Vintage 90's...or dot.com to sub-prime

Staying abreast of the news that past couple of days, watching as more and more of the "sub-prime" lenders see their empires slipping away, I've been having a niggling feeling that I've seen all this before.

This morning, waking up at the crack'o'dawn with my daughter coughing and feverish and my dog's wet nose plastered against my cheek, I had the feeling that I'd been waking up like this for some time. And then, (of course, because what ELSE would one think about before the sun rises) I had a 90's flashback -- of the dot.com crash, where everyone realized that the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes -- followed by the deja vu of seeing the sub-prime market come crashing down. I always thought the no-interest, sub-prime market was ridiculous because it was lulling people with insufficient financial savvy into a false sense of ownership, thinking that their financial picture would change before mortgage rates rose. Kind of similar to stock prices climbing over the concepts of web-based companies, with venture capitalists looking for the next manna from heaven.

We'll see thousands of employees flooding the marketplace after losing their sub-prime jobs and thousands of bankruptcies and foreclosures. The job market will stagnate slightly as the marketplace rebalances again. Sound familiar? But whereas there were no assets to pick up on after the dot-com crash, there is real property that was stacked up again the sub-prime mortgages. People will be picking up property from the misfortune of others and the real estate market is projected to readjust and then restabilize. I sense that 50 plussers, with some financial savvy and a bit of savings may end up the big winners as this game unfolds over the next few years.

I wouldn't joke about this! Blogging Boomers Carnival #16 is up and away!

Super heroes fear not. This week's Carnival is hosted at Your Drum and it is a triumph of Boomer fearless forays over the past week or so! So, head on over and watch Boomergirl leap over tall glass ceilings in a single bound.

On Finding Employment After Fifty

A very frustrated jobseeker on my group on eons had this to say (not reprinted in its entirety):

I need to vent on this subject. I live in NC, have been here since June 2006. I have my resume posted on HotJobs, CareerBuilder, and Monster. I am signed up with five different staffing agencies, two of them nationally known. I have more than 15 years of accounting/bookkeeping experience as well as eleven years as a social worker and more than five years of customer service experince in the healthcare field. I have been trying to find work since I arrived here and still have not found anything due to the rentless presence of discrimination, age and other wise. I am educated, my computer skills are above par, and I present myself well at interviews. I am failing to understand why I am unable to land a job, even when applying for positions that I am more than qualified for.

Another pet peeve of mine is that after an interview, I send out a thank you note, why is it that HR personnel do not acknowledge the fact you came in except to send you a reject letter? Why don't they tell you the reason why you were not selected? If there is anybody out there that can clue me in, please feel free to do so.
Signed, Frustrated in NC

Dear Frustrated,

A lot of good comments and I understand your frustration. So I'm going to address as many of your concerns as I can. Here is the bottom line. It is very, very hard to find work over fifty. I have been working for over two years to secure employers for Gen Plus and it is very challenging to get them to declare themselves 50 plus friendly.

The reality is that you may have to apply for 500 jobs or more in order to gain employment. I'm not sure how you are looking for work, but in addition to posting your resume, you need to be applying for jobs every day. Many smaller companies will NOT pay the money to advertise online, but they may put an ad in a small local paper. At 50 plus, every jobseeker needs to be extremely creative -- even going business to business if you have to, in order to get your resume in the hands of the right people. I've been running a survey on my blog to see how long it is taking 50 plussers to find work. Majority seems to be a year or longer. Don't give up. Try temp to permanent staffing agencies and accountemps, too.

As for HR departments not getting back to you, with the current high levels of litigation in the US, it is rare that a company will put in writing any reasons that you may NOT have selected for a job. However, good manners goes a long way. Keep sending your thank you cards. You are on the right track.

Last note: in addition to looking for national searches on Gen Plus, try searches on www.indeed.com and www.craigslist.org for jobs in your area. Indeed is great as it compiles many online listings in one place. Craig's List offers employers a very inexpensive alternative to traditional online job posting.

When in Rome...Getting ahead on summer travel plans

A bit of a departure today. I was thinking back to this time last year as I was planning a trip to Italy...

A lot of 50 plussers take the time to get up and go when they have the time and financial resources to do so. In May of last year I took a trip to Italy, joined by my mother (a savvy senior!) and my other boomer sister. We are very arts-driven, so wanted to ensure that any tours we took would appeal to our needs. Fortunately, we discovered a small group, Context Travel, that specializes in small walking tours with exceptional docents. What I particularly liked was that in addition to their broad range of walking tours in Florence, Rome, Naples and Paris and you can also book museum tour tickets online, in advance, through their site (which saved us, literally, hours upon hours of waiting in lines.)

If you are planning your summer and want to get the most out of your travel, check into walking tours and services you can access ahead of your trip and you'll get to enjoy a side of the city that you might otherwise have missed.

Blogging Boomers Carnival #15 is up.

So Baby Boomer is this week's Carnival host. If you've never visited our Blogging Boomers Carnival before, we are a group of Boomer-based blogs with a range of interests and insights that appeal to Boomers and 50 plussers.

Spring is in the Air...What about Love?

I usually post on topics related to employment, but, heck, I'm a sucker for love. And ever since I first felt the rush of Spring, my mind has turned to romance and love. If you have a significant other (that you like!), I'm so happy for you. But, if like many of us, you are a single boomie, couple wannabe, head on over to our love section on Gen Plus or directly to Gen Plus Singles and find out if romance is waiting for you this spring.

OK. I know. At 50 plus, spring has already sprung at least once! But when the spring flowers push up from the ground, it might be nice to have a loving relationship around. Happy Spring! Have fun.

Is your Dream Job out there?

A warm article on finding your dream job on eons today.

http://www.eons.com/money/feature/careercenter/11511

Might give you some inspiration as you head into the rest of your week!