Generation Integration: Roberta Matuson Unites Boomers, X-ers and Millennials in the Workplace

A Job Search Success Story

I received an e-mail this morning from a client who wanted to share the good news with me. Her niece just landed a job! I thought it would be beneficial for people to hear her story. Here is what she had to say.

 

What is the title of your new job?   

 

Marketing Associate

 

Where will you be working?

Brooklyn, NY

How long have you been looking for work?

 

I have been "looking" for a few months... but I moved to New York on Dec 30th and started actively searching within the first week. 

Were you unemployed while looking?

  

Yes I was unemployed while looking- scary! 

 

How many people applied for the job?

  

400 people applied! 

 

Did they tell you what it was about you that helped you make it through the first cut?

  

They said it was a combo of my resume and my cover letter.  (I found the job posting on Craigslist and had the brilliant thought of inquiring who to address the cover letter to... so maybe that was what did it?) Also, the fact that I was here, in NYC helped.  The man who interviewed me said that when people from out of state/out of town apply, they are almost immediately disqualified.

 

Why do you believe you were successful when others have not been?

    

I don't really know!  I would say it was more of an attitude thing than an experience/education thing.  I tried really hard to picture myself in the position and made sure to try to relate to the company and interviewer on as many levels as possible.

 

Is your experience similar or dissimilar to your friends?

 

I would say dissimilar.  So many of my friends are unemployed and looking for jobs... or hanging onto the one they have by a thread... 

 

What one or two pieces of advice would you give to others who are looking for work?

  

Keep an open mind and stay positive! And, as I read in your blog, that searching for a job is a FULL TIME JOB.... No one can expect to sit at home watching tv and have offers start pouring in.... Finding a job takes work, and at this point in time, really hard work!   

 

The tips here apply to everyone, regardless of age. I look forward to sharing more success stories. I hope this one inspires people into action.

Don't Tell Me No One is Hiring

This post is from Rita Ashley's blog. It's a must read Job Search Debugged if you are a job searcher or an employer with job openings.

I'm beginning to hear from people who have recently found employment in their fields. This supports what I have been saying all along. People are hiring. Stay the course and you will be next.

Making a Good First Impression

Heather Huhman provides some great advice in her article, Preparing for your first day of work for those that are starting new jobs. Don't let the Entry Level Careers Examiner title fool you. This advice is also a good reminder for those of you who haven't experienced the first day of work in years.

Don't Believe Everything you Read

My day started out pretty normal. A cup of coffee, a few miles on the treadmill and then hit the shower. When I returned to my office, my mailbox was full. I knew something was up. It turns out my article 5 Signs Your Job is on the Line is being featured on the Home Page of Yahoo! 

I appreciate all the wonderful responses I received from readers regarding this article. I also appreciate the responses I received from people who thought they could have done a much better job of writing this article.

Many readers don't seem to realize that articles are written months in advance and in some cases (this case) several years in advance. As writers, we don't get to control the editorial process. If an editor thinks a tag line is jazzier than the one we suggested, he gets to have the final say.

I'm taking my own advice today. I'm not going to take the comments (both good and bad) personally as my article has done exactly what Yahoo and I want it to do. It is creating quite a buzz.

If you have some signs you would like to add to the list, please do so in the comments section.

Silver Lining in this Recession

There is a silver lining in this recession for older workers. According to a recent Business Week article, Employers Avoid Axing Oldies but Goodies, companies continue to recruit Baby Boomers. Their knowledge is in high demand. According to Stephen Wing, director of workforce initiatives at CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, R.I. "When you're in your 50s and 60s, you're in your prime."

This isn't great news for Millennials, who are often the first on the chopping block. But at least many of them can return home. That is if they've even left home yet.

Evergreen Advice

  

It seems the advice I wrote about in 2004 is evergreen. Click here to read  5 Job Search Strategies for 2009. Feel free to add your own advice in the Comments section. Let's get people back to work! 

By the way, for you trivia buffs. My family planted this tree in our yard over 40 years ago. This tree was selected to be the holiday tree for South Street Seaport in NYC in 2007. I guess it wasn't quite tall enough for Rockefeller Center. We figured it was better to share the tree with the visitors to NY, than to have it fall down on my parent's house.

How Vulnerable are You?

Today, history was made with the swearing in of our new President, Barack Obama. But this change did not happen overnight. It took years for us to get to this place.

President Obama jumped right in today and spoke about our economy. We didn't get here overnight and we won't be getting out of this anytime so. That's why it is important to pay attention to the signs that might suggest your job may be on the line.

Here are just a few:

1. Your boss, who you've closely aligned yourself with, was just fired. Could you be next?

2. You seem to have lots of free time on your calendar. Is this because you are no longer being invited to strategic staff meetings?

3. Does your boss keep putting off your review?

4. Are the plum assignments now going to someone else?

5. Are you now lunching alone? Perhaps word is out that you are next on the "hit" list.

I am not suggesting that you walk around being paranoid nor am I suggesting you live you life in fear. I am suggesting that you be mindful of what is going on around you so that you are prepared for whatever life sends your way.

It's probably not a bad idea to have a "Plan B." That means you should think about what type of work you would consider doing if your job went away tomorrow. Then make sure you have the education and skills so you can make a smooth transition should the need arise.

Rated PG?

Imagine taking your eight and ten year old to a PG movie and seeing this image in the previews? That's exactly what happened yesterday when we took our kids to the Cinemark cinema to see Hotel for Dogs. I don't let them watch war movies at home and we don't purchase toys with guns. So why would I find it acceptable for them to view this on the big screen?

Showing a commercial (and a fairly graphic one) for the National Guard as part of the previews of a PG movie, playing on a weekend afternoon is simply crazy. I know I was outraged. I can't imagine how the parents of the five and six year old felt.

So it should not come as any surprise of today's headline in the NY Times, More Joining American Military as Jobs Dwindle . I'm all for having the freedom of choice when it comes to jobs. But starting to recruit young people, who aren't even close to adolescence, is wrong. Especially when they are a captive audience. (Try removing yourself from the middle seats of a crowded theatre.)

As Promised, More Job Search Mistakes Across the Generations

Since my last posting, unemployment rates have risen even higher than they were just weeks ago. If you are looking for work, then you must pull out all the stops. Here are some more job searching mistakes that I see people making across the generations:

Establishing Ridiculous Goals-The other day, someone mentioned a friend was "diligently" looking for work. His goal was to send out one resume a day. By my calculations, he should be employed by the year 2020. A goal of one resume a day is the equivalent to me saying that I will drop one ounce a day in my attempt to lose 10 pounds this year. Not gonna happen...for either of us. I'm all for goal setting, but make sure your goals are properly aligned with the results you are trying to achieve.

Dressing Down to Impress-Lots of people are giving out bad advice these days. Suggesting job seekers dress down to impress those organizations that are more casual in nature is like telling candidates they should dumb down their language to land a job. There is nothing wrong with dressing well for an interview. Try it on for size. You will be amazed how well you feel when you go into your next interview.

Failing to Use all the Tools in Your Toolbox-None of us are smart enough to know which of the many job seeking tools that are available to us will be the one that actually works. So we have to use them all. I know it can be intimidating for Boomers to become "linked-in" or to use "Twitter." But if you don't use these tools, you may miss out on some great opportunities. The same holds true for young people, who prefer social networking to face-to-face networking. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new.

Believing everything you read-If you follow the headlines you may think the sky is falling. Yes, it's tough out there, but people are still landing jobs everyday and new jobs are becoming available as we speak. Tune out the negative noise and focus on what is in your control.

Have other tips? Feel free to share using the comment section below.

Interested in accelerating your job search? Check out our Job Search Mentor Program. Everyday you wait is income left on the table.

Millennials Boomerang Back Home

It seems like having your own pad in the city is out and moving into your old room is in. According to yesterday's Boston Globe, "The days when college graduation automatically meant getting a job and an apartment are endangered. With the US economy in a nosedive, jobs scarce, and rents high, "boomerang kids" head for home, where the living is easy. There are no firm numbers yet on the impact of the current recession, but those who study the younger generation say that empty nests are starting to fill back in." Click here to read the full story Boomerang Kids are Returning Home.

It seems these kids are comfortable. Maybe a bit too comfortable. In the interest of full disclosure, I was a "boomerang young adult." After flying around the world for a year, I returned to the nest. But I had a plan. I was getting out of there as soon as I could. These kids look like they are staying indefinitely.

Here is my advice from the voice of experience:

Parents may be doing their children a favor (or vice-a-versa) but in the long run everyone needs to learn how to fly on their own. Don't get too comfortable or you may be living in this situation for the next 40 years.

Stop enabling one another. Living for free and expecting your folks to do your dirty laundry. Do you really want your mom folding your thongs? Or worse yet, your dad? Make a financial contribution as well as a contribution to the household chores that must be done.

Create an exit strategy. I'm not talking about the one mentioned in this article where the parents leave the house so they can have a private conversation (Gheez!) This is a plan to help move things along so eventually everyone can get back to living the way life was meant to be lived.

Lower your expectations Millennials. Yes, I know you may have had a million dollar view of the Charles River all through college but this is the real world. Those views can be had again for those willing to work hard to achieve success.

Learning how to stand on your own will help prepare you for the ups and downs life may offer you. And in the end, that's something that even your caring parents may not be able to give you.