www.labormarketinfo.com/
GEORGIA http://www.dol.state.ga.us/em/get_labor_market_information.htm
GUAM http://guamdol.net/content/section/13/226/
HAWAII http://www.hiwi.org/
IDAHO http://lmi.idaho.gov/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
ILLINOIS http://lmi.ides.state.il.us/
INDIANA http://www.hoosierdata.in.gov/
IOWA http://www.iowaworkforce.org/LMI/lmidirectory/toc.htm
KANSAS http://www.dol.ks.gov/lmis/lmis.html
KENTUCKY http://www.workforcekentucky.ky.gov/
LOUISIANA http://www.laworks.net/
MAINE http://www.state.me.us/labor/lmis/index.html
MARYLAND http://www.dllr.state.md.us/lmi/index.shtml
Mass. http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=elwdhomepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Elwd
MICHIGAN http://www.milmi.org/
MINNESOTA http://www.deed.state.mn.us/
MISSISSIPPI http://www.mdes.ms.gov/wps/portal#null
MISSOURI http://www.missourieconomy.org/
MONTANA http://ourfactsyourfuture.org/
NEBRASKA http://www.dol.nebraska.gov/
NEVADA http://www.detr.state.nv.us/lmi/index.htm
NEW HAMPSHIRE http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/index.html
NEW JERSEY http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/LMI_index.html
NEW MEXICO http://www.dws.state.nm.us/dws-lmi.html
NEW YORK http://www.labor.state.ny.us/
NORTH CAROLINA https://www.ncesc.com/default.aspx
NORTH DAKOTA http://www.ndworkforceintelligence.com/
OK. http://www.ok.gov/oesc_web/Services/Find_Labor_Market_Statistics/index.html
OREGON http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/OlmisZine
PA http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/
PUERTO RICO http://www.net-empleopr.org/almis23/index.jsp
RHODE ISLAND http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/
SOUTH CAROLINA http://www.sces.org/lmi/index.asp
SOUTH DAKOTA http://dol.sd.gov/lmic/
TENNESSEE http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/lmi.htm
TEXAS http://www.tracer2.com/
UTAH http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi
VERMONT http://www.vtlmi.info/
VIRGIN ISLANDS http://www.vidol.gov/labor_statistics.php
VIRGINIA http://www.vawc.virginia.gov/analyzer/default.asp
WASHINGTON http://www.workforceexplorer.com/
WEST VIRGINIA http://workforcewv.org/lmi/
WISCONSIN http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/WYOMING http://wydoe.state.wy.us/

Concerns about early retirement and Social Security

You might want to think about the consequences of retiring before you are eligible for full social security benefits especially if you are unemployed and over fifty. Retiring early will cost you some serious money.

In order to receive full benefits for the SSA you have to be 67 years old unless you turn 62 this year then full retirement is 66. Of course you can receive benefits when you reach the age of 62 but only at a partial level. If you do retire earlier than 67 you will permanently lose 25 % of your monthly payments. That is quite a bit of money!

What if you go back to work after receiving social security benefits?

If you have been receiving benefits and you decide to go back to work your current benefits will be reduced. By how much depends upon the Retirement earnings test. The retirement earnings test is tied to an earnings threshold that the government sets. In 2009 the threshold was 14,160$. For every two dollars that you earned about that, the government will withhold one dollar of benefits. Earning over 42 grand and you wouldn’t receive any benefits.

But unlike the penalties for retiring early the money that you lose because of the retirement earnings test will be eventually made up when you reach full retirement age.

For further information, go to the Social Security Website.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/

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What is the ticket to work program?

What if you are disabled and receiving social security benefits but you still want to work? The Federal government has a program that might help you called the ticket to work program.

The Social Security Administrations gives out tickets to eligible beneficiaries. Who is eligible? You have to be over 18 and younger than 65. You also have to meet certain disability standards set up by the SSA. If you are getting federal cash benefits for blindness those payments wouldn’t stop under this program.

Once the beneficiary receives the ticket they may assign the ticket to an Employment Network or EN. What is an EN? An employment Network is a private or public entity that creates a partnership with the government to employ disabled workers. The EN can be a business or even one person. The entity will hire the disabled worker and when that worker surpasses a level of achievement set up by the government the EN will receive funding from the government.

The worker is free to choose any EN that is sanctioned by the government. The EN also has the option of choosing workers that they feel will best fit their needs.

State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies are automatically approved to provide services to workers under the TTW program. The SSA pays state VR for their services.

If you would like more information go to the The Work Site a SSA website that goes into detail about the TTW program.

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Job search mistakes

• You put all your contact information on an online resume even though you are still working. Your current employer might do a search on you and find out that you are looking for a job. Make sure that your job search is indiscreet.
• You don’t customize your resume when sending it out. A form resume is likely to be rejected right away.
• You are not qualified for a job but send your resume anyway. You are wasting your time and the employers.
• You only use the big job websites instead of the specialized ones. If you are looking for a particular job, the specialized websites might be the way to go.
• You only use the internet to look for a job. Even though the internet is wonderful job searching tool it isn’t the only one. Use other things like the newspaper want ads and personal networking too.

Career One-stop Website

There are so many government websites dealing with unemployment, it is hard to know where to start. That is where the Career One-Stop Site comes in. The Career One-stop Website, sponsored by the Department of labor, is a great place to start your job search.

The Career One-stop website is for everyone looking for a job, whether you are unemployed and over fifty, a recent graduate, career professional or someone considering a career change. It is easy to navigate through with lots of online tools to help you the arduous task of finding a career.

The first place to start with is Explore Careers. There are assessment tools such as the Employability Checkup that gives you an idea of whether you are qualified for the jobs that you are considering. And what is really good is that it is broken down by states.

There are many other sections such as Salary and benefits, Educations and training and Job search. So much that it will take more than one post to go over all the information.

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Trade Adjustment Assistance

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program isn’t new; in fact it has been around for quite awhile since 1974. This program provides assistance to workers who lost their jobs or whose hours of work and pay are reduced as a result of increased imports.

If you think that you fit into this category then you can get a petition from your local state unemployment center. But you have to have at least 3 workers to sign the petition before sending it off to the U.S. Department of Labor. (The fact sheet link has the address and the phone number in it)

What do you get if your petition is successful?

• You may be eligible for training up to 104 hours worth
• Income support after you unemployment runs out
• Job search allowance if you are looking for a job outside of the area that you live
• Relocation allowance if you move

If the petition fails you can reapply for reconsideration.

If you are in a job where imports have had an adverse effect on your industry you might want to look into this.

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Workforce Investment Act

It is always beneficial to know what the government has to offer the recently or not so recently unemployed. There is a lot more than you think. The problem is the government hasn’t always been real good at getting the information out. That’s just my opinion. I don’t think that a lot of people know about The Workforce Investment Act, legislation that is very important and helpful to those looking for work. And for the unemployed and over fifty crowd.

The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 offers job help for youths, recently laid off workers, veterans, disabled workers and a host of others. This act directs state and local governments to provide provisions for job training and information. Originally this was done by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) which the WIA replaces.

The act directs the Secretary of Labor to:

• Help states with technical assistance with dislocated worker training, provide grants to businesses that partner with local government to help with finding employment in poor areas
• Continue to evaluate federal programs designed to help the unemployed
• Provide funds for workers who are affected by major economic downturns and disasters

This act also attempts to empower state and local partnerships with businesses to provide those businesses with skilled employees, Making the state and local government more accountable for the program.

Most of this program is geared toward the economically disadvantaged and youths living in poverty. But some of the program is for the non-economically disadvantaged.

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Online resumes

In the age of the internet an online resume is a must. Of course if you have been working for a place for many years, you never thought about updating your resume and certainly not putting it in an electronic format. With all the places to send resumes on the internet you have to have something that looks good and conveys a positive message about yourself.

There are different types of formats that you can choose from. The most basic form is the ASCII text which is similar to your text in an email. This is very popular and the most convenient. The drawback to an ASCII resume is that it is limited compared to the html resume. Basic text can look plain and less inviting then something html format.Another format is the html format.

This is the language that websites are written in, if you aren’t familiar with the language that’s okay. You can type your resume into WORD and save it out as html. But you need to see how the final resume looks in different browsers. Not all browsers are the same.

If you are totally confused by the different formats there are many websites that will take your information and format it for you for a price. And whatever type of resume that you choose make sure that you can print it out when you go on an interview.

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