Next Chapter New Life

I woke up this morning with the same neck pain that’s been plaguing me for two weeks. I was toweling

Photo: Ambro

off after a shower and WHAM, like someone stuck a knife in my neck. Life sucks when you’re nearing 50 and what used to take two days to heal now takes…longer.

I have to say, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m good at what I do at work; I’m a good, yet grumpy dad; I get up every morning at 5:15 to walk; I volunteer my time to coach soccer; I’d probably be just plain ole old. But because I wake up every morning happy to be me (other than the fact I have a sore neck), life is grand.

So I wonder why some companies are downright ignorant and won’t hire mature workers. Don’t they realize we have a wealth of experience and a truckload of accomplishments, not to mention life experience that allows us to handle small problems that our teenagers can’t? Don’t they know mature workers want to work?

One of my favorite workshops that I lead is called Mature Worker. In this workshop we laugh, kvetch, and sometimes cry about our unemployment status. What we wonder is why employers don’t see the value we bring to the table. Yeah we have experience that younger workers don’t but we have much more:

1. We can party. That’s right; we can party with the best of them. We just don’t do it the night before work and especially the night preceding a tradeshow.
2. We are dependable. Did you ever notice who’s always at work and always on time. That’s us. We don’t have the responsibilities we once had when daycare, school events, snow days, and other child-related responsibilities had us scurrying around like mice being fed.
3. We have better taste in music. Lady Gaga? AC/DC, Bob Dylan, and U2 are more our style.
4. We’ve been there done that. We’ve made our share of mistakes; and unless we’re total morons, we don’t repeat them. This speaks to our life experience that we chalk up as…experience.
5. We have no life. We’ll volunteer to come in over the weekend, because no one younger than us will.
6. We can still talk on the phone. Our interpersonal skills are exceptional, because we aren’t tied to our cell phones like our kids are.
7. We know technology? Case in point, a 60+ year-old jobseeker told the group that he was able to complete an assignment, reducing the process from 60 minutes to six minutes by converting the program from Java to C++. 
8. We work smarter, not harder. “Done right the first time” has real meaning with the mature worker. Let others work at break-neck speed and repeat their actions. Don’t take our focus and steady work as being slow.
9. We’re great at customer service. We’ve waited in line at Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and other places where cashiers were distracted by their coworkers of the opposite gender. We realize how important it is to satisfy the customer.
10. We’re everywhere. Have you ever noticed that a large majority of CEO’s, presidents, VP’s, and managers are mature workers? You can’t get rid of us…unless you want the ship to sink.

I don’t know when my neck will feel better or when I’ll reduce my walking time, but I know that, like fine wine that ages with time, I’ll only get better at what I do on the job. As time goes on, I’ll impart my wisdom, level-headedness, and sense of humor on those who are less fortunate than mature workers.

About Things Career Related
Bob McIntosh is a career trainer at the Career Center of Lowell, where he leads more than 20 workshops on the career search. He is often the person jobseekers and staff go to for advice on the job search. Bob has gained a reputation as the LinkedIn expert in and around the career center. As well, he critiques resumes and conducts mock interviews. Bob’s greatest pleasure is helping people find rewarding careers in a competitive job market. These he considers to be his greatest accomplishments. www.thingscareerrelated.wordpress.com