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Your 5 Day Plan to Using Twitter in Unretirement

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This is the third installment in our series about using social channels to help with marketing yourself when working as an independent contractor during retirement. First, we discussed the benefits of using Facebook to expand your audience. Then we talked about LinkedIn and how you don’t have to be looking for a new job to benefit from sharing and writing articles there.

Today, I want to look into Twitter and see how it can help you in unretirement.

What is Twitter?

Twitter launched in March of 2006 so, by now, many of us probably have an account. Twitter describes itself as an online news and social networking site. It has also been called a microblogging site. Did you know: 

  • Over 330 million monthly active users worldwide share “Tweets” of 280 characters or less (that’s double the number they started with).
  • The average Twitter user has 707 followers.
  • 66% of brands with 100 or more employees have a Twitter account.

500 million Tweets are sent each day – that’s 5,787 every second! In addition, Twitter is the number one platform for government leaders. Even in unretirement, you should really appreciate that kind of activity.

How do you create a Twitter account?

If you don’t have one, perhaps the most difficult part of creating a Twitter account is getting a unique name. That’s because there can only be one of us in all of Twitter. So, if your name is John Smith, chances are pretty good that someone has already claimed that.

If the name you select is already taken, Twitter will immediately prompt you to select another. You may have to do this a few times so don’t get frustrated. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal here is to grow your followers. So, if you have to get creative with your Twitter name, think of something that is memorable and makes people want to learn more about you. For example, Unretirement Project wasn’t available when we created a Twitter account for this blog, so we chose @UnretirementPro instead. 

Once you have your name, you will be asked for a brief bio and link to your website (if you don’t have a blog, use your LinkedIn profile). Again, share information that people will want to engage with. You want the Twitterverse to follow you and click on the link you share.

Finally, you will want to upload an avatar photo so others will recognize you when you show up in their Twitter stream. If this is to promote your side hustle, you can use your business logo. Just don’t skip this step! There are many users who just ignore connection requests from people who don’t have a profile picture. 

There are a couple of good resources that can guide you in creating an impressive Twitter profile:

5 Simple Tips for a More Impressive Twitter Profile

How to Make a Perfect Twitter Profile: A Complete Guide

Your 5-day Plan Being a Twitter Pro

Now that you have an account, let’s talk about the 5-day plan to learning more about Twitter.

DAY 1 – Hashtags. These days, most social sites use hashtags. But Twitter is where it all began. Simply put the # symbol in front of key words or phrases (with no spaces) to create a searchable hashtag in a Tweet. A hashtag serves two big purposes – 1) if someone is interested in a topic, they click on a hashtag and they might find you and your Tweets and 2) if they like your Tweet and profile, they may start following you. Do a search for #retirement or #retirementplanning and see what I mean.

DAY 2 – Write a Post. In the bottom right of your phone is a circle with a quill pen. Or, on your browser, a button can be found on the top that says “Tweet”. Clicking on it will launch the composition screen asking, “What’s happening?”. Just start typing your message here and share whatever you like. You can attach a link to great content (like this article). And don’t forget to add your hashtags. Along the bottom of this screen will be buttons to add photos, videos, GIFs, or polls. 

DAY 3 – Start Connecting. Like most social sites, Twitter is happy to make recommendations on who to follow. Just click on the magnifying glass at the bottom of your phone or check out the section titled Who to Follow in the top-right of your browser. Just look for the Follow button next to their user name. And be sure to click on a hashtag you like and follow a few people who share your interests. You might even want to start with this great account – @UnretirementPro

DAY 4 – Get to Know Your Audience. Again, like other social sites, Twitter wants you to know about your audience and what they are saying to and about you. At the bottom of the home page on your phone is a bell so click on that. In your browser dashboard you can see the bell next to “Notifications” in the upper left screen. This will show new followers, post comments, and mentions about you. From here, it’s very easy to follow back those people who interact with you.

DAY 5 – Engage, Engage, Engage. As you scroll through the Tweets on your home page, you will probably find something interesting. At the bottom of each Tweet will be icons. If you like the Tweet, click on the Heart to let the person and their followers know. If you want to comment on the Tweet, click the comment balloon icon to launch the familiar composition screen. The two arrows icon is used to Retweet – that is, share someone else’s Tweet with your followers. You will find that, the more you engage, the more you grow your follower audience.

BONUS! Twitter clients. The Twitter site has improved a lot over the years, but you might be saying to yourself, “There’s got to be an easier way to view and engage with information.” And there is. Test drive a Twitter client such as HootSuite or Tweetdeck to help you organize information. 

Twitter remains a very popular social channel – one that just can’t be ignored. The large number of active users can help you quickly grow an audience. And be sure to share all of your other social accounts with your Twitter followers. They just might want to connect with you everywhere!

3 Ways You May Contribute to Your Own Ageism

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menopause musical, ageism, careers, career, retirement, Unretirement

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I listened to a LinkedIn Learning program on encore careers. One of the topics discussed during the program was ageism. It totally makes sense. Age does play a factor into our career decisions. 

I’m starting to see an interesting trend where the discussion about ageism is concerned. And that’s ageism might not be totally “somebody else’s fault”. Yes, I will admit that ageism does exist. It’s sad to say but it’s true. However, are all instances of ageism somebody else’s fault or is it possible that we are creating our own self-fulfilling prophecy?

Shortly after completing the LinkedIn Learning program, I ran across an article from a colleague of mine on the site Fistful of Talent titled, “Ageism is Real – And It’s Your Fault”. The article talks about the things that we do as individuals that contribute to the “old person” perception. You know, like “I don’t have time for that technology stuff.” Or “Oh, those Millennials….” My takeaway from this article was regardless of your physical age, if you act like the stereotype then people will assume you are one. 

Then, Next Avenue published an interview titled, “Are Concerns About Age Discrimination by Employers Overblown?”where the conversation focused around whether ageism is real. The idea being with an employment market where there are more openings than candidates, at some point, organizations have to realize that older workers are valuable. Again, my takeaway from the article was it’s important to keep current.

Seeing these conversations so close in time took me back to the discussion in the LinkedIn Learning program about ageism. As we age, there are three things about aging we need to consider to ensure we’re not contributing to our own ageism. 

Believing your own negative self-talk. Self-talk is those messages we tell ourselves. Think of them as those little voices inside our head. Sometimes we say them out loud, but often not. Bottom-line: Our self-talk is incredibly powerful. Especially when we say things like, “I can’t do this because I’m old.” Granted there might be things that we can’t do anymore, but that’s not the case for everything. 

And let me add one more thought. There’s a big difference in deciding you don’t want to do something because you’re older and you can’t do it. Keith and I have said to ourselves plenty of times, “been there, done that, and we don’t need to do it anymore”. 

Stopping your own learning. This is a big one. You don’t have to earn a college degree to learn. Just because you turn 40, 50, 60, or 70 doesn’t mean you can’t take a class, listen to a podcast, watch a TED Talk, or read a book. If there’s something you want to learn, do it. Especially, if you’re thinking about switching careers as you get older. 

If you haven’t checked it out, sites like Coursera and edX offer massive open online courses (MOOCs). Most of them are free and have a wide variety of topics. If you have a budget, MasterClass offers programs from some very famous people. Whatever you decide is fine. Just keep learning.

Not networking across generations. I believe this last one is harder than it looks. If you have younger family members, then you might be able to chat with them. But if you don’t (or you would prefer not to network with family), think about how you can gain exposure to different points of view. Regardless of who you speak with, it’s important to interact with a diverse group of people. 

Maybe think about mentoring as a way to share your expertise and learn at the same time. There are lots of organizations that are regularly looking for mentors. It’s also possible that your current employer might have a mentoring program that you can sign up for. 

We have some decisions to make as we age. And one of the biggest is deciding how we will accept aging. If we want others to see us as contributors, then we need to act like it. Please notice I didn’t say we need to act “young”. People need to accept our age for what it is. But that doesn’t mean we’re not able to bring value. We need to send the message and demonstrate that we can.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Las Vegas, NV

Decision Making: What Underthinking Looks Like

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If you spend time on social channels, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the meme GIF about “what overthinking looks like”. It shows a young child crying in a pool, appearing to desperately cling to a lane marker rope to keep his head above the water. The mother rushes in to help him stand up in water that only barely comes up to his knees. The somewhat humorous intent, of course, is don’t overthink things – deal with the reality of a situation and you will be fine.

It’s a cute little message. But it made me wonder – where is the cute GIF about underthinking? There really isn’t one. Nor should there be. Because the result of underthinking is just bad decision making. And there’s nothing humorous or cute about that. 

The business world has always placed emphasis on decision making and its importance in organizational success. In fact, our consulting firm worked with a number of companies, teaching an adaptation of the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid – a way of evaluating decisions relative to the task that needed to be performed and the people that are impacted. I won’t go into the details here. The point is, business success often depends on a systematic approach to decision making. We should carry that forward into our personal decisions.

A simplified version of systematic decision making is a 5-step process:

Step 1: Identify the Goal. This may be the most important step since it is the basis for all the rest. For this exercise, let’s say your goal is to retire comfortably as early as possible. There are some parameters here (“comfortably” and “early as possible”) that can help us identify the best options.

Step 2: Weigh Your Options. For this, you will need information. Given the goal, some of the options may be drawing Social Security as soon as possible. Or maybe tapping into your 401(k) at first and waiting a few years so you can draw a larger check from Social Security. This is the time to talk with friends and experts to learn all opportunities.

Step 3: Consider Consequences. The previous step is so important because it will help us consider the consequences of each option. Will we deplete our nest egg too soon if we wait too long to file for Social Security? What will be our tax burden, and will that eat away at our savings? This step may even help to identify other options like part-time work during retirement.

Step 4: Make Your Decision. Remember the “overthinking meme”? At some point, you have to be satisfied that you’ve collected all the options you need and evaluated the consequences of each. That should lead you to the best decision that fulfills as many parameters as possible and gives you the best outcome.

Step 5: Evaluate Your Decision. Sadly, this is often the step that gets overlooked. But, even if you did a great job with the first four steps, you may be surprised with part of the results. The worst thing you can do is cling blindly to a decision just because of the effort you put into it. Evaluate your decision and make adjustments as needed.

One other thing to remember along the way is you don’t have to do this all by yourself. Of course you will have many conversations with family and friends. And AARP is full of planning resources. You can also check out The FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) – a group that appears to be setting new standards in financial planning for retirement. Again, do your research!

We know that life is full of important decisions and retirement is one of the most critical. Unlike the “overthinking meme”, we can’t count on someone to rush in and rescue us when we make bad decisions. Fortunately, using a good system can go a long way toward helping us make good decisions.

5 Steps for Finding Your Encore Career – #Unretirement Answers

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We recently received a question from a reader about encore (or second) careers. Regardless of your age, it’s good to start thinking about what a career change might look like.

My husband is over 50 and looking to change careers and industries from entertainment publicity to something totally different. Do you have any recommendations? We recently relocated to Colorado, but I don’t think location matters.

First of all, thank you so much for this note. I must admit, this is the first reader note we’ve received. I love answering reader questions, so I hope I’ll get some more. 

I’ve written about changing careers a couple of times over on HR Bartender. I don’t want to republish those posts here, so I hope you’ll check these out.

Are you too old for a second career?

Dual careers on your resume and LinkedIn profile

Regarding the reader note, I recently listened to a LinkedIn Learning session from Marci Alboher, vice president of Encore.org and author of “The Encore Career Handbook” about (you guessed it) encore careers. The session is less than an hour long and provides a high-level overview of considerations for finding encore careers. If someone is looking for a place to start, Alboher’s session might be the way to go. In addition to her session, here are five other steps to consider:

  1. Check out Encore.org and join their LinkedIn group. This was one of my big takeaways from Alboher’s session – that there’s an organization and group we can explore and learn from. I didn’t know they existed. But I’m paying attention to them now. 
  2. Get your resume and LinkedIn profile in order. Whether you decide to change professions, industries, or go out on your own, you’ll want to do this. And the process takes time. I recently wrote a post on “5 Tips for Age Proofing Your Resume”. Check it out when you have a moment. Use the same philosophy for your LinkedIn profile. 
  3. Start developing your social media platforms. Speaking of LinkedIn, we’ve published a couple of posts about working your LinkedIn and Facebook networks. Many organizations post openings online, so you’ll want to know these platforms. 
  4. Think about what you want to do. And where you want to do it. I can’t tell anyone what job to take. You have to figure that out on your own. Which means spending some time thinking about what interests you, how much money to you need to make, etc. 

There’s one other thing (#5) that I want to address when it comes to second careers. Or first careers for that matter. I’ve always felt that the person getting the job needs to want the job. And part of wanting the job is showing interest. Now it’s possible that the “my husband” reference in this note is because the reader was legitimately asked to write the note. But at some point, “my husband” has to take over this research. Otherwise, this situation will probably not turn out well. I’m dishing out this tough love from the standpoint of a recruiter who has seen moms, dads, husbands, wives, and partners get involved in their loved one’s job search.

An encore career is definitely something to consider when it comes to your retirement strategy. And this person is doing the right thing by starting the conversation early. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after speaking at the MBTI Users Conference in San Francisco, CA

Your 5-Day Plan to Using LinkedIn In Your Unretirement

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A little while ago, I wrote about using social media to help grow your messaging as an independent contractor during retirement. By now, you know that you can use social sites to gain practical experience that will help in unretirement. The first article was about Facebook. Today, let’s talk about LinkedIn.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 562 million members in over 200 countries. Most of us have LinkedIn profiles and know how to connect with people. But did you know: 

  • Over 20,000 companies post 3 million jobs on LinkedIn.
  • 80% of the 146 million U.S. LinkedIn members want to have a mentor or be one to others.

Maybe you’re not officially looking for your dream job, but do you really want opportunities to pass you by? Even in unretirement, you want people to find you on LinkedIn.

How do you create (or update) your LinkedIn profile?

There are hundreds of articles that share great ways to structure your LinkedIn profile. Check out some of the best on the LinkedIn blog. If you want a couple posts that can help optimize your profile, check these out:

Creating a Killer LinkedIn Profile [INFOGRAPHIC]

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, Make Your LinkedIn Profile Shine [SLIDESHOW]

Your 5-day Plan for Learning More about LinkedIn

DAY 1 – Read articles of interest. Your home page will have articles that your connections are posting. This will give you a good sense of what your connections find interesting. Try to find content that both you and your contacts will enjoy. Because a little later on, you will want to share articles with your connections.

DAY 2 – Add to Your Feed. LinkedIn isn’t shy about making recommendations and you will find a few along the right side of your homepage. Trending topics are first, followed by recommendations of people or companies to follow (yes, you can follow companies). It’s a great way to expand your LinkedIn community. 

DAY 3 – Check Out Suggested Features. Along the left side of your homepage you will see even more recommendations for LinkedIn Groups and hashtags. LinkedIn is trying to expand the use of hashtags so find a few that interest you – like maybe #unretirement and #retirement. 

DAY 4 – Get to Know Your Dashboard. Your Dashboard can be found in your profile, right under your profile section. It offers a quick and easy way to understand who is paying attention to you. It also gives recommendations on ways to expand your interactions on LinkedIn. 

DAY 5 – Write a Post. At the top of your feed is a box that says, “Start a post”. Since you’ve found articles in #1 above, share them with your connections. Please remember – LinkedIn has a business focus so save those vacation or adorable pet posts for Facebook.

BONUS! Publish an Article. That’s right, LinkedIn lets users publish their own articles. At the bottom of your new post box you will see a link to “Write an article”. This is your opportunity to share your expertise with the world! Once you do that, LinkedIn will create a page with all of your articles that everyone can follow.

There are a lot of things you can learn using LinkedIn and connections can be valuable. It should definitely be a part of your social media activity in unretirement. So go have some fun growing your community!

Retirement Success: We Need to Learn About Happiness

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Yale University’s most popular class ever is called “The Science of Well-Being”. The good news is you can take it for FREE on Coursera. And, just out of curiosity, I did. I could see how it might make sense to incorporate this program (or something like it) as part of an individual’s planning and preparation for retirement. Here are a couple of reasons why:

Happiness is about judgment and decision-making. The professor for this course, Laurie Santos PhD, started the course sharing the G.I. Joe fallacy, which is that the age-old mantra of “knowing is half the battle” really doesn’t help when it comes to making real-world decisions. So, if we want to be happy and satisfied during our retirement, then we need to *retire* the idea that just giving people information is enough. (No pun intended.)

Happiness means knowing what will make us happy. Santos also talks about the concept of “miswanting”. This is the idea that individuals think they want something a lot more than they do or that they believe they will like something a lot more than they actually will. An example might be the person who thinks they’re ready to quit working and travel the world, then once they officially retire, there’s a bit of remorse. 

I’m bringing this up because, in our retirement life, we will often have to deal with trade-offs. For example, we can travel often but our accommodations might be economy. Versus traveling less but more luxuriously. Or we can retire earlier but it means downsizing and paying off a mortgage. Or we can work longer, but it means becoming a freelancer or contractor without healthcare insurance. For us to make good decisions, we need to truly understand what makes us happy. In addition, we need to have a greater understanding of how to make the decision, not just have the information but have enough self-awareness to know the conditions that are right for us. 

The last thing anyone wants is to make wrong decisions where their retirement is concerned. I remember years ago meeting someone who was approaching their retirement based on what they read in a book. The book said they needed to retire at XX age. So, they did. And they were unhappy. The book told them they should do XX. So, they did. And they were unhappy. Of course, their unhappiness spread to their spouse. It wasn’t until they said, “I’m just going to retire my way.” that they found their retirement happiness.

Santos suggested a catchy acronym that individuals could use in evaluating decisions and taking action. It’s called WOOP:

W = wish for what you want

O = outcomes are defined

O = obstacles are identified

P = plan your strategy

For me the real success in the WOOP method is in the W. Wishing for what you want means understanding what makes you happy. I don’t know about you, but no one ever talked about this in school or college or at work. I’ve learned what makes me happy over lots of years and many mistakes. “The Science of Well-Being” could be one of those courses that helps individuals focus on happiness. And hopefully not use trial and error as the way to reach it. 

There’s an increasing conversation about money not buying happiness and how happiness impacts personal well-being. But it only works if you know what your happiness is. Maybe it’s time to start finding out. That way you can create a successful retirement plan.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while happily exploring Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, HI

What We Are UP To in December 2018

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Watching| The Good Place

> Keith and I took a cruise during the Thanksgiving holiday and accidently discovered this show. We were immediately hooked! There’s a nice juxtaposition between the education of ethics and morality with well-written humor. And the plot twists keep us on our toes…

Reading| The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

> While “death cleaning” is a thing, I’m finding this book to be more about the art of minimalist living. There are plenty of references to “your kids don’t want your stuff” and “the need to “downsize” but my takeaway from this book is that getting rid of possessions is hard and everyone needs to find the right time and way to do it. 

Remembering|A Year of Images

> This year, I made a resolution to post an image every day on Instagram. And I actually accomplished it. It was a fun activity and it helped me to identify my photographic voice. You know, writers have “voices”, which is basically their writing style. I’ve been struggling to find my photography voice. Not completely there yet in December…but a big step in the right direction. 

Working On| Exercise

> Moving to Gainesville has majorly interrupted our fitness routine. We loved Pilates in South Florida and finding something like it has been a challenge. So, I think we’re resolved to finding something new. Not sure what that is…but we’re starting with Disney’s Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon. We can participate at our own pace and still get a finisher ribbon.

Feeling| Excited

> The builder has finally started construction on our home this December. This has been the absolute longest house building process ever. But we were so excited to drive by our “pile of dirt” and see activity. We still have months to go, but it’s so nice to ultimately see progress. 

Planning| Strategy Meeting

> We’re a small company. Over the years, we’ve found that having a regular strategy session helps us. Keith and I try to get away for a weekend to discuss our personal and professional lives. That includes a discussion about what we want our retirement to look like and are we doing the right things now to make our plans a reality. 

Loving| 7 Little Words

> I love word games. A few years ago, I met two ladies on a cruise who introduced me to the app “7 Little Words”. Since then, I play the game every single day. They offer a daily freebie. It’s challenging but not impossible. And it’s fun. If you’re looking for a way to keep your brain cells working, this might be something to consider. 

Geeking| Mophie Juice Pack 

> I love my iPhone X. And the battery life is good. But I must admit that there are times when I’m at a conference or during Pokemon community days, when the battery starts running dangerously low. Mophie finally introduced a juice pack for the iPhone X. It’s not big and clunky like some other battery cases. And it’s able to use a Qi charger. 

What’s UP with you this December? We hope your holidays are filled with friends, family, good food, and fun. Thank you so much for reading Unretirement Project. We look forward to seeing you in 2019!