3 Ways Baby Boomers Can Stay Relevant In A Changing Job Market

If you're over 50 and feel like you're running a losing battle trying to keep up, you might be right.
Consider these trends:

It took nearly 38 years to get 50 million people to tune into the radio. But it took only 13 years to get 50 million people to watch TV. Then along came the Internet and 50 million people logged on in less than five years. That adoption rate was exceeded quickly by the iPod. Fifty million people had one in three years. Those numbers seem quaint when one considers Facebook who acquired 50 million subscribers in two years and then nearly 200 million additional subscribers in less than one year.

What does this mean? The adoption of new technology is increasing at a dizzying pace. Acceptance of the radio spanned two, maybe even three generations, if you consider the introduction of FM. The transition from the radio to TV occurred in one-third the time, equivalent to the growing up years of baby boomers. Generation X witnessed the move from TV to the World Wide Web in less time than it takes to complete elementary school. Within one decade we have seen the fall of Napster and the rise of the iPod, the fall of AOL and the rise of Facebook and Twitter. Life-altering and revolutionary innovation that destroys entire industries and creates new ones now arise within a few years, not decades. Not generations.

All this change is bad news for boomers who resist adoption and adaptation. Thirty years of experience in a career that earned them significant respect, considerable responsibility, and middle-class wages are less relevant in today's job market. Oftentimes the skills that just a few years ago earned them high middle-income wages are now obsolete. Now left without a relevant skill, past experience becomes a footnote on a resume, not a ticket for a job.

And that's a problem. For the past decade, boomers were told the decision to keep working longer was at their discretion. Moving forward they may be disappointed. The brain drain is becoming less relevant as old jobs go away thanks to automation, technology, or outsourcing. Short of working as greeters at Wal-Mart, baby boomers equipped with an industrial-age mindset are becoming dinosaurs in the job market.

What can a Baby Boomer do to remain relevant and viable in today's digital and knowledge-driven world?

1. Keep skills current. According to the latest data available from the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of students enrolled in community colleges ages 50 to 64 increased 17 percent nationwide between fall 2007 and fall 2009. Community colleges are often the centerpiece of workforce development in many communities. They offer many credit and non-credit courses developed in collaboration with local businesses to fill skill shortages. Graduates with associate degrees and certification programs needed in skilled jobs are in demand. Online colleges are another good source of courses for 21st century skills. This trend will continue at least through the remainder of this decade.
2. Find a mentor. We normally think of older workers mentoring younger ones. But in today's topsy-turvy job market and workplaces, young workers often have the technology skills that older workers need. Likewise, young workers often are seeking a mentor too that can make up for the business experience and life knowledge that they lack. Mentoring, whether formal or informal, can be a mutually rewarding and beneficial experience.
3. Reframe job experience. Don't oversell past accomplishments from the job you used to have. Relate your experience to what it will bring to the new position. Demonstrate that you're just as eager to learn and work as hard as anyone else. You may have invaluable real-life experiences and an ability to make hard decisions which can only be learned with time. But without a functional degree of technological literacy and fluency, past experience won't be equated with future success.

 

Follow Ira Wolfe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HireAuthority

Comments

[Toni Marie Welch]

10:24 AM on 06/28/2012

In February i was termed from my job 4 months short of 20 years. Have been searching for a job since then. not one response to any of my apps. after searching online and off i have seen that employers can hire a younger no experienced person at less than 1/4 of what i was making. i had many awards given to me and yet i was termed so that a younger person could take over. Mgmt in my company all start at the same wage we have no retirement so they wouldnt have lost any money keeping me on. leads me to believe that age descrimination has a whole lot to do with it. our company provided us with classes on upgrading with computer among other things. im 60 years old and can work circles around the younger ones but guess that is not a priority anymore. So it seems like im too old to work and too young to get social security. they say i have to work till 70 to get full benefits. who can support themselves on $800 a month. No insurance so no medical benefits and in my case i have diabetes so need meds daily. missed very little work in 20 years due to illness. So all i can say is BS. Sorry but there are a lot of good people out there that are in the same boat and then they wonder why the world is in the shape that it is.

[Jerome McAllister]

12:46 PM on 06/25/2012

I would like to say thanks to Ira wolfe, letting us know what to expect in the job market. The tip about a needed associates degree for skilled jobs awesome. The tip about old workers need young workers tech experince likewise young workers need older worker experience makes very good judgement if you are wise. And the tip about letting the job market that you are appling for know that you are hungry and willing to learn, all sets the pace for a new outlook for the open minded baby boomer. Three cheers for Ira Wolfe"You Go Guy"! Thanks a bunch! I will take those tips and run with them.

[HireAuthority]

01:02 AM on 07/04/2012

Good luck. Happy to help!

[tukool]

03:08 PM on 06/24/2012

Community Colleges now suck!! They want your and government's money. The teachers are SO NOT qualified. They bring their kids to the classes, even yelling at their kids, they talk on their cell phones, they eat and drink in the classes, they look and act so tired dragging their flip flops to the classes after their real jobs... You be so disappointed @ their attitutds thinking how in the world you are able to find a job with their teaching quality. (CC old days were very good) You will not be surprised why our education was on the near bottom of the world list! Mr. Wolfe should attend some classes @ some CCs. I hope he wont faint right there!

[armoore7560]

08:53 AM on 06/22/2012

Im 53 and starting over again and it tuff to find employment out there.One week of unemployment left.Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[no one]

11:41 PM on 06/16/2012

My last face to face interview lasted exactly 3 minutes. I arrived with a positive attitude and was told by a 30 year old manager that someone had been hired the day before my interview. I asked if someone had forgotten to call me to cancel the interview, and if he treated current clients as unprofessionally as I was treated.

I guess this sort of behavior is condoned and accepted, but I can't figure out how that fits into any good business model.

[Kalie]

12:35 PM on 06/18/2012

I have had similar interviews. Very rude, young people with no management skills, don't have a clue and will bring their companies to their knees. Good luck with that.

[victorzeller]

03:06 PM on 06/16/2012

This article is all well and good. How about telling us how to even get the interview? Having sent out hundreds of resumes and not receiving an interview is frustrating when you are over 50. My experience is so much better than a 22 year old's. My knowledge is better, my work ethic is better and I havent\;t take a sick day in the past 5 years. THE REAL ISSUE IS AGE DISCRIMINATION.

[proudtsmom]

02:28 PM on 06/16/2012

Actually, there is some truth to this article -- we talk to people every day who are boomers and experiencing similar issues. There is not supposed to be age discrimination, but it does happen, especially in certain industries. I know a lot of 50+ workers than can work circles around their 20+ counterparts, but many employers do not take a chance on hiring the older worker due to the stigma surrounding older workers :(

[victorzeller]

03:07 PM on 06/16/2012

Answer me this, what is that stigma that surrounds older workers?

[want2say]

04:45 PM on 06/16/2012

age :(

[edford456]

12:15 PM on 06/16/2012

Steve Jobs was a boomer. What a BS article.

[godbdian]

03:08 PM on 06/16/2012

yes,but his type of job made him almost indispensable,not all of us are gifted with his intellect,and employers have millions of young,newly minted college grads to choose from.

[edford456]

08:06 PM on 06/16/2012

Of course, but this article makes all people of that age seem useless. It's BS and only makes the perception of people of a certain age even worse. I think it is so easily forgotten just how many innovators are of a "certain age." The article is a nothing, silly piece. And as far as all those "newly minted" folks--a lot of them aren't that talented. They just know computers. It's the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.

[interject]

08:52 AM on 06/16/2012

Find a business owned by 60 or 70 year olds. They'll be willing to hire you after going through countless younger incompetent workers.

[tukool]

02:45 PM on 06/24/2012

where????

[interject]

03:41 PM on 06/24/2012

Yeah, unfortunately you're right. I guess I was just voicing what I used to do when I hired for my company. I never even wanted to talk to job applicants younger than 40.