What drives employers’ attitudes to employee age?

By Neil Patrick

Age related behaviours in organisations are not random. They are determined by measureable factors and here’s what they are.

When we are early in our careers, we seek an employer that will support our career progression goals. When we are older, we want our age and experience to be duly valued and utilised. For all of us, knowing which employers have the most enlightened attitudes and policies in relation to their employees’ age is valuable.

The young grumble that employers don’t invest enough in their career development. That they cannot become experienced if they aren’t given opportunities to prove themselves and grow. The old complain their skills and experience are disregarded. That they are overlooked in favour of younger candidates.

Are employers' attitudes to age set in stone?

These are heated debates which often revolve around opinion and anecdote. Neither are very helpful in establishing what’s really going on. So I recently turned to the world of academic research to try and get some hard facts.

I wanted to know what information existed about the behaviour of different employment sectors in this respect. Could these things be measured? And if so, what can we discover about the different behaviours of different employment sectors?

This topic is now important to employers. Not because of a sudden growth in organisational empathy, but for the simple fact that demographic shifts are compelling organisations to recognise and respond to an aging workforce, which risks the loss of key skills and knowledge unless they can adapt to these changes.

But many employers are struggling with this

From an employers’ perspective, it is clear that many are struggling to adopt effective strategies to cope with current demographic shifts. According to Deloitte and the Boston College Center on Aging and Work, almost 6 in 10 businesses report that they have a weakness in creating and managing age diversity programs for their workforces:

“Among global business and HR leaders, 58% reported that their organizations have 'weak' capabilities in 'providing programs for younger, older, and multi-generation workforces’"

Source: Global human capital trends 2014: Engaging the 21st-century workforce. Deloitte University Press.

Do different employment sectors have different attitudes?

Yes and the good news is that age-related behaviours across different sectors can be measured. And when we measure it, we find that different sectors are behaving differently.

In this post I have distilled some of the findings of an academic study titled: “Looking up to regulations, out at peers or down at the bottom line: How institutional logics affect the prevalence of age-related HR practices”.

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to hook up with one of the authors* of the study, Monique Valcour, Executive Coach, Faculty Affiliate at the Third Path Institute and Professor of Management at EDHEC Business School in Nice.  Monique is also a contributor the Harvard Business Review. She has also been kind enough to review and edit this post with her expert insights. Thank you Monique!

What was the scope of the study?

The paper looked at the aging workforce in the US and which business sectors are doing the most to progress their HR practices to respond to the changing demographics. As the baby boomers steadily exit the workforce, this places an imperative on organisations to respond.

Apart from the demographic shift, the recession has forced many organisations to become ultra-lean versions of their previous selves, making them more vulnerable to the loss of key skills and intellectual capital as the most experienced employees retire from organisations.

The research sampled 420 organisations in the USA with an average of 455 employees.

What factors determine employers’ HR practices related to employees’ age?

The research postulated that employee age-related policies, attitudes, behaviours and HR practices are determined by the presence or absence of three main “organisational logics”. These are the beliefs and assumptions that drive the way an organisation’s leaders interpret information and make decisions related to workforce aging and age diversity. These categories are not mutually exclusive - multiple organisational logics can coexist within a single organisation.

The three organisational logics identified in the study were:

1. A strategic logic exists in organisations that are focused on the financial impact (e.g., ROI, staffing costs) of HR issues and management practices
2. A benchmarking logic exists in organisations that seek to emulate peers in their sector, for example, by benchmarking their competitors’ practices and seeking awards that are recognized within their industry.
3. A compliance logic exists in organisations that are focused on adherence to legal obligations, such as those relating to non-discrimination and to safety.

Takeout: Like people, organisations often behave according to overall sets of assumptions and beliefs that affect what information they pay attention to and how they respond to the information they take in.

What did the research find?

Organisations are more likely to actively assess the age demographics of their workforce when they are focused on benchmarking competitors and/or on regulatory compliance. These two logics also tend to be reflected in HR practices targeted at older workers (like transferring knowledge from older to younger employees and providing options for phased retirement).

Organisations are more likely to use age-neutral HR practices, such as recruiting and promoting employees of diverse ages, when they have a strong strategic and/or benchmarking logic.

Which sectors are most likely to assess age so that they can respond to shifting demographics?

The research found little difference across sectors, except that organisations in the mining and oil and gas sector are more likely to use age-neutral HR practices, while organisations in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector are less likely to actively assess the age demographics of their workforces or to use age-targeted or age-neutral HR practices.

Which sectors are most likely to respond to the practices of their peers in relation to employee age?

The financial and STEM sectors were slightly more likely to adjust their behaviours and decisions with external references to their peers, while the health care and social assistance sectors were slightly less likely to make use of this benchmarking logic.

What this tells us

There are two elements in organisational behaviour required to create an effective response to the ageing workforce. First is the gathering and interpretation of relevant data. Second is the conversion of this data into HR policies, procedures and practices which contribute to addressing the problem.

This research proved that a correlation exists between these three organisational logics and behaviours which contribute to positive practices with regard to employee age. In other words, the greater an employer’s focus on strategy, benchmarking and/or compliance, they more likely they are to measure employee demographics and attempt to respond to the changes with positive practices to protect their future human resource.

The inverse is also implied – if an employer pays scant attention to strategy, benchmarking and/or compliance, they are less likely to have adopted positive practices for managing the demographic aspects of their workforce.

If you are seeking an employer with the most progressive attitudes and positive practices relating to employee age, don’t rely on hearsay or anecdote, but instead consider the presence or absence of these three organisational logics. It’s not a guarantee, but it is a statistically proven indicator.

*The full list of contributing authors was:

Ariane Ollier-Malaterre Rouen Business School, France (now at the Université du Québec à Montréal)

Tay McNamara Sloan Center on Aging & Work, Boston College, USA

Christina Matz-Costa Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, USA

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, USA

Monique Valcour EDHEC Business School, France

What’s the real cost of ageism?

 By Neil Patrick and Dean Goranson

The debate about the relationship between employee age and business performance has been going on for ever. But the recent economic turmoil and its after effects on young and old alike have resulted in the topic surfacing again. It’s time to ditch the prejudices.

Employer attitudes can be summarised as:

Younger workers are cheaper to hire, have more up-to-date skills – especially in the area of technology and have more energy and dynamism. They also have lower reliability and significantly less loyalty.

Older workers stick around for much longer than their younger peers. They attain greater mastery of their work and have higher interpersonal skills. But they are also more expensive, less energetic and struggle with today’s technology.

This simplified view distorts the real question. There is no simple correlation between employee age and business performance. Having an older or younger workforce doesn’t automatically make your business perform better or worse. Neither does providing a great working environment result in greater staff loyalty.

The surprising truths about age and employee retention

According to the PayScale report, the Fortune 500 company with the highest median employee tenure (20 years) is Eastman Kodak. More than half of its employees are older than 50. Over the five years through 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, it delivered an average return on assets of negative 12%...

Another myth is that creating a great working environment and culture for staff increases loyalty.

The perks Google lays on for its youthful employees are the stuff of legend. Free gourmet food all day, the best health insurance plan anywhere, five months' paid maternity leave, kindergartens and gyms at the workplace, the freedom to work on one's own projects 20 percent of the time, even death benefits. The tech behemoth has topped Fortune Magazine's list of best companies to work for every year since 2007.

Despite this, Google ranks amongst those with the highest employee turnover rates. The median employee tenure at Google is just over one year, according to the payroll consultancy PayScale.

The simple truths are staring us in the face

So what are businesses to do? If you hire younger people, you are burdened with higher turnover rates. If your workforce is older, you risk stagnation and loss of competitive edge.

A friend of mine, Dean Goranson has provided a valuable perspective which I provide below. It’s a simple tale about his experiences when seeking to get his watch strap repaired.

Here’s Dean’s tale:

A while back I had somehow managed to break the watch band on my high end wrist watch. I finally got tired of running around with it in my pocket, so one day I decided to go down to the mall and check out the jewellery stores to either get it fixed or replaced.

The first store I stopped in, I showed the young lady my watch. She took it to her manager. He asked if I had purchased the watch in their store. I said , ”No”. He replied, "I'm sorry it's the store’s policy to only work on Items we sell from here." I then asked, "Isn't that the style of watch you have in your display case?" "Well yes" was this young man’s reply "but we don't service anything we haven't sold. Perhaps you should try that watch band kiosk across from us." This young manager who must of been well on the south side of thirty was definite in his conviction of his being right. Consumer experience was nowhere to be found on his radar screen. So off to the kiosk to see if I would have any better luck there.

The experience with the young lady who also appeared to be well on the south side of thirty turned out to be quite similar to the first store I had stopped at. I asked if she thought she could fix my watch band. "No, I'm afraid I can't. We only sell watch bands and put them on for the customer and I don't have anything that nice. I have an imitation leather if you want me to put that on for you?" I declined and bid her adieu. I really started to feel like this was becoming a quest by this point with no easy answers, yet on I trudged to the next jewellery store.

At the third store I was confronted by another well under thirty something young fella. I showed him the watch and asked if they could fix it "Let me get my manager." The manager is summoned. Another under 30 something, he takes a look at the watch and say's "Let’s see what my jeweller can do with this." so over to the jewellers station we go he looks at it and say's " I'm not going to be able to fix this band." the manager then asks " Do we have any watch bands in the store to replace this?' They look and no can do. "Well, I guess we'll need to call home office to order a replacement."

The manager asked the jeweller to call home office for the order, the jeweller came back and said he couldn't get home office on the phone. The manager then asked, "Let me get your phone number and I will call you as soon as I find out something." At least this young manager was trying to make my experience worthwhile but his operation was in such a state of chaos that he couldn't make it happen. So off I went disappointed and frustrated.

By now I was a bit dejected at not being able to either get my watch band fixed or replaced. 

Walking past the fourth jewellery store, I happened to look in and behind the counter were a couple of ladies. They were well up in age - the grey hair, the glasses and thick figures. I thought to myself what the heck, let’s see if they have any ideas.

Into the store I go and ask these two women, "I've got a broken watch band is there anything you can do with it?" "Let me see it," the white haired gal asked. "We've only just started selling this brand of watch; you’ve had yours for a while haven't you?" "Yes I have." I could tell in her mind she was fussing over what her next move was going to be. "Let’s take this over to Bill and see what he has to say".

So over to Bill we go who turns out to be their manager. He too is older and greying. The lady explains the situation to him and asks what they could do to help me. Bill looks at me and says " Technically I'm not supposed to work on a watch we haven't sold to a customer, the upper management has the fear we will get sued by someone who claims we broke their stuff." “You wouldn't do something like that if I worked on your watch would you?" I said "It's already broken, what have I got to lose."

Bill then asks," Where did your watch fit on your wrist before the band broke?" I showed him and he said "Let me try something." He took my watch over to another counter and came back in a couple of minutes and said "See if that fits over your hand?" My watch fits better now than it did before I broke the band. Bill even refused to charge for the repair.

A few weeks later it was a good friend’s birthday. And I bought her some diamond earrings. Did I shop around? No I just went straight back to Bill…

Horses for courses

Dean’s experience is not research data of course. It’s no more or less than a personal experience. But I am sure it is one that most of us can relate to and have probably shared.

In the effort to improve on profits, what ends up being missed is the consumer experience - the part which keeps the customer coming back for more and recommending the business to others. This hinges on those people the business owner has retained to be the company’s representatives to the public. The higher the quality service the customer receives, the better the results for the business.

As Dean’s story relates, the different levels of service received directly influenced his purchase behaviour now and probably for many years to come. An older employee might be well past the dynamic approach of their youth. But today, youthful distractions are behind them. They have the rich experience of what quality service and customer care really mean.

It seems to me that it’s time to forget the over-simplistic and pointless debate of young versus old. What we need is a simple recognition that age in and of itself is not the issue. Skills and attitudes are what matter. If you want to give your customers excellent service, there is a strong argument for hiring older people. And even if they are slightly more expensive, you’ll recover these costs in longer tenure and enhanced customer loyalty. If you need the sort of perspective that the young have and can afford to replace them frequently, then hire young people. But don’t expect there’s anything you can do to keep them for long.

Let’s not be trapped by the pointless argument about which is better. The key to getting the best business results is about understanding the distinct merits of young and old, making hiring decisions on the value of each and the requirements of the role regardless of the candidate’s age.

Is having a job really the best choice for you today?

By Neil Patrick

Last week I was sent the transcript of a soon to be published book about self- employment as a consultant and how to go about it successfully.

The author asked me if I’d be willing to review the book and provide my reaction to it in the form of an endorsement to be included in the final version when it goes to print.

I was surprised and flattered. Well I’m now reading the book and it’s great and after it’s published in a couple of weeks, I’ll be writing more about it here. But because the topic of the book was essentially self-employment for mature professionals, it got me thinking I really should revisit this topic on this blog.

I talk here a lot about jobs, and how to get them in these hyper-difficult economic conditions.

But there’s another option too of course - creating your own job.

Our generation has been taught to be a bit scared by this I think. We all know of someone who lost their entire life savings when their business went bust or failed to even get off the ground. And yes, the statistics for the failure of start-up businesses are still frightening.

But being self-employed doesn't automatically mean you must risk your savings and your financial future. Quite the opposite in fact.

Not if you choose to take the skills you have acquired over all those years of working and decide to sell them in small pieces to people that need them.

In fact if we accept that getting a job as an employee is now harder than ever, especially once you get past about 45, isn’t it more sensible to choose a life path where our age and experience is actually a benefit rather than a burden?

And here’s the truth: people want and need freelancers more than ever today.

The recession has made businesses really cautious about taking on extra employees. It’s obvious the reason this is happening - why take the commitment of having an extra head on the payroll, month in month out, at a time when costs need to be ruthlessly squashed, when you could get the job done by a contractor with absolutely no long-term obligations attached?

And people will pay top dollar for this too.

You see, the real question clients often face isn't can we afford to pay $500 or $1000 or $2000 a day for a contractor? The fact is that many, many businesses have now slashed their permanent full-time staff to the absolute bone. The moment anything happens (which of course it always does) which means they need some extra resource, they are stuck. Big time. They may also have hiring freezes which means they cannot hire any extra people.

So their problem cannot be solved by hiring new people. But it can be solved by finding skilled and reliable people outside the business to handle it for them. And suddenly if you are on their radar, and you have the skills and experience called for, you are in a strong position to negotiate a good rate. So let’s say they hire you for 6 weeks, 2 days a week, at $1,000 a day. Total cost $12,000 dollars. And their problem is gone.

And you are $12,000 better off in exchange for 12 days of your time. (Okay, I know that’s a gross simplification, but you’ll get the point I’m sure)

And your client’s headcount is still the same. You’re happy. They’re happy.

There’s another thing I like about this choice also. It’s kind of a philosophical point but it goes like this. Remember all those years of toil and torture to get things done for the people you worked for in the past? Sure you do. You’d just rather not think about them usually right?

But here’s the thing – all that sweat and tears taught us a lot. And that’s the point. We can view that as an investment in us. And whilst we may not have exactly enjoyed the process, it makes us what we are today. Which is mature, experienced people who have learned a great deal in our lives.

So what I like is the idea that indirectly, all that sweat and toil is now being rewarded back to us over and over again.

Somehow it feels like justice has been done!

Oh and if you still want to invest all your time in just hunting for a job, remember these realities:

For every great job out there, there are dozens of really soul-sucking, punishing and unrewarding jobs. Just remind yourself about:

1. The feelings of powerlessness experienced daily by millions of employees

2. The lack of job security that now exists for just about every employee

3. The frustrations of having to do what you are told, rather than what you are really best at

4. The requirement of every employer that you work to a rigid schedule like a machine

5. The crazy office politics that demotivate everyone

6. The lack of fulfillment you feel by doing things just because someone tells you you must

7. The increasingly rarity of pay rises when our costs of living continue to soar

8. The daily torture by bad bosses

9. The lack of appreciation shown for all your efforts

10. The fear of making a mistake which will lead to disciplinary action or possibly even being fired.

Let the young people who are less experienced than us have these jobs I say. They need work experience and they need to learn. We've already paid our dues.

Aren’t you infinitely smarter and more experienced and knowledgeable today than when you were 25 or 30? Of course you are. So why would you choose to even think about competing with those people?

Play to your strengths.

How a blog will explode your work opportunities

By Neil Patrick

If you are looking for work, or wish to boost your profile, you may have seriously underestimated the value of having a blog. Or you may have thought it is too difficult without technical skills. Or it’s too time consuming. Or any other excuse.

Well, don’t debate it, don’t think about it, just do it!

It’s quite possibly the best investment in your professional prospects you’ll ever make.

How long do you spend currently online each day? And wouldn’t an hour or two a day of that time be a better investment if it boosted your personal profile in your area of expertise and show cased your knowledge and professionalism to the people YOU need to influence?

And it’s much, much easier than you’d ever believe. What’s more, one of the most common reasons recruiters and hiring companies discriminate against older workers is that they believe that older professionals don’t have up to date IT and digital media skills. Doing this destroys that prejudice at a single stroke!

So don’t wait or even think about it too much.

Just do it.

You’ll boost your profile, showcase your talent AND prove not only that you are technically savvy, but also that you know how to take the initiative.

Oh, and if that’s not enough, you’ll learn a heap of valuable new things and grow your contact network too!

Here’s Jill Konrath, who spells these points out brilliantly as usual. Everything you need to understand about why and what you should do to set up your blog is here...not all the little details granted, but all the vital fundamentals to get you started are covered in less than 10 minutes!

This really is all you need to know to get started and to start building your online asset base.

Oh and if you want me to help you with my own tips and experience about this topic, just let me know!

New Zealand: Ageism is alive and kicking

By Raewyn Court

Ageism on the job and not enough cash to retire ... it's tough being a working senior

If you're in your golden years and don't think you have enough money saved for a comfortable retirement, you're in good company.

A study by recruitment firm OCG Consulting says only 6 per cent of New Zealand workers aged over 50 have sufficient savings for "financial security" and a "good lifestyle" in retirement.

OCG's report, Coming of Age: the impact of an ageing workforce on New Zealand business, shows the desperate financial situation of many older workers, as well as widespread workplace age discrimination.

The survey of 864 job-seekers and 56 senior business people highlights that by 2031, one million people will be of retirement age, yet six out of 10 workers over 50 today say their retirement savings are insufficient.

OCG chief executive George Brooks says the combination of financial necessity and frequent ageism is leading the country towards a socio-economic crisis as a generation of baby boomers prepare to retire.

"This is a human issue, a business issue and an economic issue," he says.

"It's not enough to say the market will sort it out because our analysis shows the market isn't, and these grim statistics need to be addressed."

The report shows that during the past five years, about 60 per cent of job seekers have seen or experienced age discrimination, including reduced access to promotion, less interesting jobs, lower remuneration and reduced training opportunities.

Brooks says that while similar surveys have shown a degree of discrimination, reports from employers and employees show ageism is more prevalent than realised.

Although close to half of employers agree that older workers are a largely untapped resource, few have strategies for ageing workforce participation.

Brooks says there needs to be a wider appreciation of the value older workers bring to businesses, including knowledge, experience, productivity and ability to handle a crisis.

"Financial need, coupled with ageism, is a very real economic, political and social problem," he says.

"It is individual firms and the workers they employ who make the decision to hire or not to hire an older worker. Solving this problem requires leadership and cultural change."

One company that rejects age discrimination is international beverages company, Frucor New Zealand.

"The age of an applicant, like their gender, is irrelevant," says managing director Mark Callaghan.

"By way of example, we have recently built a new distribution centre and wanted to improve the level of shift leaders.

"We made three hires - a man in his late 30s, a woman in her early 30s and a man in his 50s. What they had in common is that they were the best individuals for the job."

Callaghan believes there are many positive factors in employing an older person, such as experience, maturity, life balance and stability, as well as stickability.

"More mature workers tend to want to build a career with the organisation they are in. That is something we encourage at Frucor."

Half the senior employers surveyed in the OCG report cited negative factors in hiring an older person, including cost, lack of adaptability, health issues, IT illiteracy and lack of ambition.

Callaghan says these factors would be a concern - or at least things to consider - when hiring anyone, irrespective of their age.

"Lack of adaptability is not something that is exclusive to older people. Again, what is most important is the individual and their attitude."

This post originally appeared here:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11148248

Why it's a LIE that olders workers are taking jobs from the young (pt2)

By Neil Patrick

This morning I was disappointed to read the article below from the Denver Post which promotes the notion that work opportunities for the young are being ‘stolen’ by older workers in Colorado.

Titled misleadingly, ‘Youths hit hard as older workers claim most new jobs’, the Denver Post article claims to show that mature workers are ‘stealing’ the job opportunities from the young. It even includes an apparently persuasive graph to 'prove' the point.

Of course this is all nonsense and I've provided the full transcript below for you to judge for yourself.

Granted, it’s a pleasingly convenient idea to grab when you look at the graph below, but as with so many news stories, it doesn’t actually tell the whole truth.

In fact it even contradicts the some of the key findings of the Report it cites, the Express Employment Professionals' white paper. This paper stated that, ‘The first Boomers turned 60 in 2006, so no one is surprised that they’re retiring. The size of this generation, which comprises 26.4 percent of the population and makes up the largest percentage of the workforce in the U.S. at 38 percent, is producing an increase in the retirement rate, impacting the labor force simultaneously”.

So it is clear that because of the large size of the baby boomer group, retirements in the US are actually increasing. If this is true, how can they also be taking jobs from the young? How can we reconcile these apparent contradictions?

Actually when we dig a little deeper, it’s not too hard to find the truth:

1. The fall in the level of workforce participation by the young can be directly attributed to increased numbers staying in education, the increase in those that have given up looking for work and the fact that many are choosing to stay at home, eased by ‘subsidies’ by their parents and others. To quote the Express Employment Report directly, “There are an estimated 1.8 million young adults who are not in the labor force because they have given up on job hunting for the time being”.
2. The article identifies two ‘outcomes’ i.e. the stable rate of labor force participation by older workers and the falling rate of employment amongst the young and assumes that the former is causing the latter. This isn't a causal relationship - one has not caused the other, so it is inaccurate to state that ‘older workers are claiming most new jobs’. 
3. The data is based on LFPR (Labor Force Participation Rate). This has absolutely nothing to do with job hirings. It is simply a measure of the proportion of people within a given group that are in paid employment. The LFPR for a group can rise or fall without anyone changing their job, simply by the number of people in that group changing for any reason e.g. retirement or emigration. 
4. Similarly, the growth in employment numbers for any given group doesn't equate to new jobs being filled; it has as much or more to do with the numbers that actually do not leave employment as it does with those that gain it. So for example if the numbers in employment increase in any given period, this number is the result of the net outcome of people joining and leaving the workforce. It does not equate to new jobs being filled.

So what is actually happening is that mature workers’ labor force participation is being stabilized by a balancing between a shrinkage of the group due to increasing numbers of retirees and others working longer and delaying retirement. Meanwhile, the LFPR by the young is falling due to low growth in the parts of economy generating jobs for which the young are qualified and a growth in those who are either staying in education or have given up looking for work.

Hardly the same story as the headline is it? And it’s the sort of sensationalist argument promoting inter-generational resentment that we don't need. Neither does it highlight the real issues which are nothing to do with age and everything to do with restoring real growth to the US economy.

Anyway, here’s the full story as it appeared in the Denver Post last weekend.

Youths hit hard as older workers claim most new jobs

By Aldo Svaldi The Denver Post


Welcome to the brave new labor force, where the young struggle to find a job, the old delay retirement and a shrinking share of the population is working.

"We have an actively disengaged portion of the population, and the implications are far reaching," said David Lewis, an executive with Express Employment Professionals, which put out a white paper on the topic last week.

Back in 2000, nearly half of 16- to 19-year-olds were employed in Colorado, and eight in 10 of those age 20 to 24 worked. But in 2012, fewer than three in 10 teenagers were employed and only 64.2 percent of those in their early 20s, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the other end of the demographic curve, employment among 55- to 64-year-olds in the state went from 60.8 percent employment to 64.8 percent over the same period. Among those 65 and older, it went from about 12 percent to 18.8 percent in 2012.

Since employment levels bottomed out in December 2009, workers age 55 and older have claimed nearly three out of four new jobs created in the U.S., according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

They were claiming about 84 percent of the jobs created in the 12 months through April, the center reports.

A look at unemployment rates disproves the myth that older workers were hit hardest by the recession, said Alexandra Hall, the state's chief labor economist.

Those age 55 to 64 in Colorado had a 6.8 percent unemployment rate last year. The unemployment rate among teenagers was at 26.2 percent.

The greater participation of older workers, including those past traditional retirement age, bucks the overall trend of fewer people working or looking for work with each passing year.

"Overall labor force participation rates will continue to decline as they have since 2000, through 2040," forecasts Cindy DeGroen, the state's director of population and economic forecasting.

People on either end of the age curve have more options when it comes to not working, which is why those groups are seeing some of the biggest shifts, Hall said.

One key explanation for fewer young adults working is that more of them are going to college, which is a positive for the economy, she said.

But even those with four-year college degrees are increasingly finding themselves underemployed, said futurist Tom Frey, executive director of the DaVinci Institute in Louisville.

About half of college graduates last year are holding jobs that don't require a degree, and about 35 percent are trying to start their own businesses, he said.

Some of the decline in youth employment is tied to a lack of opportunities, as older workers take jobs that traditionally would have gone to younger workers.

Some of it is also generational. Millennials, those age 18 to 30, are more optimistic than their elders about their employability, despite the difficult economy.

About 62 percent are confident of the possibility of a career, making them much less willing to settle for a "job," according to survey released Thursday by employment search provider Monster Worldwide.

"They believe they are worth more than the market does, especially if they graduate with a liberal-arts degree," Lewis said.

Lewis said that a third of millennials were raised by single parents, and many have tight familial bonds, making them less willing to move for an opportunity and more comfortable living at home.

Hall said the labor statistics show young adults, despite getting a later start, increasingly join the ranks of the employed by age 25 and beyond. The employment rate in Colorado among those age 25 to 34 is 78.3 percent.

But delayed entry into the workforce carries a cost, especially when it comes to developing what labor experts refer to as the soft skills, things like dependability, problem solving, professionalism and the ability to communicate with co-workers.

"They are getting older, but they are not very skilled because they haven't had a chance to work," Frey said.

At the other extreme are baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, who find themselves, either by choice or necessity, working far longer than previous generations.

"You need more money to support a longer life span," DeGroen said of the group that has been called the healthiest and wealthiest generation.

Two severe bear markets in equities and one in real estate, not to mention low interest rates, have prevented many baby boomers from building the nest eggs they needed to retire.

Retirees over age 65 in Colorado are replacing, on average, about 56.5 percent of their pre-retirement income instead of the 70 percent that financial advisers recommend, according to astudy from Interest.com.

And a growing number of seniors in the country, about 338,000 of those over age 60, have financial responsibility for their grandchildren, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Still, even at 20 percent, the share of those 65 and older employed is only a fourth of the level seen among "prime age" workers, those from age 25 to 54.

Given that they can't work forever, one unknown is whether the accelerating departure of the baby boomers from the workforce will create opportunities for young adults.

"As employers have more demand for labor and bid up what they are willing to pay, workers will come into the workforce," Hall said.

Economist Lawrence Mishel, at the Economic Policy Institute, argues that the federal government should create a temporary five-year program to allow retirement at age 60 and above.

"Get them out of the way and let younger people have jobs," he said.

Colorado, which has one of the highest concentrations of baby boomers of any state, will see the number of residents over age 65 triple between 2000 and 2030, according to the state demographer's office.

But there are those who argue that demographics aren't the key factor. Labor markets are undergoing a fundamental shift that is changing the very definition of work and a job.

"We are becoming much more a free-agent and freelance society," said Frey.

The overhead costs for a full-time employee now average $10,000 a person, and employers remain reluctant to add to their workforce, he said.

Young adults simply have no choice but to become more entrepreneurial and flexible in how they make their living, he said.



http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_23986720/youths-hit-hard-older-workers-claim-most-new

Proof at last - older employees are not less innovative than younger workers

By Neil Patrick

For decades now, there have been several highly persistent myths about older workers which have negatively influenced organisations' behaviour and had a detrimental effect on their performance.

The widespread negative stereotyping of older workers has led to many managers believing without a scrap of scientific evidence to support it, that older workers:

1. Have poorer health and thus greater absenteeism and lower productivity 
2. Have shorter job tenure, demand higher salaries and pension benefits and hence are more expensive 
3. Are less technologically competent 
4. Are more rigid and resistant to change 
5. And last but not least, are less innovative and creative in the workplace and their jobs. 

Myths 1-4 above are relatively simple to disprove through even the most cursory scrutiny of available data and research. For example, earlier research by Ng and Feldman (2008) showed conclusively that, ‘older workers exhibit stronger extra-role performance and less counter-productive behaviour than younger workers’.

Firm conclusions about creativity and innovation however have proved elusive due to the complexity of acquiring reliable data. Until now.

Last month, The Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology published new research by Thomas W. H. Ng and Daniel C. Feldman from the University of Hong Kong and The University of Georgia, respectively.

Titled excitingly (!) ‘A meta-analysis of the relationships of age and tenure with innovation-related behaviour’, this research proves conclusively that older workers are no less innovative or creative than younger workers, and under the right conditions are much more so.

By the year 2020, Americans who are over 55 years old will comprise close to 30% of the residential population of the United States and a similar percentage in the UK and Eurozone countries. The over- 55’s will also by that time comprise c.25% of the workforce.

Not surprisingly therefore, this topic is assuming a greater than ever degree of importance, not just from the point of view of fairness, but also from the perspective of the maximisation of the value of organisations’’ human capital.

‘Innovation-related behaviour’ (IRB) was the focus of this latest research. As innovation has become more critical component of an individual’s contribution to an organisation’s performance, an accurate assessment of the relationship between employee age and IRB is becoming even more important for managers to understand.

Moreover, as Sternberg (2001) and Choi and Chang (2009) have emphasised, ‘creativity only adds value when the people who generate new ideas can persuade others of their utility and can convince others to implement those ideas. If new ideas do not gain widespread attention, are poorly implemented, or are never implemented at all, they have virtually no impact on the organisation’s ability to innovate’.

The often superior levels of communication and influencing skills displayed by older workers give them a distinct advantage in this valuable respect too.

The methodology adopted by Ng and Feldman involved the meta-analysis of 98 empirical studies. Put another way, this means that no fewer than 98 separate previous studies and their respective data were selected and aggregated to create not only a diverse but also an up to date sample. The results therefore have a high degree of statistical reliability.

The research conclusions are summarised in the research report thus: 

• Contrary to common belief, the results of this study show that age and tenure are not negatively related to innovation-related behaviours. 

• Older and longer-tenured workers do not engage in less innovation-related behaviour than younger, more junior workers 

• These results hold true even at the high end of the age and years of service continuum 

• This study concludes that the negative stereotype that older and longer tenured workers are less innovative is not based on accumulated empirical evidence.

• As such excluding older workers from innovation-related tasks is counter-productive. 

Sadly I do not think that this report will be the end of the matter. Stereotyping takes years to eradicate in all areas of life, but I am hopeful that gradually, the findings of this important piece of work will filter through to organisations and start to eliminate the perpetuation of these myths and falsehoods. It’s vital not just to older workers, but to all of us and the success of the organisations we work in.

Unemployed Boomers Need Help NOW

By Alinda Tugend

I WAS recently talking to a friend at a party whose husband - in his 60s - has been unemployed for more than two years. While there are many challenges, she said, one of the hardest things is trying to balance hope with reality.

She wonders how to support him in his continued quest to find a job in his field of marketing and financial services while at the same time encouraging him to think about what his life would be like if he never worked in that field or had a full-time job again.

“I wanted to move to what I thought was a healthier place. I wanted to turn the page,” said my friend, who asked to be identified by her middle name, Shelley, since she didn’t want to publicize her family’s situation. “He saw it as vote of no confidence.”

For those over 50 and unemployed, the statistics are grim. While unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are lower than for young people who are recently out of school, once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding work. Over the last year, according to the Labor Department, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers.

There are numerous reasons - older workers have been hit both by the recession and globalization. They’re more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, and since their salaries tend to be higher than those of younger workers, they’re attractive targets if layoffs are needed.

Even as they do all the things they’re told to do- network, improve those computer skills, find a new passion and turn it into a job - many struggle with the question of whether their working life as they once knew it is essentially over.

This is something professionals who work with and research the older unemployed say needs to be addressed better than it is now. Helping people figure out how to cope with a future that may not include work, while at the same time encouraging them in their job searches, is a difficult balance, said Nadya Fouad, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Psychologists and others who counsel this cohort need to help them face the grief of losing a job, and also to understand that jobs and job-hunting are far different now from how they used to be.

“The contract used to be, ‘I am a loyal employee and you are a loyal employer. I promise to work for you my entire career and you train, promote, give benefits and a pension when I retire.’ Now you can’t count on any of that,” she said. “The onus is all on the employee to have a portfolio of skills that can be transferable.”

People in their 20s and 30s know that they need to market themselves and always be on the lookout for better opportunities, she said, something that may seem foreign to those in their 50s and 60s.

If a counselor or psychologist “doesn’t understand how the world of work has changed, they’re not helping at all,” she said. “You can’t just talk about how it feels.”

In response to this concern, Professor Fouad and her colleagues have drawn up guidelines for the American Psychological Association to help psychotherapists better assist their clients with workplace issues and unemployment. It is wending its way through the association’s committees.

Of course, not everyone who is unemployed and over 50 is equal. For some, the reality is that they need to find another job - any job - to survive. Others have resources that can allow them to spend more time looking for a job that might have the salary or status of their former position.

In the first case, Professor Fouad said, “You need to decide what is the minimum amount of money you can make and how to go about finding it.” In the second case, she said, it’s necessary to examine what work means to you and how that may have to change.

Is it the high social status? The identity? The relationship with co-workers? It is important to examine these areas, perhaps with the help of a professional counselor, Professor Fouad said, to discover how to find such meaning or relationships in other areas of life.

Sometimes simply changing the way you look at your situation can help. My friend Shelley’s husband, Neal, who also asked that I use his middle name, said the best advice he received from a friend was “don’t tell people you’re unemployed. Tell them you’re semiretired. It changed my self-identity. I still look for jobs, but I feel better about myself.”

He also has friends facing the same issues, who understand his situation. Such support groups, whether formal or informal, are very helpful, said Jane Goodman, past president of the American Counseling Association and professor emerita of counseling at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

“Legitimizing the fact that this stinks also helps,” she said. “I find that when I say this, clients are so relieved. They thought I was going to say, ‘buck up.’ ”

And even more, “they should know the problem is not with them but with a system that has treated them like a commodity that can be discarded,” said David L. Blustein, a professor of counseling, developmental and educational psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, who works with the older unemployed in suburb of Boston. “I try to help clients get in touch with their anger about that. They shouldn’t blame themselves.”

Which, of course, is easy to say and hard to do.

“I know not to take it personally,” Neal said, “but sure, I wonder at times, what’s wrong with me? Is there something I should be doing differently?”

It is too easy to sink into endless rumination, to wonder if he is somehow standing in his own way, like a cancer patient who is told that her attitude is her problem, he said.

Susan Sipprelle, producer of the Web site overfiftyandoutofwork.com and the documentary “Set for Life” about the older jobless, said she stopped posting articles like “Five Easy Steps to get a New Job.”

“People are so frustrated,” she said. “They don’t want to hear, ‘Get a new wardrobe, get on LinkedIn.’ ”

As one commenter on the Facebook page for Over Fifty and Out of Work said, “I’ve been told to redo my résumé twice now. The first ‘expert’ tells me to do it one way, the next ‘expert’ tells me to put it back the way I had it.”

Some do land a coveted position in their old fields or turn a hobby into a business. Neal, although he believes he’ll never make as much money as in the past, recently has reason to be optimistic about some consulting jobs.

But the reality is that the problem of the older unemployed “was acute during the Great Recession, and is now chronic,” Ms. Sipprelle said. “People’s lives have been upended by the great forces of history in a way that’s never happened before, and there’s no other example for older workers to look at. Some can’t recoup, though not through their own fault. They’re the wrong age at the wrong time. It’s cold comfort, but better than suggesting that if you just dye your hair, you’ll get that job.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/your-money/unemployed-and-older-and-facing-a-jobless-future.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

8 Things Boomers Should Know When Job Hunting

By JENNIFER MERRITT, LEARNVEST

Don't ... try harder.

You read that right. Don't.

If you've been on the job hunt for a while, with little or no success, you may have heard this platitude: Just try harder! But according to Bob Sullivan, co-author of "The Plateau Effect: Getting From Stuck to Success," it's actually the worst thing that you can do in this situation.

"When you find yourself putting more and more effort into something that’s getting less and less results, it's not a sign that you should keep trying — it’s just the opposite," says Sullivan. Of course, this isn't to say that you should stop putting in effort altogether. Rather, you should try something different, whether it's re-vamping your LinkedIn profile, networking more consistently or working with a career coach to more effectively bust through a job-hunt rut.

Do ... make your resume ageless.

Lisa Johnson Mandell was in her late 40s when she suddenly found herself without a job. Although she made sure to show off her 20-plus years of experience as an entertainment reporter on her résumé, after countless job applications went unanswered, her husband gave her the hard truth. "He said, 'Lisa, don't hate me, but you really look kind of old on paper,' " she recalls.

So Mandell removed key age indicators from her resume, such as the year she graduated from college and the lengths of time that she was employed. "As soon as I sent out this new résumé that wouldn't tell anybody how old I was, I started getting responses—I'm not kidding you—within 20 minutes," she says. "And, in two weeks, I had three full-time job offers."

The result wasn't just a new gig, either—she also wrote a book, "Career Comeback: Repackage Yourself to Get the Job You Want," in which she shares strategies for giving a resume a more youthful spin. "Somebody in their 20s looks at 20-plus years of experience and puts you in the same age group as a mother or grandmother," she says. Of course, in an ideal world, experience should trump age, but Mandell adds that "if you're really intent on getting a job, you have to make concessions."

Do ... brush up on your interviewing skills.

If you haven't interviewed in a long time, you could probably use some practice. Instead of role-playing with a too-comfortable friend, try going on a few interviews for jobs that you aren't as jazzed about "because what you don't want is to go on an interview for the job that you most want and screw up," explains Art Koff, founder of RetiredBrains.com, which connects older workers with employers. "Every interview is a learning process."

You may also want to record yourself speaking. It's a tip that David Welbourn received while making a career switch at the age of 59 from a fundraising post at a hospital to a director role at a nonprofit. His advice: "Listen to your own voice, and ask yourself: Do I have enough emotion? Do I sound like I care?"

Don't ... write off temporary or part-time work.

"Employers are particularly receptive to hiring the over-50 set on a part-time, temporary or project basis," says Koff. "The employers get experienced, reliable employees, and in most cases, they don't have to pay benefits for these positions, making these workers cost-effective."

Koff even advises reaching out to a company that you admire and offering to work on a part-time, trial basis. "It gives you a little bit of a leg up because the employer can then say, 'We can hire this guy, and if it doesn't work out, we'll let him go,' " he says.

In fact, that's exactly how Evelyn Wolovnick found her way back into the workforce after being laid off from her job at an insurance company at the age of 59. After writing a few letters to companies suggesting that they hire her on a temporary basis, she landed a part-time consulting gig with a business in Chicago. Wolovnick signed the six-month contract six years ago—and she's still happily employed.

Do ... start a blog.

Blogging about your field will help alleviate younger hiring managers' concerns about your tech-savviness, advises Mandell. "It shows that you're web savvy and that you're up-to-the-minute in your field," she says. "If you're blogging about the latest advancements going on in your field, potential employers will say, 'Wow, this person is really current.' "

Do ... give yourself a makeover.

Mandell often advises older job seekers to make an effort to look younger, like dying gray hair or shaving your head to disguise balding. "It sounds kind of vacuous, but it really can make a difference," she says.

Welbourn received similar advice during his job hunt. "Somebody mentioned to me that I should get my teeth whitened, and dress a little less formally," he recalls. "It doesn't show a lack of understanding of the corporate culture—it shows confidence in being able to be a little informal with people in an informal setting."

Don't ... ignore alternative ways to make money.

There are a number of things that you can do on the side to earn money while you look for more permanent employment, such as freelancing in your field or even participating in market research surveys. “If you're working a 30-hour side gig, we're talking about making anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 on a monthly basis," Koff says.

There's also an added bonus to this approach: If you're forced to step away from a full-time job, you may stumble onto something different—and even more lucrative. Koff recalls the story of one man who, after being laid off in his 50s, said to his wife, "After all these years, I'm going to finally clean out my garage." He did such a great job that he now operates a garage-cleaning company that staffs five employees!

Do ... view your age as an asset.

While working with New Directions, a company that provides career transition training, Welbourn learned how he could differentiate himself from younger competition. "I got wonderful coaching about how to make the case for myself not as an older person," he says, "but as an experienced individual who was less likely to be fooled by situations, and someone with a good track record of success."

In fact, it's something that he takes into consideration when doing his own hiring. "This may sound ageist, but as a leader, I would rather hire somebody who really has good experience," he says. "Someone who can weather the ups and downs."

Read more: http://www.learnvest.com/2013/07/50-or-older-your-ultimate-job-hunt-guide/#ixzz2ZCVnp1rA

Job-Hunting Tips For Mid-lifers You Haven't Seen A Million Times Before

By Ann Brenoff Senior Writer, The Huffington Post

A few years ago during a job interview, a young recruiter asked what I hoped to be doing in five years. I suppressed a guffaw. It's a question recruiters have been asking for decades with the goal of learning about an applicant's career ambitions. The fact that I was pushing 60 at the time was what made it funny to me.

In my head, I said "In five years I hope to be collecting Social Security and laying on a beach in Hawaii, you little Pipsqueak" but out of my mouth came something like "I want to be working in a vibrant newsroom like yours, teaching younger journalists how to maintain professional standards by my example."

Midlifers get lots of advice about how to compete with younger applicants on job interviews. I'd like to throw out a few tips of my own based on nothing but personal experience. I'd point out to skeptics that I landed a job here at Huffington Post and will share that I had other offers before taking this one.

1. Emphasize your experience -- and yes that means acknowledging your age.
Lots of people tell you to make your resume age-neutral, meaning remove the years you graduated school. To those people I have to ask: Really? You think I'm going to pass for someone right out of college?

I would respectfully suggest that instead you emphasize the skills you acquired because of your experience -- your wisdom about workplace dynamics, your maturity at dealing with conflict, your grace under pressure and track record of success.

2. For those who lost their last job in the recession and remain unemployed in the corporate world, add what you learned from that experience as well.
Unemployment is a humbling thing -- and something we can grow from. Talk about it bluntly, calmly, objectively. You were laid off because of a contraction in the economy, not because you weren't competent.

If you are still eating and sleeping under a roof, chances are you have strung together enough gigs to eek by. In today's parlance, that makes you an entrepreneur. At the very least it speaks to your determination to plow through adversity. I think it's fine to let recruiters know that you suffered some hard times but also that you are someone who gets down to business and gets the job done. Just say it all with a smile.

And if you were smart enough to get some retraining so that you have a skills set that matches up with today's jobs market, discuss that too. Not even Millennials were born knowing how to figure out Facebook's privacy settings. Someone taught them, just like someone taught you.

3. Learn today's lingo but be true to yourself.
If you want to be hired by that insanely awesome company, you need to be confident about your place in it. But be yourself. If they wanted another 20-something hipster for the job, you wouldn't be sitting in the room with the interviewer.

Don't dress like a college student and don't talk like one either. Be yourself.

4. Don't act like a parent.
Nobody wants to work with their mother. This one was the hardest thing for me during interviews. I'm outgoing and personable. It's a trait that made me a good journalist. I make people comfortable when we talk.

But I also nurture by nature. I notice things like the absence of a wedding band on the hand of a 30-something and have to bite my tongue. The point is, I bit my tongue. You are there to discuss a job, not offer personal life advice.

A friend relates the story of being interviewed by a 20-something for a job working on a large travel website. The interviewer actually remarked that my friend was older than his father. Instead of lecturing the interviewer on the inappropriateness of his comment, my friend turned it around and started talking about what he was doing when he was the interviewer's age -- which was traveling the world hitching rides on barges throughout Asia and eventually working in management on a cruise ship. The interviewer suddenly stopped seeing his father and began seeing a fantasy version of himself. My friend got the job.

5. Don't assume that you're the smartest guy in the room.
This is an attitude midlifers slip into sometimes on the basis that they worked at a job for more years than the interviewer was perhaps alive. Truth is, the workforce has changed. And the skills required to do our jobs -- all of our jobs -- are different now than they were 35 years ago. Instead of doing the "been there, done that" thing, accept that your younger colleagues in fact know more than you do about a lot of parts of how to do the job. Treat them as peers, respect their knowledge and share yours freely.

6. Address the stereotypes head on.
We all know what they say about us, that we are techno-illiterates and can't be taught new tricks. Navigating the online world isn't brain surgery. What I don't know about, I know how to find out. I don't think midlifers are techno-illiterates as much as it is that our lives aren't as techno-centric as the lives of Millennials.

A few months ago, an editor asked me if I had a "texting relationship" with a source. I admit I hadn't before heard the term. She meant, do I text with the woman? No, but I routinely call her. Texting relationships feel one step removed from phone calls, but offer the benefit of not disturbing the person if they are asleep. Note to editor: They also are easier to ignore. I called.

This post originally appeared here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/job-hunting-tips_b_3361900.html

Australia shows the way ahead to keep older workers in the workplace

By Terry Hayes

The issue of how to take advantage of the skills and experience of older workers is becoming more important as baby boomers age and leave the workforce. All that experience "walking out the door" is a loss for any business. And many older people simply don't want to retire at the age of 65 (or earlier).

SMEs in particular don't need barriers raised to them employing mature age workers; after all, many of them are family businesses that highly value the input of older more experienced family members.

The federal government recently launched the Australian Law Reform Commission's report, Access All Ages - Older Workers and Commonwealth Laws. In the report, the commission identifies legal barriers to older persons participating in the workforce and made recommendations across superannuation, social security, employment, insurance and compensation law. Several recommendations were to the effect that the social security and superannuation systems should not discourage or prevent workforce participation.

ALRC president Professor Rosalind Croucher said the recommendations had been developed in the light of six interlinking principles – participation, independence, self-agency, system stability, system coherence, and fairness – that assisted in balancing a range of competing priorities. The ALRC suggests a combination of legislative and regulatory reform is needed, together with measures to increase education and awareness and address perceptions and stereotypes surrounding mature age workers.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus acknowledged there were "enormous opportunities" that come with an ageing population, including a more experienced workforce and the availability of mentors for younger workers. If laws need to be changed to take advantage of those opportunities, then many would argue that should be done.

Employment Minister Bill Shorten noted the government has also abolished the Super Guarantee maximum age limit, enabling employees aged 70 and over to contribute to their retirement savings for the first time. He said the government would consider the recommendations made.

The government says that for more than five million baby boomers, there's a realistic chance of 20-30 years of life after work, but it said around 60% want to keep working beyond 65 for a range of reasons, with most preferring a phased withdrawal from the workforce. No doubt many SMEs would agree.

In its 36 recommendations, the report recommended:

• the work test for superannuation be reviewed;
• the legislation that provides for government co-contributions to be payable only for people aged under 71 years should be repealed;
• the Government review the "Transition to Retirement" rules. The report said the review should determine what changes, if any, are required to ensure the rules meet their policy objective. Among issues for review would be the relationship to the concessional superannuation contributions cap;
• mature age workers be provided with longer periods of notice for termination of employment;
• the Australian Human Rights Commission should, in consultation with key insurance and superannuation bodies, develop guidance material about the application of any insurance exception as it applies to age under Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation; and
• the Guide to Social Security Law should be amended to provide that undertaking paid work for fewer than 30 hours per week will not trigger a review of qualification for Disability Support Pension.

The other recommendations in the report are specific strategies in the implementation of a national plan, designed to provide:

• a coordinated policy response to enable mature age workforce participation;
• consistency across Commonwealth laws and between Commonwealth and state and territory laws to support mature age workforce participation;
• a reduction in age discrimination;
• a greater awareness of mature age workers' rights and entitlements;
• support for maintaining attachment to the workforce for mature age persons;
• work environments, practices and processes that are appropriate for mature age workers.

The value for a business in harnessing the skills and experience of an older worker is obvious. It's a shame that over the years, too many obstacles have been put (mostly unintentionally) in the way of that.

The age-old idea of an older worker moving on to make way for younger people is not of itself unreasonable, but that doesn't mean that "older head" is no longer useful – quite the reverse. Perhaps this latest report will spur some concrete action on the part of governments to rectify this. SMEs could be a winner from such action.


Terry Hayes is the Editor-in-Chief of tax news reporting at Thomson Reuters, a leading Australian provider of tax, accounting and legal information solutions.
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/superannuation/055909-superannuation-older-workers-baby-boomers-ageism-and-workplace-participation-reforms.html

Why it’s a LIE that young job applicants have better IT skills than you

 
This morning I came across a fascinating post by Brian S Hall which I think you’ll find an uplifting read if you are a mature job seeker. Remember how we baby boomers are supposed to lack IT skills and social media savvy? And how younger people are just so much better than us in this key skill area?

Do not believe this. In several important regards it’s actually a myth.

In reality new college grads are actually much WORSE when it come to online job hunting skills and developing their personal professional brand. Yes they may be rabid Facebook users and able to stream videos of themselves partying to their unemployed friends on the other side of the world in a couple of clicks.

But since when was that a valuable skill for an employer?

And you and I both know that Facebook is not really the ideal tool for developing your professional network and business prospects.

Are you worried that your Linkedin profile isn’t quite as good as it should be? Well you can take heart. Most college grads don’t even have a Linkedin profile, let alone know how to use it to find a job!

Add to this all the years of valuable experience you have gained in your career, and I think you may just realise, you have a whole lot more going for you than you might have thought…

So over to Brian:


By Brian S Hall


College students are understood to be incredibly savvy at social networking - 90% regularly use Facebook, for example. Yet too many students fail to leverage readily available professional social networking platforms, such as LinkedIn, to help launch or accelerate their careers. In my first post on this phenomenon, I was struck by two seemingly opposing facts:

• More than half of recent graduates are either unemployed or underemployed.
• Nearly half of current college students "have never used LinkedIn - typically thought of as the social network for job seekers." Even among those that do, LinkedIn is not typically a priority in their job search.

Are students blissfully naive? Certain that they will land that perfect job upon graduation based solely on personal relationships? Are colleges not doing enough to promote the value of professional networking? What about LinkedIn itself? Could it do more to appeal to students?

Turns out, there is plenty of blame to spread around.

Fear Uncertainty And Doubt

A common theme across commenters and tweeters of my first post was that students need help in their employment search and aren't sure how to get it despite the many online services available to them. Students aren't convinced their schools are doing enough to guide them, and many simply do not believe LinkedIn, for example, offers much help for students just starting out in the professional world. A sampling of comments:

LinkedIn contains useless job listings:

Companies that rely on LinkedIn for recruiting are generally doing so because they don't want to pay for any other means of finding good people—and that pretty much tells you all you need to know.

Colleges are not helping:

I just spent 2 hours with my Intern (who is a Senior at our local University) learning Linkedin. She said that her University "tells" the Seniors that they need and should have a profile on Linkedin but don't tell them "how" to do it. That generation is very computer savvy, however, [they] don't know what to put onto Linkedin.

Students fail to understand LinkedIn's potential:

Several years ago I founded a LinkedIn discussion group, Girls Who Print, for women in the printing industry, which has grown into a worldwide "virtual" sorority. Each year, I find more college students join in order to begin making connections within the industry.

LinkedIn is of no use to a student:

As a college student with little/no experience and one of millions looking for internships, do you think a 'Connect With Me on LinkedIn' will set a candidate apart? No. This will be made on campus, through networking events or through their specific on campus organizations.

LinkedIn Needs To Do More For Students

Nicole Williams, a career expert who consults on behalf of LinkedIn, was surprised by students' general lack of acceptance of LinkedIn, given how "social media savvy" they're assumed to be. "There is a lag, and we're working hard to rectify that lag," Williams said.

LinkedIn employs Williams, among others, to speak at schools and other events college-age students are likely to attend. Williams says she urges students to understand what LinkedIn can offer even students just beginning a career. "You have to be searchable. Students need a strategic professional brand online that they control."

"LinkedIn is committed to helping college students utilize the platform," Williams noted. That's not only about finding connections or job listings, she added. "The power of LinkedIn is that you can find someone online, know where they graduated from, learn the trajectory of their career, track their experience and replicate that if you want your career to look like that."

Students Have Professional Networking Choices

Despite LinkedIn's outreach, the fact that many college students are not fully leveraging the site creates opportunities for competitors. Eyal Grayevsky, CEO of FirstJob, a service that specializes in entry level jobs for college students and recent grads, was well aware of the meager number of college students using LinkedIn. "From our point of view, LinkedIn has seen low engagement from the younger demographic because its core focus is professional networking, something that doesn’t appeal to someone who has little-to-no professional experience."

But Grayevsky added that college students typically underestimate the "wealth of company connections" available to them. These may be from alumni networks, volunteer work and other connections, for example.

It's easy to blame supposedly social-savvy students for not fully promoting their online "brand" and not availing themselves of all possible professional social networking opportunities.

But maybe there's also a big difference between the kinds of friends-and-family social networking skills possessed by many young adults and what they need to know to network for professional purposes. Being a whiz at creating interesting Facebook posts, sharing slick Instagram pictures and composing pithy tweets may not easily translate into job-search skills.

http://readwrite.com/2013/04/29/dear-college-students-linkedin-is-not-the-same-as-facebook