Forty Plus of New York

FORTY PLUS EDITORIAL AUGUST 4, 2006

REAL WORLD JOBS, CIRCA 2006

A superbright (Mensa) computer-literate Communications Director was
recruited by a fancy, Blue-Chip Wall Street company.

He was brought all the way from San Francisco...where the technology revolution, including graphics and website development, led America.

After a year of outstanding contributions...our man got tangled up in office politics (none of it his doing) and was fired.

He instantly conneced with a rival company...who valued his expertise.
Again, he performed superby. That is, until a "regime change" in his department led to yet ANOTHER firing. But our guy delivered the goods; in an ironic twist...he was rehired by the (now) foreign owners of the first company.

Again, he performed brilliantly, flying between the US and the UK, saving the campany hundreds of thousands in redundant salaries.

Then came two catastrophes: 9-11 (where he was on the street at the time the first jet rammed the North Tower). He photographed the entire next 100 minutes...until he was forcibly "evacuated" by boat to New Jersey.

On the heels of this, he got bad news: He had a serious...possibly fatal...type of blood cancer. Only an experimental bone marrow transplant could save him.

He went through THAT...and survived. But when he returned (weakend) to his job...he was fired again! Luckily, he had negotiated a severence clause, which gave him 6 months at full salary to regroup.

Understandably, his experiences with Corporate America leave him with an opinion that is...unprintable.

During this convalescence, he invested astutely in real estate...which has turned him into a mini-mogul based on his collection of homes.

He recovered his strength, then set out to get a new corporate job...mainly for the Heathcare package.

He first set up a business...demonstrated his expertise...and then angled for a top company to buy him and his business. To sweeten the offer...he kept his salary well below market rates, and he specified that he would buy his own computers, software and graphics programs!

There's a method to this tactic; going through the Corporate chain-of-command left him open to questions, challenges and accountability. His way, he buys what he needs when he needs it. Period.

When it ends (and it will) he simply packs up and goes.

Meanwhile, he is producing what is arguably the most incredible graphic displays based on Financial Data...all visible at the click of a button.

Note this well: A person with advanced skills who performed superbly, was fired for silly "office politics" reasons. He survived firings, 9-11 and illness.
He never gave up.

Now he comfortably set...in a few more years his real estate along will carry him safely through retirement.

They can knock you down. If they do...you need to pick yourself up,
dust yourself off...and get back into the fray.

But there is no Yellow Brick Road to follow; sometimes you have to carve
yourself a whole new path.

AUGUST 2, 2006
THE (OLD) AGE BUGABOO

At Forty Plus, we deal in Reality...not "How To Learn Skydiving at age 70!"

Our Members want to work. Some need to work...we need not elaborate on THAT point.

But we are reminded of the Age Issue, once again.

We went to meet a group that could seriously use our expertise.
The person handling the interview was quite young. (Blue jeans, spike hair, sneakers...you get the picture.)

Everything was perfectly reasonable and friendly. Except for one thing.
When a senior guy walks into a room of Twentysomethings, the dynamic changes. And not in our favor.

Hanging in the air was: "What's this old guy doing here?"
You could reach out and touch it. Not a word was said. But there it was.

Result? Nothing. We are not surprised. Old is simply "Not Wanted" in these situations. Go. Get Out. Leave. Don't bother us.

We, on the other hand, could not help but notice the slightly overloud music playing (from over the cubicle walls)...the Frat-room style, hand-lettered signs taped to the walls (all slightly askew)...and the flavor of a Kiddie-room.

Now understand...there is LOTS OF MONEY flowing through this group.
Oh, sure...the actual wages are low...what else in the Year 2006?...but somebody back at HQ is making a personal fortune.

We opted out; they have a rigid format they insist on following (which has not proven successful...only that it generates some cashflow).

New Ideas...from Wise Old Pros? Not Welcome.

And the beat goes on.

AUGUST 1, 2006
THE HIRING SIDE OF YOUR JOB SEARCH

As you sweat through your Job Search...stop for a moment and think
about the Hiring Side.

Here is Home Depot...the hugely successful Big Box Store...suddenly minus a CMO...Chief Marketing Officer.

The just departed was in the job for several years.
There is now quite a Buzz about this (the usual hand-wringing and gossip). But in fact, this guy had done a terrific job during his watch.

Now...get this: He was ALSO the Chief Merchandising Officer!
Another "Two Hats" Marvel. Here is another highly successful US Corporation ...that has risen from nothing to become a powerhouse in retail...with a KEY executive that does not one but TWO critically important jobs!

Stop for a moment and think about that. What goes on here?
It's not because Home Depot "can't afford" to pay for two people; it is that somebody was SO TERRIFIC that he handled both jobs!!! (Now how much is he worth?)

Fact: It takes Corporate America between 4 and 6 months to hire a replacement at this level. And...the average tenure in these C-level Marketing jobs is...23 months!

This white-hot business environment burns up the very people who work in it.

Just keep this all in mind, as you slog along trying to find a terrific new job.

I. You must be Smart, Competitive and Camera-ready.
All others need not apply.

II. You must be ready and willing to go...not just The Extra Mile...but the Extra Distance no matter How Far it takes you or How Hard the Task.

This is the New American Workplace. It ain't no Bed of Roses.

JULY 28, 2006
THE PR MAN'S NEW GIG

More Real World Case Histories.
Because of our unmatched expertise in Job Search Strategies,
we are called on to assist by friends, family and anyone we happen to meet
at a bar or at the beach.

We recently met a bright young PR man. A solo practitioner, this fellow
is "just right" for smaller businesses that wake up to the fact that some
well-placed PR can do wonders for a business.

Example: Hungry Pod...which is a simple, elegant but Big Idea: Hungry Pod, the brainchild of Catherine Keane, does just one thing: It takes your brand new (empty) iPod...and loads your CDs onto it!

Simple? Absolutely. Easy? Yeah...for the iPod girls. (All woman staff.)
So where does PR come in? Duh...how does iPod grow if nobody knows they are there? So iPod has had a steady stream of reporters and video people comiing in to report on them. (It doesn't hurt that Catherine is an attractive young woman.)

Back to our PR man. He's been shopping his wares around NYC.
What does he come up with? An INFURIATED client prospect...who hired a "name brand" PR firm, who billed like mad and produced...zero results.
Not just a few stories; zero stories!

After talking to us, our guy sits down to negotiate. The previous firm billed $4,000 a month. Plus extras out the window. The client seemed to be saying that a flat $4K was acceptable. We didn't buy that.

We counseled: "Get the account. Produce. Grow the account."

The back and forth took place...and sure enough, the final figure was $2,500.

That's today's Real World. Our guy has a nice, new, paying account.
Did he get the same fee as the old (underperforming) PR firm? Nope.
We didn't think he would.

But he has cash coming in and a chance to grow the account.

Lesson Learned. Again.

JULY 27, 2006
THE PERFECT JOB?
What (circa 2006) is The Perfect Job?

This is not a frivolous question. In the current economy (slow job growth),
a Perfect Job is long on salary...offers decent benefits...and please don't
spend a whole lot of time "aspiring" to The Ideal Job for Personal Fulfillment.

Really.

This is a Reality Check. We see it every week; new people arrive at our office and we hear all about The Real World. Where wages (for most of us) are trending down...not up...and where Employer Demands grow ever more detailed and inclusive.

Get this: You can put up a listing on Craig's List. It's fairly easy to do...even
for novices. But what if you want to repeat the listing in more than one
category? "Nope," says Craig's List.

So you are forced to create SEVERAL Listings...tweaked so they don't appear the same to the scanners at Craig's. Suddenly, easy-to-do Craig's List becomes a whole big deal.

Enter a service (using lowest-paid workers in India) will do it for you! For
(hold your hat)...$1 per Listing!

When an online service...which is alive and well...can deal in online listings for the price of a candy bar...the game is up.

The Forty Plus Answer? Get the best job you can. Then, bide your time, work on your Job Search (in your off-duty spare time) and move on. This may involve nothing less than REINVENTING yourself...in ways that you might not have imagined.

But nobody anymore can assume that getting a job is like stepping on the Up Escalator...and moving steadily upward for 30 years. It ain't happenin', folks.

The Way We Were...is no more. Welcome to the Brave New World...and enjoy beating the (new) System.

JULY 25, 2006
HOW LONG DO EMPLOYERS SPEND
ON YOUR RESUME?

How about next to no time?

They are inundated with resumes...thanks to Monster, etc. al.

Relax...this is not News. At Forty Plus, we know all about this stuff.
That’s why we help you build a Telegraphic Resume...to cut through the fog
...to be visually EASY TO SCAN...to get your best foot forward...fast.

Conventional wisdom (aka "scuttlebutt") has "employers" (HR people, etc.) spending "as little as" 3 minutes on your resume.

Forget that nonsense. You get a nano-second to make an impression.

Hint: If YOU can’t scan your own resume in less than 30 Seconds
and get the key points...toss it in the round file.

Better yet...call us at Forty Plus. Your resume IS YOU.
It’s YOU when you can’t be there in person.

Get it right, guys: If sending out bum resumes keeps you from winning
that new $60,000 job for just a couple of extra months...that's just cost
you a cool $10,000!

Why...because your RESUME was dull/boring/unreadable???

JULY 24, 2006
YOUR JOB WILL BE WORTH LESS NEXT YEAR!

We met with a marvelous, talented and highly experienced CEO last week.

The Bad News: She was just fired from here prestigious job!

The Good News: She has 3 job offers...already...(she's a superb Networker)
with a fabulous Rolodex.

The Truly Bad News: Every job offer is SUBSTANTIALLY LESS than her previous job!

The consensus among our experienced Job Search professionals:
This is the "New Mood" in Corporate America. Why pay Top Dollar when so many qualified people are willing to work for less?

That's today's Headline News from Forty Plus New York.

We post new Job Search Headline News every workday. Enjoy.

And don't forget to contact us if you need help in your Job Search,
or if you think you soon will.

Want to win yourself a new job?
THINK LIKE AN AD MAN

Forget your doubts and fears. You WILL get a job.

If you start thinking like an ad man...you'll find one faster.

Huh, you say? "I am a living, breathing human being...with bills to pay...
I’m not a box of Cheerios!"

Forget all that baggage.

You are Selling, my friend. In this case...you are Selling Yourself.

So quickly get over your "sensitivities" and get with the program.

Cut to 1960. An ad agency in NYC wins a car account. (Car accounts are the Crown Jewels of the Ad Business...car accounts have to spend lots of money per car in advertising...it’s like winning the Lotto.)

But wait. Just which car account was this?

Oh, yeah. It was...the Volkswagen account. If you don’t speak German, Volkswagen translates to: "The People’s Car"...aka the brain-child of Adolf Hitler...created to make affordable transportation available to the masses.

Gulp. Moving right along...there were other drawbacks.
At a time when Detroit was selling Tail Fins and Horsepower...how could any ad campaign ever hope to sell these slow, ugly little "bugs?"

Simple...they put aside the obvious drawbacks...and laser-focused
on what the VW actually offered to the American consumer.

First, the VW was cheap to buy. (Bingo!)
It was made to last. It got lots of MPGs...so it cost much less to run.
It was easy to drive and, especially in crowded NYC or on campuses where there were never enough parking places, easy to park.
It never changed the design for fun or fashion, only to make the car run better.

This message created a HUGE market for VWs...VW went on to become the biggest car brand in the entire world.

The lesson of the day: Forget what you aren’t; focus on what you ARE.

Then deliver that Promise...in your resume, in your telephone interviews,
in person...and especially...on the job when you get hired.

If the ad agency had allowed themselves to sink into despair at having to sell a Nazi car to hyped-up Americans who really wanted to own Chevies, Buicks and T-birds...they would have crashed and burned...and been fired.

Instead, they made Ad History...turning a Turkey into an Eagle.
(Later, by the way, another ad agency took Sweden's Volvo...a "1947 design that was slow and heavy," and turned it into the safest car on the road.)

Thinking like an Ad Man can be highly effective. Try it.

Signed, The Old Ad Man.

Richard Calderhead
Forty Plus New York
March 12, 2006

Previous Newsletters

Feb. 22, 2006 - Finding that new job...in 2006

Nov. 22, 2005 - How Big Is Your Faucet?

Oct. 26, 2005 - The Importance of Energy in your Job Search

Sept. 1, 2005 - Job Picture Brightens!

August 14, 2005 - Build our Strengths? Or Fix our Weaknesses?

July 29, 2005 - The Real World Of Employment...Circa 2005 Cont.

July 14, 2005 - "Let's All Keep Working!" Hooray!

July 7, 2005 - The Real World Of Employment...Circa 2005

July 1, 2005 - The Invisible 'Dropped Outs' of US Business

June 17, 2005 - FortyPlusNY talks Employment

June 6, 2005 - 2005 grads snapped up by Big Biz

May 5, 2005 - Networking: What's it all about in today's marketplace?

April 29, 2005 - What’s the big news in NYC this week?