Unretirement Project

Retirement Redefined

Healthy Aging is Trendy Thanks to Global Shift

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wall art with the sentence the time of your life while healthy aging

We know that healthy aging is important. Harvard Health reports that more seniors are opting to age in place rather than pursue other options. They recommend a checklist of potential health-related issues that should be considered for successful healthy aging. These include strength, flexibility, sharp thinking skills, and endurance among others.

Right now, only 15 countries have more than 20% of their population at an age of 65 or above. That number of countries is expected to grow to 44 by 2030 and to 61 by 2050. For the first time globally in 2018, the number of people over 65 has surpassed those under 5 and that number has only grown since.

The growing numbers of aging adults has prompted AARP to partner with the University of Michigan to create the National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA). The goal of the survey is to tap into perspectives of older adults and their caregivers to help inform the public, health care providers, and policymakers on issues related to healthy aging.

With the onset of COVID-19, NPHA has focused many of their surveys around the risks for older adults. Shifts to telehealth visits and patient portals showed lack of medical information access at a time when it is needed most. 

The healthy aging trend has not been lost on Madison Avenue and other leading marketers throughout the globe. As a result, many brands are viewing seniors as a prized demographic. They are expanding their product offerings along with their marketing budgets to reach the over-65 consumer. And even a few brands that target a much younger audience are developing new product lines with healthy aging in mind.

For instance, a company which makes infant formula has now launched a product in China that it says contains ingredients to boost the immune system in aging consumers. Another company introduced a powdered milk drink targeting older adults which it says enhances mobility during aging.

Swedish furnishing retailer IKEA has expanded its product line to include upright armchairs with higher seating to make it a little easier for aging adults to rise out of their chairs. Proctor & Gamble Co. has started selling razors  that they envision for caregivers in Canada, where company data shows one in four people helps someone with aging-related needs.

Not surprisingly, this product expansion has extended to skin and beauty products and the trend is expected to continue longer-term. It’s too early to tell the outcome of marketer focus on mature consumers. For now, we can probably just be thankful that executives want us to stay healthy later in life.

What We Are UP To: Winter Rituals Edition

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winter snowflake painted on a winter window

This is always the time of year when we’re thinking about goals and resolutions. But I’m wondering if instead of making resolutions this winter, would it make more sense to develop rituals. You know, like a morning ritual or evening ritual. Maybe even rituals by season? I saw this article on The Everygirl blog titled “10 Rituals I’ll Be Using to Stay Healthy During the Holidays” and it made me think that rituals could give us something to look forward to. Here’s what else we’re looking forward to this month. 

Watching | Netflix

> After ditching traditional cable, we’ve decided to check out what Netflix has to offer. I’ve heard nothing but good things about “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Bridgerton”. If you have a Netflix favorite, be sure to drop it in the comments. 

Reading | Annual Credit Reports

> The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. I’ve set up a reminder to do this every winter. I guess you could call it a winter ritual. 

Remembering | Seinfeld Strategy

> I recently wrote a post about the Seinfeld Strategy and how to use it as a way to develop a new habit. On some level, I view rituals as habits. Like remembering to floss every day. Whether you’re setting a goal, making a resolution, developing a habit, or creating a winter ritual, the Seinfeld Strategy can help you stick to it.  

Working On | Our backyard

> We’ve been living in our new home for a little over a year. When we first moved in, it was really tempting to look at new furniture. Especially for the backyard. But we said that we wanted to live in the house for a while to get some sense of what we would use. It was a good decision. We bought a couple of things over the holidays and they’re not at all what we were originally looking at. 

Feeling | Stressed

> I’d like to think that regardless of your politics, we can agree the past few months have been more than a little stressful. And I’m not sure that is going away anytime soon. That being said, a certain amount of stress can be good for us. There are also ways to manage stress this winter. I came across this article in Lifehacker titled “Exercise is Stress Relief So You Should Probably Go Exercise Right Now”. Besides the title making me laugh, it reminded me that taking time for ourselves should always be a part of our rituals. 

Planning | Eating Better

> Honestly, eating better is always on my to-do list. Somedays I’m really great at it. Other days, I’m not. Part of the challenge right now is the pandemic. We love picking up fresh fruits and vegetables. But that means visiting groceries and markets more often. We’re trying to conserve our trips. So, I’m trying to figure out what to do with frozen fruits and veggies. 

Loving | Peakay Silver

> Speaking of the pandemic, one of the things that’s a PITA is trying to get your mask on/off with hoop or dangling earrings. And unfortunately, I don’t own a lot of small earrings. So, I picked up a pair of little heart earrings from Peakay Silver. Gorgeous! Excellent quality.

Geeking | Hot Cocoa Bombs

> Have you seen these? They are chocolate orbs filled with hot cocoa mix and marshmallows (sometimes other treats are added). You put them in a mug and pour warm milk over them. Viola! The orb opens up and you have hot cocoa. The “bombs” are beautiful to look at. The presentation is fun. And they taste good. If you’re looking for a little something to break up your winter routine…this might be it.

We hope you’re staying safe and warm this winter. What’s UP with you? Tell us your winter routines!

My First Virtual or Telehealth Doctor Visit

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robotic man looking into a mirror simulating a virtual or Telehealth doctor visit

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

We all read the same headlines. COVID-19 infections are reaching record highs throughout the country. And, while the vaccine is starting to roll out earlier than expected, most Americans will experience the impact of COVID-19 at least for several more months. Winter is a particularly difficult time since it’s historically our cold and flu season.

That’s why I decided to change my last doctor visit, just before Thanksgiving, to a virtual one.

Telehealth is not new (believe it or not, medical professionals wrote about using the telephone in 1879 – just 3 years after Bell invented it), but it is gaining significantly in popularity. A July 2019 survey reported that only 9.6% of U.S. adults have used telehealth options. By May 2020, that number had grown to 42%. 

The biggest obstacle to telehealth appears to be lack of knowledge about virtual medical visits. I was fortunate that my family doctor advertised on his website that he offers virtual visits. I just called to convert my in-person office visit to telehealth. Here are a few things you should probably know:

  1. Telehealth is more than just a telephone conversation. The doctor will probably want to see you as well as talk with you. Think of it more like a Zoom meeting. Because of video, there may be limitations on the type of technology your doctor can accommodate so ask about your specific phone or computer when you make the appointment.
  1. Just like at an office visit, your doctor will want to know a few things about your current health up front. I was asked to provide my temperature, blood pressure, weight, and blood oxygen level. Fortunately, I own a blood pressure monitor and a finger pulse oximeter. And different offices may request different things so find out up front what information you need to provide.
  1. Not every insurance company accepts telehealth visits, so make sure your insurance will cover it. The major insurance companies all offer some form of coverage, but options can vary depending on specific plans. State laws also cover telehealth differently. 

My doctor’s assistant called me fifteen minutes before my appointment to make sure I was able to log-in. You will need a high-speed internet connection and video access via a smart phone, tablet, or computer. Don’t worry, if you can stream movies you have enough technology to get through a telehealth visit.

The actual doctor part was pretty much the same as an in-office visit, except that it was through video. We talked about my bloodwork, discussed my general health since my last appointment, and he answered a few of my questions. I didn’t really have anything that I needed him to look at or listen to, so my experience may differ from yours.

A recent survey shows that 48% of adults say that they or someone in their household either postponed or passed up medical appointments since COVID-19. Telehealth visits may offer an effective solution. We all just have to get comfortable with it. Once we do that, it could be a great solution that extends far beyond the pandemic.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Using the Seinfeld Strategy to Create and Maintain Habits

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pillow with hash marks showing daily accomplishments to create habits

It’s hard to believe that the TV show Seinfeld has been out of production for over twenty years. I say “out of production” because Seinfeld reruns seem to live on forever. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Seinfeld. And I’ll never be able to look at a Junior Mint without laughing again.  

I knew that Jerry Seinfeld was one of the producers and writers of the show, in addition to being a stand-up comedian. What I didn’t know was that many people use his writing technique as a method for developing habits. I’ve been seeing lots of references to the “Seinfeld Strategy” lately, so I decided to do some research.

Basically, Seinfeld says that the secret to his productivity success is consistency. As a writer, he felt the way to achieve success was to write something every day. It didn’t always have to be his best work and that was okay. It also doesn’t mean you can simply phone it in. But the goal was to give it your all every day.

Once he completed his writing for the day, Seinfeld would mark the day with a big red “X” on his office calendar. As time progressed, those big red X’s formed a chain. And he liked it. The big chain of red X’s motivated him to write more. And writing more made him better.

So, the Seinfeld Strategy to creating and maintaining good habits is to never break the chain.

I was reminded of the Seinfeld Strategy recently because someone posted an image on Facebook with the names of months of the year and inside each month’s name were numbers representing each day. The idea being that, if you’re trying to create and maintain a habit every day you do something – like let’s say exercise – then you color in the day. If you exercise every day in the month, then the month’s name will eventually be colored in. If you do that every day for a year, you’ll have a very colorful memento of your progress and accomplishments.

monthly planner to color in when creating habits

As we start the year, we might have some new habits we’re trying to form. Or old habits that we need to get back on track. Using the Seinfeld Strategy could be a fun and effective way to monitor our progress. You can put your “tracker” on the refrigerator as a reminder. Or if it’s something private, you can tuck it away in a journal or planner.

You could also use the “tracker” with other family members. Maybe the habit you’d like to work on is a group activity.

Creating and maintaining habits is hard. Finding fun ways to track our progress can make it enjoyable. The result is we’ve developed a new habit, which is what we wanted to do all along.

What We Are UP To: Happy Holidays Edition

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festive lights on palm trees for the holidays

Watching | Wonder Woman

> We decided to take a break watching holiday movies to rewatch the first Wonder Woman and then see Wonder Woman 1984. Keith and I do miss seeing movies on the big screen, but until things are safer, movies at home will have to do. I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but if you enjoyed the first one then I think you’ll like WW84.  

Reading | The Hustle          

> I’ve become a big fan of curated newsletters. My latest find is The Hustle. I like it for a couple of reasons. First, it curates the latest business news and I believe it’s important to stay on top of what’s happening in the business world. But the second reason is because it gives me some perspective on what other people feel is “news”. It’s easy to fall into an echo chamber and miss out on what others find noteworthy. Check it out.

Remembering | Quiet

> One of the things we love about our neighborhood is how quiet it is…well, at least until recently. This is a fairly new subdivision, and the builder has started construction on a couple new homes near us. Nothing like being awaken at 5a to the sound of cement trucks. ha.ha. The sad news is we’ll be living with some noise for the next few months. The good news is when it’s done…it’s done.

Working On | Rain Barrel

> The county we live in is very eco-friendly and they are encouraging residents to use rain barrels. So, we got one. We’ve never had a rain barrel before. This will be a new adventure for us. Hopefully we will see some positive results, not only for us individually but the county.

Feeling | Patient

> As much as I would like to wake up after the holidays and have the pandemic be gone, that’s not going to happen. There’s a lot that needs to take place. COVID-19 is only one of the issues we’re facing. It’s really tough and challenging but I know that patience is what’s needed. Oh, and don’t misinterpret patience for “not doing anything”. Being patient and working hard will help us achieve our goals.

Planning | Fewer errands and trips

> We’re all reading the same headlines. COVID-19 cases are spiking around the nation. We’re encouraged by the vaccine news but until more definite plans are in place, we’ve decided to curtail our errands and trips outside the house. The good news is that many businesses are being very accommodating to remote customers, especially during the holiday season.

Loving | Soup Season

> The cooler temperatures have arrived in North Florida and that means soup season. Last year, I discovered some soup mixes on the King Arthur Baking site. Easy to make and very tasty! We also made one of our favorite meals using leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s a pressure cooker chicken turkey, lentil, and bacon stew.

Geeking | YouTube TV

> We got a little frustrated with our cable provider and decided to see what other options are available. This isn’t the first time we’ve discussed “cutting the cord” but it is the first time we found something that actually suits our television watching needs. YouTube TV offers the channels we enjoy watching at a reasonable monthly fee. You can record programs. And you can cancel at any time.

What’s UP with you? This holiday season, Keith and I are thankful for our health and each other. We appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on Unretirement Project.

Happy 2021!

Resume Tips for Older Job Seekers

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door sign step into your best day for optimizing a resume

In an article from the Associated Press, older workers are facing higher unemployment numbers because of the pandemic. I wish that I could say that I’m surprised by this, but I’m not. What I am surprised at, is when I hear that older job seekers rely on outdated job search strategies.

I understand that an older job seeker maybe hasn’t looked for a new opportunity in a while. That’s okay. But recruiters are using new tools to find the best candidates, so you have to update your strategy accordingly. One of the first things you’ll want to revisit is your resume.

I asked my friend Meg McCormick SHRM-SCP if she would share some resume tips with us. Meg provides customized resume services at HR Meg. I’ve known Meg for years and she’s a super smart HR professional. She knows what’s happening inside organizations and what companies expect in a job seeker’s resume.

Meg, one of the advantages in being an older job seeker is you have lots of experience. But many career experts say that long resumes (over 2 pages) can be detrimental to your job search. How can someone decide what to include on their resume?

[McCormick] Two pages should be enough space to present your work experience. Anything beyond that, the hiring manager isn’t going to read. I recommend including more details about your current / most recent experience and accomplishments, and fewer (if any) details for any work you did more than 15 – 20 years ago.

Another approach is to summarize earlier jobs under a catch-all heading, such as ‘prior sales experience, 1987 – 1994’. That gives the hiring manager some context into your career history.

Another area of a resume that job seekers are regularly told to get rid of is the objective. What are your thoughts on including an objective in a resume?

Meg McCormick resume expert headshot

[McCormick] The objective usually goes at the top of the first page – this is prime resume real estate. It’s the first place the hiring manager looks, and what you put in that space is critical to making them want to keep reading your resume.

That valuable space is better used for a ‘Professional Summary’, which is a brief statement that explains your unique value proposition for prospective employers. Some call it your ‘personal brand’. You can explain your career objective in your cover letter.

I can see older job seekers using their job search time to not only look for a job but relocate to where they want to be in “retirement”. What tips do you have for someone who is trying to get a job in a new city or state?

[McCormick] The internet is your friend – you can search job postings anywhere in the world!

  • Research the job market in your destination of choice and discover location-specific job boards.
  • See if there are regional placement agencies or recruiters that specialize in your field with contacts in your new locale.
  • Use LinkedIn to see if you are connected with anyone who has contacts in companies located where you want to move and ask if they would make an introduction.
  • Check out regional newspapers and local news channels online to get a feel for what’s happening in terms of business, the economy, and lifestyle in your potential destination.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a job that is well-suited for telework, you might be able to arrange with your current employer to continue remote working for them, but move to your new location. Be sure you agree on work hours, especially if you’ll be leaving your employer’s time zone, and other details of your arrangement. This could end up being a win for both you and your company. One caveat: Don’t make a move like this without checking with your employer first; especially if the move would take you out of state (or even out of the country), there may be tax and legal implications that impact both you and your employer.

An older job seeker might also be faced with taking a pay cut. How can they convincingly answer the pay question, so a potential employer understands they’re cool with less money?

[McCormick] I think it’s better to approach this one first in terms of what’s the salary range for the job. If you’re pivoting to a new career field, your most recent salary is irrelevant to the new job. So, you could say that you’re comfortable accepting a salary in the range of $X – $Y, which you feel is reasonable based on your research and the job description as you understand it. Do your research up front so you have an idea of what the job ought to pay, and adjust for locality and other factors to come up with a fair range.

The nature of the salary negotiation process has changed in recent years. In many states and some localities, it is now illegal for employers to ask for an applicant’s salary history or to use it as a screening factor, such as requesting it on a job application. If you are specifically asked what your last salary was, you can respond by explaining that you know it’s not relevant given the nature of the job you’re interviewing for, and instead asking what the pay range for the position is. Some jurisdictions require employers to provide this information.

Remember to consider other components of the total compensation package in addition to salary. For example, additional paid time off might be more valuable to you at this stage in your life than salary. Or you might be in a position to save a big chunk of your pay in the employer’s retirement plan to maximize their matching contribution. There’s more to compensation than just base salary.

HR Meg blog resume expert logo

Last question. If a job seeker hasn’t had someone review their resume in a long time, I think it would be a good investment to do so. What does a professional resume writer (like yourself) offer that a job seeker would find helpful?

[McCormick] I think it makes sense to have an HR professional review your resume, especially if it’s been a number of years, or if you want to change careers. I have the ideal background and experience to create resumes that get noticed. You’ve probably only ever worked on your own resume; I’ve read and written more than I can count. I have a good sense of what hiring managers want, and I can tell a good resume from one that’s trying too hard to impress. I keep up on hiring trends so I can bring current HR knowledge to each client.

It’s also worth considering that with resume services, you get what you pay for. Less expensive services base pricing on volume, and you probably won’t get an individual consultation with a pro. I provide individual attention and communication throughout the process. You’ll come away with a customized resume that’s appropriate for your industry, featuring a professional summary that conveys your unique personal brand to hiring managers. I do all the work – I don’t outsource. I can also offer assistance with customized cover letters targeted to specific job postings and can review and recommend updates to your LinkedIn profile.

A huge thanks to Meg for sharing her knowledge and expertise with us. If you want to learn more about her services, visit her website at https://hrmeg.com and be sure to subscribe to her blog.

Older job seekers can offer organizations a lot of skills and expertise, but you have to get the interview. Resumes are the first step. Make sure yours will stand out in the crowd.