Law And More

It's Happening All the Time: Retired, Can't Make Ends Meet, Have to Return to Work, Clueless How

The new pattern among retirees is this:

You exhale. Great to be finished with all that goes along with earning a living. Even if you loved playing in legal sandboxes, the pressure got to be too over the top. 

Adjusting to a daily life without work can be challenging. But you did it. You even forced yourself to develop hobbies and enjoy them.

Life is good, until you find it harder and harder to make ends meets.

Then you're not making ends meet.

There's the Ah-Ha Moment. You have to return to work. However, you are clueless how to go about it.

One such retiree tells that story to MarketWatch.

In my coaching I am hearing about it more and more frequently.

The Federal Reserve confirms that one-third of retirees bounce back into working. Either that's as an employee or as self-employed. The major reasons are both financial necessity and boredom. 

There is no one "best way" to circle back to working.

Here are the seven recommendations I make to those I coach who are over-50. Some were blessed and did a FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Others didn't have the financial resources to stop working until they were in their late 60s. Others sat on the beach and really didn't enjoy it because they had been forced out of their career before they were ready to pack it in. Eventually, all found themselves short on money.

The Seven:

• Stop the "too much money" from going out. That's immediate. There are many small expenses you delete from your life. They range from purchasing the brand instead of the generic to subscribing to this and that. The bigger items include struggling to maintain a house. If the real estate market is up in your neighborhood, sell the house. Then, relocate to where you can cut big chunks out of your budget. When I packed it in the New York Metro area for southwestern Arizona in 2014, I reduced my fixed expenses by 50%. My two boutiques generated increased revenues because, no longer so worried about money, I could sell in a more relaxed manner. 

 

• Get a job or gig assignment. Anything. You need to be re-socialized on how to go to work. That's a must-do before you go after a job or gig assignment that is a good fit for you. Right off the bat, employers can pick up on someone who's been without work for too long. Here is a free read on re-entry Download Outwitting ageism. 

 

• Research on the internet the new templates for resumes and cover letters in your particular field. Like everything else the models for those change.

 

• Study help-wanted ads on job boards for two things. One, to discern what skills and experience those hiring need. And, two, notice the language they use to describe what they're searching for. Language also keeps changing. Use outdated language and you will tag yourself as "old." 

 

• Role play how to interview. Essentially you will do that in real time. That's why you should grab as many interviews as you can. You must get back up to speed on how you present yourself. Ask a trusted friend who hasn't left the workforce to help you continue to fine-tune everything from facial expressions to body language to the actual sale pitches.

 

• Get it that you don't have the luxury to become discouraged. If nothing is happening "reverse engineer" every aspect of what your thinking and doing in your search for work. Experiment with modifying each one of those. The weak link, for example, could be the kinds of work you are going after. Those doors may be closed to you. 

 

• Look at a job or assignment you hate as not your "last job." Rather, it's the bridge to a better job or assignment. The new game is not linear. That's exactly what Willis Towers Watson posits about the future of work. And that future is already underway. 

If you need a professional nudge to return to work, I'm here for you. Contact me for a complimentary consultation. If you sense a bit of coaching can help, there are sliding scale fees. I'm Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Displaced Staff in Legal Sector - Picking Up a Certification Can Be the Way to Land on Your Feet

The human tragedy in the legal sector is the elimination of staff jobs. WFH has accelerated the inevitable: hollowing out the administrative functions. For a while it had been obvious that robotic automation would hit those niches hard. Well, now it has.

It's not likely that former staff will find the same kinds of jobs or the same kind of compensation.

So, like so many others knocked out of their job box, you displaced staff have to think differently about earning a good living.

That line of thought should include the certification route. 

Having a certificate in a certain field used to be an edge. That tended to reassure employers that this person could do the job, such as be proficient in PPC (Pay Per Click). 

Now, with high uncertainty facing all businesses, those doing the hiring for jobs and even gig assignments toss applications with no certifications of the skills needed. Nonono, they don't want to hear that you pick up software quickly or that you can leverage your overall knowledge of legalities to the real estate business.

You might have already noticed that more help-wanted ads and application forms are asking about or requiring certifications. 

Increasingly certifications are becoming the price of entry. 

Suppose a side hustle for you has been landscaping. All your neighbors have used your services. You were even interviewed on a podcast about landscaping. So, you feel confident about replying to a help-wanted for someone to manage the landscaping for the hospital. Well, expect to be asked about your certification. Here U.S. News & World Report covers some popular certifications, including landscaping.

The silver lining in certifications should be obvious. Those of you who are determined to remain employable don't have to hunker down and do four years of college or circle back to academia for a pricey advanced degree. 

Where training is available is just about everywhere. That ranges from the brick and motor community college or trade school, often with online options, to stand-alone online instruction and testing. 

Some provide training that is free. However, there probably will be a fee to take the exam. 

Those that are self-study versus involving actual classroom instruction are less expensive. 

In-person training plus the exam in a niche in IT can cost between $5,000 and $11,000. The IT field has its own specialized publication - Certification Magazine.

Those I coach ask me: Is it possible to get in the door without certification?

Sure, I answer. Try it. Then, if no response to your applications or you never receive a job offer, then research certification programs for your line of work - or a field you want to enter.

In your research, demand documentation of the program's track record in jobs and rate of compensation. 

Ask for names of former students you can informally interview.

Also, contact the Better Business Bureau and other sources of information about complaints. 

When certified, position and package it as an asset in your cover letters, resumes and interviews. 

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Of Course, Lawyers/Staff Need Multiple Sources of Income - 5 Rules of the Game

In 2019, lawyer Kevin Ha made the news.

The coverage was in financial media - MarketWatch. Among the players in the money crowd there was a fascination with a lawyer who was employed full-time (his wife also worked) and who had 13 side hustles.

There was more in the Ha story. The gigs were, well, without status. They ranged from returning scooters to food delivery.

That was then.

Because of the actual employment carnage and the sustained uncertainty triggered by COVID-19, the Ha model of multiple sources of income is no longer news. It's an option lawyers and staff better take seriously.

No, you are not too busy to think of earning money beyond your day job. Recently, Bryan Cave laid off about 118 lawyers and staff. As the gallows humor goes: A crisis like the pandemic is a terrible ting to waste. I will be exploited by employers, across all sectors, to not only conduct RIFs. Also they will restructure to eliminate those positions forever.

The "barrier to entry" when it comes to establishing multiple sources of income is this: The brands have to managed so as not to put at risk your primary source of income. Sure, Ha could do offbeat hustles. But most lawyers and staff would lose credibility and damage their resume by too far a stretch from their core personal branding. 

In addition, in this unforgiving work environment lawyers and staff have to all-there for their jobs. Therefore, the how they earn funds on the side can't drain them. 

Here are the 5 fundamental rules of the multiple income game:

• Look for easy fits. That strategy will require less energy and time. For example, the lawyer can tutor LSAT test preparation part-time. On October 8th, there was a help-wanted on Craigslist for such service in Manhattan and online. The compensation is $180 an hour. Unless you excel in logistics, no, you don't want to loop into a manufacturing project with a global supply chain.

 

• Just as with introducing foods to a baby, take on new opportunities slowly. Monitor how much those take away from your day job. If it isn't a strain, then add on more of those kinds. For example, through Airbnb, you lease out a room in your primary residence. You seem to be skillful in screening potential renters. No trouble. So, you add on doing Airbnb for your getaway. Soon enough you purchase residential property to extend this tactic.

 

• Be circumspect. Given that the legal sector tends to a tradition-bound industry, incoming-producing side pursuits could be used against you. A middle manager in an equally conservative industry, whom I coached, learned that the hard way. He had been too open about operating a franchise. His objective in coaching was to restore his personal brand Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova

 

• Overall, keep the brands separate. The exception is when there is a natural fit. For example, lawyers teach business-law courses in an MBA program. Otherwise, create different resumes, cover letters and personas for each line of work you do. Here is my article on what I call "mutt branding."

 

• Approach all this as playing in a variety of spaces, one or more of which might turn out to be your day job or self-employment. When doing a side hustle, some discover their passion. They seek a full-time position in that or launch a business. During The Great Recession, when I was operating this blog (since it's syndicated it brings in income), there were requests for career coaching. First that was a side business. Now it's a core competence. Simultaneously, I also continue in content-creation, especially for businesses aligned with the career industry.

Takeaway: "They" can take away your job. But not your ability to make a very good living, through multiple sources. A free read is my book on parachuting out of your comfort zones. Behavior-change organization Dale Carnegie Systems had posted it on its website.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Law Firm Staff Members Have to Reimagine How to Earn a Good Living - Baker Botts Laying Off 50 Staff

Baker Botts, like many law firms, is restructuring how it operates. Because of automation and what lawyers learned they could do working remotely, staff is less needed.

It's no surprise that Baker Botts made the decision, reports AbovetheLaw, to lay off 50 staff members in Office Services and  Secretarial Services.

October 15th will be the last day on the job.

Given that staff positions are being targeted for elimination throughout large law firms around the world, those who lose their jobs are unlikely to find comparable ones in the legal sector. Those who aren't laid off, probably should accept they are on short time.

A similar pattern of phasing out staff functions occurred in Corporate America when the word processor had been invented at Wang Laboratories. The bean counters kept spotting more and more opportunities for cost-efficiency.

Staff members who didn't embrace the reality that they would be forced out suffered mightily - emotionally, socially, spiritually and financially. They weren't up to the tough task of transition.

By that last day of work, the 50 at Baker Botts can speedcycle through all the phases of this loss. Those range from traditional grief to optimism about the future. 

That process requires this: shaking off what has been the routine. Here, a free read, is my book on finding the exit ramp out of your comfort zones. 

Meanwhile, track and list everything you do from the minute you start work to when you go off duty. Then break that into skills such as "customer service," "high proficiency in such and such software packages," project management," "negotiation," "training," "conflict resolution," "compliance," and so on.

Then, key in on a search engine "Craigslist - sites." Scroll to down your state. Then, click on each and every category be it "business" or "nonprofit." Open each help-wanted ads. Where are there possible matches between your skills and what it takes to get the job done? Don't back off from a force-fit. You can grow into the job.

For each kind of work opportunity create a pattern resume and cover letter. Customize to apply. Role play the best persona for that job. When I shifted from academia to corporate, you bet I had to develop a new personal brand. Then when I hung out a shingle, again there had to be another personal brand.

And, approach this transition recognizing this is your next job, not your last. It's merely a platform from which to reimagine your career. 

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Law Firms with Tourist Practices - Probably 2 to 3 Years for Sector to Recover Fully

"With the virus still a significant risk, a feeling likely reinforced by President Trump’s diagnosis, it’s possible many tourist-dependent cities will see a second wave of economic damage this year, brought by the new rounds of job losses." Bloomberg BusinessWeek, October 7, 2020.

The tipping point in pessimism about the tourism sector has been Disney's 28,000 RIF. Along with that, of course, have been the massive layoffs conducted by tourism players ranging from casinos to transportation. 

There has been a confluence of 3 factors:

• Limits on the number of customers allowed into a tourist setting. Yes, social distancing.
• The public's fear of traveling by plane. There is a distrust of safety and health procedures for the close quarters of airplane interiors.
• Travel bans. They have halted the lucrative business of those from other nations touring the U.S.

At Moody's, economist Mark Zandi projects it will require 2 to 3 years for what is included under the umbrella of "tourism" to recover, fully. 

That means law firms with practices in that sector are being hit hard - with no light at the end of the tunnel. Optimism seems downright inappropriate.

Recently, a colleague in career coaching bluntly told students in hospitality degree programs to start redirecting their careers.

I call that "taking a skills/experience audit." Lawyers who depended on that sector might also have to engage in such a pivot.

The next step is this: After identifying what can be put out there to sell in the labor market, then do comprehensive research of what those specific jobs and gig assignments could be. An analysis of all the possible categories can be conducted on job-search platform Craigslist. Just key in "Craigslist - sites." See where there is a match. 

Then, create resumes and cover letters (yes, multiple) to apply for those opportunities. Custom-make each of those for each specific job or assignment. 

Role play the appropriate persona for the varieties of organizational cultures.

Soon, you will be doing your Next.

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Law Firms - Succession Planning as Anachronism

The business platitude - the future is now - seems to dominate the law firm mindset.

Law.com observes that during this COVID-19 recession, law firms are veering away from long-term planning.

Therefore, their manpower policies entail what Law.com phrases as "eating their young."

Winston & Strawn had laid off 10% of associates.

The Major Lindsay & Africa survey found that equity partners are squeezing out profits at the expense of nonequity partners, females and professionals of color.

And, some firms seem to be neglecting associate development. Part of that, though, may be a result of operating remotely. Associates can no longer just pop their heads into the partners' offices to ask a question.

This focus on exploiting every bit of current opportunity versus a preoccupation with succession planning is one kind of business model.

It's not new. And it may become a best practice since volatility and uncertainty may have become embedded in the global and U.S. economy.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Corporate America got hit hard by international competition. No longer was it Top Dog.

To survive, Chrysler, for example, bypassed its succession planning and parachuted in an outsider Lee Iacocca.

In the early 1990s, upstart competitors such as Microsoft and Apple threatened IBM. It pivoted out of its traditional policies including lifetime employment and brought in outsider Lou Gerstner Jr. 

And all that systematic succession planning nurtured by the late Jack Welch at GE - smirk smirk. His decisions in that generated the downward trajectory which continues into 2020.

Maintaining a strong bench of brandname talent in the now seems to be the proven-out success formula for leading a law firm during aberrant conditions. That's exactly why the lateral market, at least in some categories, is brisk. That poaching, as by Paul, Weiss from Boies Schiller, receives plenty of media attention. Such coverage enhances the brand of both the law firm and its leadership.

What's being called "eating your young" is not only a model for law firm operations, though. In the book "Disrupted," Dan Lyons describes that MO as typical in startups. He calls it "burn and turn." That is, enthusiastic youth are onboarded, work hard, and when they can't endure that any more, are replaced like outdated inventory by other too-eager youth.

However, not all is lost. Entry-level employees, both lawyers and staff, can approach the job as a short-term opportunity. Sure, some will make partner or not be laid off as technology takes over more and more administrative functions.

Most will be forced out.

The objective is to learn as much as they can, both about themselves and about the mechanics and macro aspects of the job. The mindset is to be prepared to exit. The strategy is The Hedge, that is, continuing to research how to leverage those skills and experience to other jobs or self-employment. Part of that is creating resumes and cover letters which tell that story in the language of results. "Our team achieved verdicts and settlements totaling X billions in 3 years."

A useful briefing on how much the labor market has changed and how that influences being hired and working anywhere at anything for any period of time is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" by Richard N. Bolles.

Essentially, the reality, Bolles currently hammers, is that human beings will spend their entire lifetimes searching for work - or business for their own enterprises. Those who are most resourceful in that - and not necessarily the best qualified - will be the overall winners. Intelligence, talent and even a gold-plated network are all less important than job/business search know-how. 

Meanwhile organizations will burn and turn. The burden is on those being burned and turned to be totally strategic about what they have to derive from that situation for their Next. Then, move on to the next without bitterness. 

Those who make it to the top will do whatever it takes to stay there. Increasingly the route up the food chain is not linear. Lateral activity is demonstrating that. For big leaps forward those lawyers had to leave where they had started out. 

Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching.  Affordable rates (sliding scale).  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching

Law Students/Associates - Of Course, You're Not Sending Generic Resumes

LinkedIn confirms what savvy law students and  associates always had down cold: You never send a generic resume. You custom-make the pattern resume for particular internships, assignments, jobs, promotions and awards.

Not doing that has become the biggest mistake people make in pursuing professional opportunities. 

This has been on the money forever. 

But, it's even more important currently.

The Wall Street Journal documents that business has embraced the reality that the global and U.S. economy will experience long-term fallout from COVID-19. Any recovery will be slow. A sign of the mindset of sustained woe is the ramp-up of layoffs. Ranging from Coca-Cola to American Airlines, recently there have been massive reductions in force. 

Those who can give you learning and/or earning opportunities expect you to present the data they are looking for prominently in the resume, as well as in the cover letter. No, you can't send them on a hunting expedition. 

In the resume, the key information should right upfront in the Summary. Then that should be reinforced throughout the rest of the document. Yes, you are telling a story about how you can be useful to those hiring.

All that should be highlighted in the cover letter. 

For example, for a summer in a law firm specializing in IP, you need to dig around your background for "evidence" of knowledge/experience in that niche. If you plan on pursuing that kind of summer, then you have to make it your business to acquire the knowledge/experience which will catch the attention of those in the loop. The search of opportunity, including unpaid, is strategic. 

Subcategories of information on the resume and cover letters would be the more generic. That includes awards which are not directly related to what specifically you're targeting. That might seem counterintuitive to you. You may be quite proud of receiving recognition for pro bono initiatives in family law. But that isn't directly aligned with your pursuit of a professional opportunity in IP. So, the item is not front-loaded. 

Takeaway: A resume tells those hiring the story they need to read in order to not rule you out. In this labor market, the game among those on the front lines of recruiting is to knock the majority of applicants out of the box. Your objective is make it to the short list. 

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Quinn Emanuel $185 Million Fee - Belief in Protestant Ethic Seems So Schoolgirlish

Quinn Emanuel figures it has "earned" a $185 million fee in its legal work for health insurers who hadn't been paid by the Obama Administration. That number has been calculated on the basis of results. The law firm's work resulted in the insurers receiving $3.7 billion. 

The issue involved, reports Bloomberg Law, is that in terms of hours the fee would come to Quinn Emanuel's earning $18,500 an hour. There are those who object, including litigation funders. 

However, the fee only represents 5% of the results, note supporters of Quinn Emanuel.

At its core, this dispute is not really about high fees charged by elite law firms. That is so boring. The marketplace, including its dynamics during COVID-19, takes care of that. 

It gets down to questioning the Protestant Ethic. That had been woven into a system of beliefs by Max Weber. Essentially the meme is: Work hard. 

Such an ideology - actually almost a religion - dominated Americana since Puritan times. Hard work was valued in itself. Ironically, it still is. Those who sinned or stumbled professionally were advised to "Work Hard." That was the path to salvation.

Currently, that adage is still being touted, in some circles.

Many help-wanted ads on Craigslist, for example, indicate the need for a "hard worker." Yeah, an eye-roll. Professionals who want to get ahead in an organization sense that employer doesn't understand how success happens, is sustained and scaled. 

For players, the Protestant Ethic seems downright misleading. It's obvious that it can be even counterproductive. Looking for the way not to have to work hard can be the real path to wealth - as well as power and influence.

Through inventing the Mac, then the iPhone, Steve Jobs eliminated the need for lots of old-fashioned kinds of work. 

Before that, Ronald Reagan's branding was about not working hard. He came across as confident, a quality needed in a leader.

I landed a communications contract (one hat I wear) by pitching to the prospect a shortcut to boosting rankings on search engines. No, we weren't going to work hard together.

Mouthing platitudes about hard work can seem downright schoolgirlish. Even small business owners, at least those still in business in coronavirus times, understand that the game is about results - the bigger the better, the sooner the better. It's not about hours the workforce plows into a project.

The Emanuel Quinn fee controversy can be a flashpoint in law firm billing. The billable hour can be tossed. It could be replaced by performance-based metrics. 

More generally, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors who tell youth to work hard will have no credibility. As a sometimes career coach, I advise the over-50 unemployed/underemployed I guide to ditch their own hard-work ethos. It's all about what they can accomplish for an employer.

The pitch should be: This is what I can do for you - better and faster than those others competing for work. 

One professional in the real estate loop, after two years searching for a better job, reframed his marketing to just that: Promised results, supported by documentation of those created for other employers over the years. Those were his new marketing materials. Immediately, he received an interview. A prospective employer flew him to its headquarters and hired him on the spot. 

Sour grapes: Too long I worked hard at a doctoral degree that wasn't marketable. Early in the game the savvy owner at a business where I worked part-time recommended I pull the plug. Get a job in media or at a public relations agency, he counseled. I didn't. I assumed my unusually intense hard work would land me one of the few jobs in the field. I limped away from that disaster getting it that betting on the right horse, not hard work, is the key career fundamental. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Reality Check for Law Firm Manpower - Corporate CEOs Abandon Hope for Quick Recovery

Call it the end of magical thinking.

The current severity of the pandemic and the possibility it could circle back a second time have made corporate chief executive officers admit that recovery won't happen in a matter of months.

The Wall Street Journal reports that their current mindset is that the bounce-back from COVID-19 could require years.

The implications are broad-based.

For example, some corporations such as GM, to preserve cash for the long haul, have eliminated dividends for shareholders. Of course, that kind of initiative could worsen the financial situation on Main Street. The U.S. economy is 70% consumer-driven.

To navigate all that, corporations are being forced to change. It's back to the drawing board both for cost-efficiency and for growth.

That can be bad news for law firms. The financial distress of clients and prospects directly affects their business - and, in turn, their management of manpower.

Over and over again, watcher of the business of law firms Hugh Simons has hammered that really hard times are coming when it comes to law firm employment.

Already, Bloomberg Law documented that for the JD Class of 2020 there have been not only delayed start dates but rescinded offers.

Abovethelaw has begun receiving insider tips from law firms where actual layoffs, not just pay cuts and furloughs, are happening. Those include Bryan Cave. 

And aging lawyers have contacted me for complimentary consultations on how to frame a career transition.

If knocked out of the box, lawyers over-50 are realistic about not being able to land another position practicing law. The hiring will be for laterals who are still working and have a brandname and/or a book of business. Yes, in an old-line sector like law firms, there remains a stigma about unemployment.

The obvious recommendation is for lawyers at all levels to anticipate being cut loose. That could be through being shamed out of the job, forced retirement, buyouts, stealth layoffs, or an announced reduction in force.

The time is now for all lawyers to research how to leverage their education, experience, and skills to sectors in which a good living can be made.

Over decades, the proven guide is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Annually there is a new edition. Those are available in the public library and used from Amazon.

The sustained meme of that bible on job search and career change is this: The professional hired is not necessarily the most qualified. The success comes from being the best at how to  find a job or navigating career change.

The being-hired game doesn't operate on the fundamentals of a meritocracy. The dynamics boil downs to superior skills in that whole continuum of chasing after work. 

Based on insights from "What Color Is Your Parachute?" lawyers should analyse the marketability of various backgrounds. Then they put together trial resumes and cover letters. Yes, multiple. Simultaneously, role play interviews with those trusted on a network.

In addition, they have to get over the potential blow to self-esteem of taking on survival jobs or gigs. It really is true: Nothing gets a job like a job. A crazy-seeming job can be the bridge to a new career path. The leasing agent for an apartment complex can wind up in the real estate firm's corporate headquarters. 

In outplacement, if the law firm provides that useful benefit, it's imperative to be aggressive about seeking guidance on a job search in a glutted labor market.  

Meanwhile, investigate building or enhancing social branding. Employers factor that in. So do potential clients. 

On LinkedIn, displaced general counsel from Salary.com Colin Levy has created fresh personal branding. His example is encouraging other lawyers, unemployed and employed, to also go social. Through that, Levy is picking up contract work. This tactic may or may not land a full-time job practicing law. But is is a solid platform for career change. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

The New Normal in Time of COVID-19: Forced Retirement

There is a confluences of forces.

One is that the aging, always targeted for the ax, are finding themselves shown the door more often during COVID-19. That's just the way it is. The route could be accepting a package, being on the list for a reduction in force, harassed into resigning, or a stealth layoff, that is being terminated for supposedly performance reasons. 

The other is the fear of returning to a communal work situation in which the risk of COVID-19 is high. 

The result, observes Alicia Munnell in MarketWatch, has been a significant increase in early retirements, that is, leaving a career or long-term work situation sooner than intended.

According to the findings on the Current Population Survey, in April 2020 - only one month into COVID-19 - there had been a 7% uptick in the number of those who had been employed and suddenly fell into the retirement category. For those between 55 and 64, the percentage was less but still significant enough to get on the radar.

Overall, the feeling about this development is: blindsided.

Because of the shock, there could be a rush into pessimism.

At the top of the list is assuming that the only way to continue to make ends meet is to apply for Social Security early. Usually, that's at age 62. Long term, that means a reduction in the monthly benefit.

The reality is that being knocked out of the career box doesn't mean the end of the ability to earn income from work per se. There is always work. Here, free to download, is my bible on that Download Outwitting ageism.

That stopgap can be the bridge to a new career path. For example, an in-house lawyer, who had been a communications client, had been forced into early retirement. He spotted an ad about being a residential leasing manager. Eventually he became licensed as a real estate agent. He made the contacts to sell at the high end. 

Another bit of pessimism is the mindset that relocation to where the cost of living is lower comes with shame. Those who thrive, despite the reversal of fortune, frame that as the unique opportunity to start over again. Also, many, to their surprise, discover it is a relief to leave their former life, embedded with careerism, behind.

There is also the predictable syndrome of regret - that is, replaying the past. It consists of the If-Onlys. When I lectured at the New York State Bar Association to displaced lawyers over-50, most were replaying their earlier decisions. The pattern was the magical thinking that if they hadn't done X, Y, that is, their termination, wouldn't have happened. Sure, it's important to learn from what could have been ineffective behavior.

However, nothing will change the past. What has helped some of my coaching clients in shaking off that preoccupation with the past is studying forms of Buddhism. Several schools recommend not perceiving the past - or any entity - as good or bad. It just is.

There are plenty of resources out there to navigate this new kind of rite of passage: early retirement.

Since the 1970s, for instance, "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been a game-changer for those who need to market themselves to land work. Its tenet is that the person who is hired or gets the account is not necessarily the most qualified. Most often the winners are those who are best at presenting themselves in the labor market.

The search for income from work is a game. That game keeps mutating. Currently, my clients who are hired use the direct approach. In all their marketing materials, ranging from the cover letter/resume to the interview, they state and back up with data what they can accomplish for that employer or prospect for their business. Essentially, the pitch is: Here is what I can do for you.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.