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Looking for work at 50+?

Looking for work at 50+? SENIOR-JOB-SEARCH.jpg

There’s an online group for you!

By Debbie Gardner
dgardner@thereminder.com

   Maybe the recent inflation has left your budget  stretched a bit too tight. Maybe you are finding the “freedom” of the unstructured days of retirement a bit boring. Or, maybe, you feel you’re not through with the work world yet and are looking for that “second act.”

   Whatever your reason for dipping your toe back into the job search pool, there’s a free online program –running now through June – designed to help older applicants navigate the new world of a job search.   

The program

   The 50+ Jobseekers Networking Group, available through 60 Massachusetts library partnerships – including the Springfield, East Longmeadow, Amherst and South Hadley public libraries locally – is designed to offer tips, tools and networking opportunities “for people 50 years of age and older who are looking for a new job, a new career direction of a second-act career” according to the information about the program on  the Amherst (Jones) Library website.

   The online program meets bi-weekly on Zoom, either from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on the first and third Wednesday of the month, or from 6 to 8 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday.             

   The 50+ Jobseekers Networking Group is facilitated by Deborah Hope, MBA, PCIC, a former Fortune 500 executive and investment banker who transitioned to career coaching 12 years ago. Her career coaching credentials include the Harvard Business School Executive Education program and the Mass. Conference for Women.

   Prime spoke with Hope about the program, which kicked off in January, about what participants will take away from the bi-weekly sessions, and how they can catch up on information they may have missed from previous sessions.

   “I send out a list of resources to people so they can catch up,” Hope said. She encouraged interested parties to sign up as soon as possible (see links below).

   Hope said the six-month program covers “all the topics of a job search” providing participants with “a tool kit” to help them navigate the modern job landscape. For many older jobseekers dealing with an applicant tracking system (ATS) is a” new phenomenon,” Hope noted. ATS, she said is “used to screen your resume – [they] are trying to find people who have the key words in their job description.”  She said one of the skills she shares in the program is how to “look at a job description and find the key words and put them in your job application, cover letter and resume” when applying for a job.

   The other skill Hope stresses in is the power of networking.

   “About 85 percent of jobs are found through networking,” she said. “What this program is about is networking.”

   Each session “opens a half-hour before the meeting for informal networking, followed by the presentation. The meetings go two hours, including the [virtual] breakout rooms where we practice skills,” Hope said. Guest speakers include “hiring managers, recruiters, subject matter experts … there’s a lot that happens [at each session]. It’s a lot of fun,” Hope said. Though most people Zoom into the meetings from home, Hope noted that “there are several people who go to their local library and Zoom in from there.”

   Hope emphasized job searches are often different for people over 50 – “what a lot of people want to do at this age is go from ambition to mission,” combining them in a “second act” type job. “People do come into the program at all different stages” of their career search, she added.

The calendar

   Upcoming sessions, which begin Feb. 1 and 8, will cover:

Feb. 1/8: Marketing plan/marketing brief

Feb. 15/22: Applications/cover letters

Mar. 1/8: Developing a resume – Part 1

Mar. 15/22: Developing A resume – Part 2

April 5/12: Creating a LinkedIn Profile

April 19/26: LinkedIn – personal branding

May 3/10: Interview preparation/strategy

May 17/24: Interview practice

Jun. 7/14 :  Hiring employer event

Jun. 21/28: Networking 2.0 – give to get!

   Morning and evening sessions of each topic are “identical,” in material covered, according to Hope.

   To sign up for the 50+Jobseekers Networking Group through an area library use the following links:

Springfield: https://www.springfieldlibrary.org/library/50-plus-job-seekers/

East Longmeadow: https://www.eventkeeper.com/mars/xpages/E/ELPL/ekp.cfm?curOrg=ELPL&CFID=70200509&CFTOKEN=33096f2548dbce35-B859F6B2-D4AE-528A-53508C988E81EE5C

Amherst/Jones Library: https://joneslibrary.org/calendar.aspx?PREVIEW=YES&EID=12642

South Hadley Library: http://www.eventkeeper.com/mars/xpages/S/SHADLEY/EKPMONTH.cfm?zeeOrg=SHADLEY

   You can also sign up directly on the program links:

Morning meetings:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vdO2rqjovE9xW_F5wfL_jbfjGkgU_Gnbz.

Evening meetings:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclcOuupj0pEtJQAa0w8VAsWex6BOJcWBFn.

                You can register for one session at a time or all remaining sessions through the above direct links.