Baby Boomers Are Taking on Ageism — and Losing
by Lydia DePillis at washingtonpost.com

By and large, Dale Kleber had a pretty straightforward trip up the economic ladder. He went to law school and worked his way up to general counsel of a major food distributor in Chicago and then chief executive of a dairy trade organization. He is putting his third and fourth kids through private college.

     “Our generation was pretty spoiled,” says Kleber, 60. “We had it good. The economy was in a huge growth spurt. Some dips here and there, but nothing severe.”

     But a couple of years ago, Kleber hit a roadblock. He’d left the dairy group and started looking for another job; he and his wife didn’t have quite enough saved to retire comfortably. He didn’t think he’d have trouble finding work.

     Scores of applications later, with few callbacks and no offers, Kleber is close to admitting defeat — and admitting that age discrimination might be one of the biggest challenges his generation has faced.

Study Shows Youth Isn’t the Key to Making a Mark
What matters far more than your age: The Q Factor
by Richard Eisenberg at nextavenue.org

A fascinating new study in the journal Science, reported in The New

York Times, has disproved the popular myth that the greatest

achievements in work are made because their initiators are young.

No, the researchers say, it’s really all about The Q Factor.

     In their article, “Quantifying the Evolution of Individual Scientific

Impact,” five researchers from Northeastern University,

Northwestern University and the University of Miami analyzed the

publications of 2,887 physicists going back to 1893, as well as data

on scientists publishing in a variety of fields. They wanted to see

when in their careers the scientists published their “impact” papers.

     Although the physicists were more likely to achieve recognition

earlier in their careers, the study’s authors say that wasn’t due to

their age. It was about their productivity. As The Times’ Benedict

Carey explained, “Young scientists tried more experiments,

increasing the likelihood they would stumble on something good.”

Work Success at 50…

Free When You Subscribe

When you subscribe to the Nifty50s website, we will

email you a free copy of our Your Ideal Next Job &

Perfect Employer Workbook.  This is not a five-minute,

one size fits all, quickie survey.  There are 13 steps in

this process – and it is a process – to help you identify

what’s best for you in the world of employment and

where you might find potential employers that match.

When you’ve completed this workbook, you’ll have a

much clearer picture of the employable you.

     Subscribe now and receive your free copy.

5 Alternatives to “To Whom It May Concern”
You can do better with your cover letters
by Vicki Salemi at usnews.com

​

If you’re writing another cover letter and blindly reaching out to a recruiting department, "To Whom It May Concern" may feel a little tired. Well, that’s because it is. Would you like to receive a universal letter that pretty much addresses no one? Probably not.

     Here are several ways to spruce up the letter and show you’re putting in more effort than your average job seeker. Whichever way you decide to spice it up, please don’t be that guy or gal who makes the ultimate faux pas: "Dear Sirs." Yes, job seekers still do

this, and yes, for equal opportunity workplaces it can be a major turnoff. Even "Dear Sirs or Madam" is a lot better but still seems very 1950s. Try these instead…
 

5 Reasons I Almost Responded to Your Email, But Didn't
by Jenni Maier at themuse.com

I’m no mathematician, but I’d estimate that I get between

100 to four billion emails a day. And as much as I’d like to

respond to every single one, it’s just not possible. Not if I

want to do other things with my life, like get through my

to-do list and make eye contact with fellow human beings.

     So, how do I decide who gets a response and who gets

lost in my inbox forever? Well, I put on my God costume,

close my eyes, and see what happens.

     Kidding, that productivity hack turned out to be a total

bust. Instead, I work through my messages with the best

intentions. Emphasis on best intentions because items do slip through the cracks. And if they do, it’s usually for the following reasons…
 

Need help finding

a good job?

The Nifty50s Library is a great place to start.  Books and other resources especially for the 50+ job seeker.

"Champion Older Workers"

A possible link

to your next job

If you’re not actively using LinkedIn as part of your job search, here are several million reasons as to why you should.

     First, there are more than 450 million LinkedIn users globally – up from 37 million in the first quarter of 2009.  Of those, 130 million are in the U.S.  That’s more than one out of every three people – total – in the country. What’s more, 40 percent of them check their accounts daily.

     Second, people over the age of 50 represent about one-third of all LinkedIn users.  That’s up from 6.5 percent in 2011.

     Recruiters use LinkedIn to check 96 percent of job candidates. Many (most?) times, LinkedIn is the first place they look.  LinkedIn is used solely by 48 percent of all recruiters.

     On any given day, there are more than 300 million jobs listed on LinkedIn.  LinkedIn averages more than 44,000 mobile job applications per day.

     Using your profile settings, you can customize your LinkedIn URL to include your name.  It’s not a bad idea to include your LinkedIn URL on your business card along with your email address.

     Fortunately LinkedIn will tell you if your profile is not 100 percent complete.  This is important because, if your profile is not complete, LinkedIn’s algorithms will either downgrade you in search or possibly not see you at all.

     LinkedIn is a prime example of how the job-search world has changed.  If you’re not changing along with it, you’re just not in the game.