A short takeaway thought from Buddy Can You Spare a Job?: The MetLife Study of the New Realities of the Job Market for Aging Baby Boomers
Why today’s older workers are like high school seniors and college freshman…
Senioritis. Remember how hard it was to buckle down and study with graduation only a few short months ahead?
Although the majority of older workers expect to work well into retirement, they underestimate the pull of leisure time. Even those with a clear financial need will feel ambivalence about continuing to work when peers are out traveling, playing golf, minding grandkids, or volunteering.
From a MetLife report on jobs for older workers: Job counselors also shared stories of program participants consistently sabotaging job interviews, because they were torn about succeeding in their quest for work. (p26)
Froshies: Expect to switch majors a time or two.
Many older workers will also suffer misapprehensions about future career options. While “consultant” seems an attractive career choice for retired executive types, many fail to have the marketing or sales skills required. Likewise, older workers imagine jobs like groundskeeper or security guard sound attractive without realizing the physical challenges and odd hours such positions often require.
Often jobs that appear to be the path of least resistance for older job seekers prove to be unsatisfying and costly… The risk comes in not exploring the actual skills needed to be successful, the physical demands of the job, or the psychological fit. (p19)