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Repurpose Your Career | Career Pivot | Careers for the 2nd Half of Life | Career Change | Baby Boomer

Repurpose Your Career podcast brought to you by Career Pivot is a podcast for those of us in the 2nd half of life to come together to discuss how repurpose our careers for the 21st century.  Come listen to career experts give you proven strategies, listen to people like you tell their stories about how they repurposed their careers and finally get your questions answered.   Your host, Marc Miller, has made six career pivots over the last 30 years. He understands this is not about jumping out of the frying pan into a fire but rather to create a plan where you make clear actionable steps or pivots to a better future career. 
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Now displaying: January, 2017
Jan 30, 2017

In this episode, Marc discusses goals for 2017. He wrote about this very subject in a blog post last year. Listen in for goals that last all the way through 2017!

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:22] The idea for this post came from a podcast by Pat Flynn where he interviewed Michael Hyatt, author of Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want. The topic was goals. How bold of a goal do you want to set — in the comfort zone, the discomfort zone (the home of bold goals), or the delusional zone?

[3:17] Michael Hyatt suggests going right up to the delusional zone, and then backing off. Marc, in his goals, is pushing himself out of his comfort zone.

[3:34] Marc gives five areas in which to set bold goals. Finances (debt, retirement, earnings, or charity), Relationships (spouse, parent, child, or friends), Career (promotion, big project, or starting a business), Lifestyle (Camper, condo, getting children off payroll, or travel), Health (weight, blood pressure, diet, or exercise).

[6:45] Michael Hyatt mentions three Rs of goal-setting: Recommit, Revise, and Remove. Mid-year you will want to look at your goals again, and adjust them as needed..

[7:15] Marc always asks, should he tell anyone his goals? Does he want someone to hold him accountable to them? Personally, for Marc, telling someone provides personal initiative for him to execute on the goals.

[7:38] Marc tells his goals for 2017. Financial: Stop drawing from IRAs and be fully supported by the business within the year. Relationships: Work on spousal relationship and develop new friendships in support of their goal to move overseas. Career: build a supportive membership community. Lifestyle: prepare to move, maybe to Ecuador.

[10:21] Ecuador seems to have a lower cost of healthcare, and Marc’s insurance premiums and deductible are very high. Marc’s idea is to simplify. Health: Marc had high blood pressure. With diet and exercise, it is now pre-hypertensive, and he wants to bring it back to normal this year.

[11:15] Marc wants to challenge you to look at these five areas: Finances, Relationships, Career, Lifestyle, and Health, and sit down to work out your goals for the year, and also to make a calendar entry for early July, to look at the goals again, and recommit, revise, or remove, as appropriate to the need.

[12:00] Marc wants you to ask, are you going into your discomfort zone, and how are you going to measure the results? Think about it!

[12:25] If you are considering retiring overseas, Marc heard the Money Matters podcast mention the RetiredBrains.com website. They rank countries in eight categories. Ecuador was No. 1, Panama was No. 2, and Mexico was No. 3. International Living magazine has similar ratings, but puts Mexico at No.1, for the exchange rate.

[13:07] Marc and his wife are looking to live where they will be stretched culturally, live a simpler life, and have good, affordable healthcare.

[14:12] To submit any questions you’d like Marc to answer on this podcast, go to CareerPivot.com, click on the Contact Me link, and type it in. Marc will run a Q&A session every month!

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com
"5 Bold Goals to Establish for the Coming Year," blog by Marc Miller

Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want,
by Michael Hyatt

RetiredBrains.com Retiring Abroad page

 

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

Jan 23, 2017

In this episode, Marc shares the chapter, “Next Up: The Second Half of Life,” the opening chapter from his upcoming book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life, scheduled to be available for pre-order in March, 2017.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:42] After he wrote the first edition of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers, Marc was contacted by Baby Boomers who had lost their retirements in the crash. They either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go back to their old jobs. Marc expected those clients. But he also got contacts from others, disillusioned in their 30s and 40s.

[3:11] Since Marc’s first book came out, the economic and technological climates have changed. With more change on the horizon, it’s difficult to confidently make choices for the second half of life. Gartner predicts that by 2025, a third of jobs will be taken over by robots, smart machines, or software.

[4:11] BYU research shows more people live alone than ever. Loneliness and isolation are a health risk as significant as smoking and obesity. Social media can lead to isolation and depression. Studies show that people who passively use social sites feel more alone, and missing out, than those who actively engage, or don’t engage at all.

[5:12] The Conference Board reports 48% of people are satisfied with their jobs, vs. 61% in 1987. Gallup reports 30% of employees are engaged with their jobs, while 50% are disengaged, and 17% are actively disengaged. Many are feeling lost and uncertain of their future, each generation being impacted according to their upbringing.

[5:59] For Generation X, born 1965 to 1980, a successful career is a good life. These are largely the latchkey children. They delayed marriage for career, and once having achieved careers, are disillusioned. They are technologically behind the Millennials.

[7:05] Gen Xers see Millennials choose careers for passion, embrace entrepreneurship and eschew material possessions in favor of experience, and they wonder, should I take that route? One client is a Gen Xer who saved money for decades. She took a short sabbatical in Southeast Asia. She saw poor but happy people. She had not been happy.

[7:48] A career pivot, whether alone, or in a family, is challenging. The 50s used to be the peak earning years — not necessarily, anymore. With children, changing careers at this point may threaten financially security, which may be unwelcome. Starting a relationship at this point may be even harder. Gen Xers need to earn a living.

[8:33] Baby Boomers thought they would already be retired, but are not prepared. This age group commits suicide at twice the rate they used to, and they feel the world has changed so much, they don’t know how they fit in it. No one wants to hire them. They are seen as being slow to adapt. It takes effort to connect Boomers to Millennials.

[11:20] Look forward. Which tasks will still require the human touches of empathy and creativity? Robot journalists now write stories and commercial content. Almost anything you want done, can be done by self-service or a mobile app, and Millennials prefer it that way, even calling for a self-driving car instead of owning a car.

[12:46] Social and professional networks are the most important piece of any career change — people you know, in the field or company where you want to work, or who know them. LinkedIn and Facebook’s Professional pages capitalize on human networks. Mark Granovetter said recommendations by people you know slightly, still carry weight.

[14:15] You may have people you knew 20 years ago, who think well of you, and are in completely knew industries, that could be vital to your networks. To make a change, it takes, connections, supporters — a tribe, to help you transition. New tech grants access to information about who might be members of that tribe who could help you.

[14:53] You are the most important person to know. What are your talents? What makes you love one job more than another? Which environments put you in the zone? Can you commute? What kind of office do you like? What kind of team is best for you? What challenges you? What bores you? What salary do you need? It takes time to work it out.
[17:44] Action steps: Are you successful in your career, and still not happy? Reflect on how you got there. Assess whether your job can be replaced by a robot. Have you had weak ties assist you in your career? Reflect back on when and where. We will use this later. Weak ties are probably one of the most important concepts for your career pivot.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

CareerPivot.com

CareerPivot.com/blog

Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me

Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life, by Marc Miller with Susan Lahey, available in early 2017

Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers, by Marc Miller with Susan Lahey

"The Strength of Weak Ties," Paper by Mark S. Granovetter

 

Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

Jan 16, 2017

In this episode, Marc interviews his good friend, Vicki McCullough. Vicki has more than 20 years of corporate experience in marketing, communications, sales, and account management. She is the Founder and President of Sequitur Marketing, a marketing consulting business she launched in 2013. Sequitur Marketing focuses on working with professional and consulting services firms to help them budget their resources, including time and energy. It’s logical marketing steps that generate desired results. Vicki is also the part-time Executive Director of Metropolitan Breakfast Club. She is also an active community supporter, enjoys working with nonprofit boards, committees, and volunteer efforts. Vicki is a very resilient, but reluctant, solopreneur, a story that will probably be played out over and over again by Baby Boomers who move into entrepreneurship in the second half of life. Marc and Vicki discuss several topics, including Vicki’s background and experience, how it took years to decide to start on her own, what she has learned as a solopreneur, and how she keeps her job interesting.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:16] Vicki received a BS in education. She soon learned that she enjoyed being in school, but not teaching school. She went back for her MBA, and entered the business world. Her corporate career spanned 30 years. She is now a marketing consultant.

[3:35] Vicki and Sequitur Marketing work mostly with professional services firms to help them logically evaluate and improve their marketing strategy, to grow their business.

[4:38] Vicki first thought of going on her own when she learned in her MBA classes that it really is possible to start one’s own business. Over the years, during layoffs, she freelanced, but kept going back to corporate work.

[6:25] Overall, Vicki’s work experience in the corporate world was good. She learned a lot, and got on a really good track for marketing, managing direct reports, budgeting and related business activities. She didn’t feel pushed to turn away from that. She enjoyed belonging to a team.

[7:32] The last layoff was harder on Vicki than earlier ones. The job had had some challenges, and it had not been as satisfying. She started out diligently looking for that new place to land, but the search didn’t feel the same. It didn’t feel productive. At some point, she told herself, this is the time to go on her own.

[8:57] It is important to focus, and find your own marketing space. It can be difficult to do. At the first, Vicki took a variety of clients, but now she focuses on professional and consulting services firms, including engineers, architects, attorneys, and CPAs.

[9:54] Vicki also has taken on a paid, part-time role with the Metropolitan Breakfast Club in Austin, a weekly networking organization. After many years as a member, she was asked by the board to become the Executive Director, when the position opened. She finds personal reward in this new challenge that balances nicely with her consulting.

[12:48] Vicki had to relearn what she helps her clients learn: there are so many things to do in a business, you can’t do them all at once. So prioritize, outsource what you can, and let go of what doesn’t work, move on, and tackle the next task.

[13:38] Marc has seen people get started, but get stuck. Marc’s coach, Sherry Lowry, told him she always tried to change her business 15-20% every year, to keep it fresh. Marc sees that Vicki has found her niche, where she is comfortable, and her clients are comfortable with her.

[15:13] Vicki would have gotten her focus, and her target market earlier, if she had had the knowledge to do so. Vicki is a little risk-averse, and starting out on her own was a bold move for her. She would like to be a little bolder.

[16:11] Marc says one of the key pieces is to learn that when you don’t have it all figured out, you still go and get started. In this series of stories, the common theme is first, getting the nudge to do something, but not doing it; second, getting a kick to get started; and third, finding unexpected challenges, but adapting, and keeping on going.

[19:46] Marc’s points: 1) Vicki was a reluctant entrepreneur, who would have rather found a job. 2) She did not wait to find the full business model before she started. 3) She encountered a lot of obstacles in business and personal life. 4) She added variety to her business to keep it interesting. 5) Listen to Episodes 3, and 7, for others’ stories.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me

Email: Vicki@SequiturMarketing.com

Website: SequiturMarketing.com

Sequitur Marketing Phone: (512) 771-3969

Website: SherryLowry.com

 

Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or GooglePlay. Give this podcast a review and subscribe!

Jan 9, 2017

In this episode, Marc interviews Roger Whitney, the Retirement Answer Man. He believes you can create a great life that balances living well today and living well tomorrow, by having the right little conversations about money. Over the last 25 years, he has worked directly with clients on his journey, and shares the wisdom he’s learned, on his weekly podcast, The Retirement Answer Man, and his blog, at RogerWhitney.com. Marc just reviewed Roger’s upcoming book, Thrive Outside the Lines: How to Create Your Retirement Masterpiece. Marc and Kerry discuss several topics, including Roger’s financial planning practice, how Roger started his weekly podcast, and recommendations for Baby Boomers to realize they will be working longer and cutting back a little.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:09] Roger is a practicing financial planner. Roger loves what works, over theory. His podcast reflects issues he helps clients handle every day. He started the podcast as a teaching show, to help him organize his own thoughts, and to help listeners. He loves it.

[4:56] Baby Boomers are living older than any past generation, and are a lot more active. Their retirement needs are different than the needs of their parents. The old advice was about saving and investing, and it is insufficient for 20 years of retirement.

[6:52] Roger teaches that instead of a retirement date, ease into a relationship with retirement, where you work a job with fewer hours, allowing you the time to do things you want to do, with a modest income.

[8:01] If a person has a lump sum pension, they are suddenly responsible for managing their money without a weekly check, and it makes them uncomfortable.

[9:37] At the end of your earnings career, you become susceptible to marketing methods of fear and short-term promises.

[12:23] When making retirement decisions, we have to balance between quality of life today, and having enough money for quality of life tomorrow. You’re never perfectly balanced. The best balance maximizes the life we have today, and hope for tomorrow.

[15:08] Fidelity says a married couple of 65 needs to budget $260K to spend on healthcare. You need to invest in your health.

[15:51] Roger’s goal with the book is to help people understand what they’re facing, as they’re approaching living more independently. If you’re willing to move outside the lines, you can really thrive, by working part time, investing in your health, and rethinking how you manage risk in your investments. It follows how Roger counsels his clients.

[17:40] Baby Boomers do not have enough savings. Start being intentional about what you’re trying to accomplish. Accept that you’re going to work longer, not in the office, but doing something you actually enjoy. Create a life where you don’t retire.

[21:41] Old dogs can learn new tricks. We have a lot of options, we just have to be willing to explore them.

[23:55] When we’re dealing with tough stuff, there’s comfort to know that we’re normal, and there’s power in getting around people who are figuring it out along with you. You can get out of it. You’re not alone. There are solutions. Our problems are not unique.

[25:31] Marc really wants you to think about the concept of life maximization. What are you giving up today for a future that may not exist? Marc also reminds you to listen to the expert series of interviews, including Episode 2 with Chris Farrell and Episode 6 with Kerry Hannon.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me

Website: RogerWhitney.com

Upcoming Book: Thrive Outside the Lines: How to Create Your Retirement Masterpiece, by Roger Whitney

 

Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or GooglePlay. Give this podcast a review and subscribe!

Jan 2, 2017

In this episode, Marc answers Baby Boomer job search questions with his trusty sidekick, Elizabeth Rabaey. Listen in for ideas to go forward!

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:14] Elizabeth worked environmental engineering for years, and has switched to marketing, where she enjoys learning a lot, and getting out and making deals.

[2:26] Q1: I am a former CMO for a healthcare marketing company. I have been out of work for one year and I am looking at both finding a new marketing position and starting a new business. Do you have any advice about how to make a transition?

[2:49] A1: This person is very highly compensated, in the financial side of the industry, and is in their mid-fifties. It is not surprising they have been out of work so long. They should start a consulting business as an LLC. and ‘date” companies for a job. Companies hire consultants before employees.

[5:23] To start a business, buy an existing business through a good business broker, buy a franchise, through either EntrepreneurSource or FranNet, or start a business by working with your local Small Business Development Center, a free service of the SBA. This may be short-term, dating to join a firm, or for a long-term business.

[10:10] Q2: Hiring management is looking for younger and cheaper. How can we Baby Boomers get around that? My experience is in nonprofit management. I have had multiple interviews but never landed an offer. What do you think?

[10:32] A2: One of the key issues is to prove your value. You get interviews. Think of yourself as a negotiator, landing the best deal. What are the pain points? Ask probing questions. See the blog posts, “Probing for Pain Points in an Interview,” and “Questions That Power The Negotiator Job Search.” Get them to open up, so you can sell yourself.

[15:23] Q3: How do I explain the time gap between leaving my last job, and looking for work after dealing with cancer?

[15:34] A: Gaps between jobs are not really critical. In this listener’s case, the cancer was years ago, but might return. The listener does not need to disclose this now, but if an offer is made, should consider their health at that time, if it will affect job performance.

[19:27] Marc’s program Leap to Success, at LaunchpadJobClub.com, does short-term projects for nonprofits, primarily for project managers, technical and marketing people, to show that you’ve actually done real work.This year they will do close to $1M for nonprofits.

[20:06] Keep your skills up-to-date between jobs. Don’t let yourself get stale. Do relevant volunteer technical work.

[22:16] To submit any questions you’d like Marc to answer on this podcast, go to CareerPivot.com, click Contact Me, and type it in. Marc will run a Q&A session like this every month!

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com
EntrepreneurSource.com

FranNet.com

"Probing for Pain Points in an Interview"

"Questions That Power The Negotiator Job Search"

The Negotiator Job Search

LaunchpadJobClub.com Leap to Success Program

Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me

 

Take a moment -- go to iTunes, Stitcher, or GooglePlay. Give this podcast a review and subscribe!

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