This week’s questions are on using current skills in a part-time role, finding your philanthropic passion, and whether you should certify as a scrum master. Listen for insight.
[:51] Marc welcomes you to Episode 71 and invites you to share this episode with like-minded souls. Please subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast, share it on social media, and tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:18] This week is a Questions & Answers episode. Submit your questions at CareerPivot.com on the ‘Contact Me’ link. Email, or send voicemail to Marc. Marc may play your question on the podcast.
[1:45] Next week, Marc will interview Alexander Buschek, who completely rebranded himself to become a digital transformation thought leader. Alexander is a former client of Marc’s. Marc recorded the episode right before he left for Mexico. Marc is recording the intro and outro in Ajijic, Mexico.
[2:29] Marc asks his ‘sidekick’ Elizabeth Rabaey to introduce herself and the Questions & Answers.
[3:18] Q1: How do I translate my current job skills as an IT project manager into a second career that gives me more time to give back by working ad hoc or part-time? I would prefer to work outside the corporate world. I like animals, the fitness industry, and would consider teaching. What do you think?
[3:47] A1: For most people, Marc would throw out the teaching piece. If you think you’re going to teach and have time, you’re probably smoking something and inhaling. Teaching is incredibly time-consuming. Project management skills are transferable to other positions. Test drive some of these organizations.
[4:22] Marc has a former client who test-drove Best Friends animal rescue organization recently. She volunteered for seven days over the holidays. Volunteer somewhere you think you would like to work.
[5:09] Q2: Homelessness, illiteracy, education, and conservation — what cause really matters most to you when you graduate from being a reactive giver to a more thoughtful and strategic giver? It isn’t always easy to connect with a cause that stirs your soul. How do I find my philanthropic passion?
[5:34] A2: This question was posed to Marc by the folks at GivingCityAustin.org in an interview. Marc talks about Courtney Clark, a multi-time cancer survivor. Courtney is very passionate about cancer survivorship. She speaks of it; she has written books on it. But what are you passionate about if nothing has ever happened to you?
[6:27] Marc says, you’ve just got to go try stuff. Marc uses Elizabeth as an example. He told her just to go try stuff. She tried jewelry making, oil painting, and other things until she found what was right for her.
[8:08] A former client of Marc’s went to Best Friends and remembered that she liked horses. So she cleaned barns and did a number of things she remembered enjoying as a kid. Try various things.
[10:20] Q3: I am a certified Salesforce administrator. Currently, I am volunteering my time with a couple of nonprofits to gain experience. I see a lot of conversations about a scrum, and I am considering becoming a scrum master to further my education and increase my employment opportunities. What do you think?
[10:42] A3: A scrum master is a project manager. A scrum master is promoted as being neutral as to area of expertise. No one really believes that. Hiring Managers want industry-specific expertise. If you are not in software development, no one is going to care. Marc shares a case study of a woman who is scrum master certified.
[12:28] The woman got interviews but never got hired. She needed a software background in order to be considered. You need to get expertise in the area where you want to be hired. A scrum master is focused largely around agile software development.
[12:50] Marc has seen over and over people with project management experience getting certified in a skill and trying to break into a new industry. It doesn’t work.
[13:24] Becoming a scrum master is between $1,000 and $1,500 and it is probably not worth it, just to have it. Before you start pursuing a certification, talk to some people (not to the certificate issuer) about whether it makes sense.
[13:56] Marc invites anyone having questions they would like Marc to answer on the show to please submit them at CareerPivot.com or email Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
[14:20] When this episode airs, Marc and his wife will be in Ajijic, Mexico. He is currently looking for dentists, chiropractors, and endocrinologists.
[14:58] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. Next week will be a regular-length episode.
[16:26] Listen next week for Marc’s interview with Alexander Buschek.
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is alive and in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has three initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life and they are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the fourth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Beta groups will be brought in 10 at a time. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-71 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest 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.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
Barbara Weibel is the owner of HoleInTheDonut.com travel blog. Barbara is a travel blogger with an incredibly inspiring reinvention story. Marc felt inspired after listening to her story and hopes you will, too. Listen in to see how her career works.
[:44] Marc welcomes you to Episode 70 and invites you to share this episode with like-minded souls. Please subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast, share it on social media, and tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:16] Marc gives an overview of the podcast series. The first in the series is an interview with an expert. Two weeks ago, Marc interviewed Marcia LaReau and Neil Patrick, co-authors of Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code.
[1:42] Last week, Marc interviewed Kelsey and Matt Moore, owners of Coolworks.com, the Mecca of seasonal jobs at places like the U.S. National Park Service. This week, Marc interviews interview Barbara Weibel, owner of HoleInTheDonut.com travel blog. Barbara is a travel blogger with an incredibly inspiring reinvention story.
[2:06] March and April episodes may vary a bit, as Marc and his wife leave for Mexico on March 14 for four weeks as they are exploring the possibilities and working on all of the uncertainties. Marc will record several episodes in Ajijic, Mexico.
[2:30] The last week in the series is a Q&A episode.
[2:33] Marc introduces Barbara Weibel.
[3:06] Barbara owns and publishes Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel, generally ranked among the top 100 travel blogs in the world. Barbara worked in corporate jobs for 36 years and can honestly say that she hated that life. She was never comfortable with the politics and the stresses. She put her nose to the grindstone preparing for retirement.
[4:05] Barbara has about a 10-year attention span. She needs a new challenge all the time. She was a great problem-solver. She would take a company that was not doing very well and restructure it to be successful. About five years in, she was stressed out but stayed because of the money. Eventually, she would leave, until the next job.
[5:51] Barbara shares her career path, starting in sales, moving into management, owning a PR firm, marketing major malls, marketing a chemical recycling company. When the chemical company went bankrupt, Barbara moved to the Caribbean and opened a couple of small businesses there. She has done a lot of different things.
[7:13] Nothing she had done had brought her happiness. Then she got Lyme Disease. It took five years before a definitive diagnosis when it was chronic Lyme Disease. She developed neurological deficits. She took antibiotics for six weeks and was very ill. She examined her life and found it lacking. She wished for something to do with passion.
[9:37] In this six-week period, she recalled childhood joys of photography, reading National Geographic, and writing and editing for her school newspaper. She has taken adventurous travels from the time she was old enough to go on her own. She realized photography, writing, and travel are her true passions.
[11:02] She promised herself that if she could get better, she would walk away from everything. At the time, she was managing broker for a group of real estate offices. She told her boss if she could get well in a year, she would give up her job and go traveling. She found a naturopath for her Lyme Disease and in a year, she was well.
[13:03] With multiple properties she owned, she had about $14K mortgage payments every month. She was tempted to go back to work but realized she would not be happy.
[13:26] Barbara closed up her house and bought a six-month around-the-world ticket. She made a list of the 17 countries she had always wanted to visit. People discouraged her. This was in 2006, before blogs were known. She actually did the blog primarily so her father and family could keep up with her adventures. He was scared for her.
[14:22] After the six-month trip, Barbara came back for her niece’s wedding. At that time only about 1,200 people were reading the blog. She spent the next two-and-a-half years building up the traffic on the blog. She was supporting herself by freelance writing. She also managed to sell her home, so there was some money from that.
[15:30] By November 2009, Barbara was traveling so much that having a permanent base no longer made sense. She went on the road full-time, up until December 2017.
[16:00] Blogging was emerging as an important vehicle. People start their travel investigation on the internet. Barbara had started early, positioning herself to become one of the top travel bloggers in the world. She was selling text-link ads, making enough to stay in dorms and hostels around the world. Google, by the way, put an end to that.
[18:20] Barbara needed a new income stream. She had 25-to-30 thousand people a month reading her blog. 85% of them are new every month. That was not a big enough audience to attract advertisers to the site. The next big thing was sponsored content or native advertising. Barbara didn’t want that. Her writing is engaging storytelling.
[20:37] Barbara made the decision to stay true to herself, and stick with the literate first-person narrative writing. Over the years, Google has come to like her style. In the eyes of Google, her blog has gained great authority, which means it is highly ranked.
[21:15] Marc points out that this was not an overnight success. Barbara recognizes her writing has improved over the years. It’s continually evolving.
[22:28] The new model of sponsored blogging is to accept brokered ads on their sites. Barbara refuses to accept ads and popups. She will will not lessen the quality and integrity of her blog. She is free to pick and choose what she does, as she took Social Security at age 62. She is 66, now.
[25:31] Barbara has been spending months in Thailand each year. She fell in love with the country on her first visit. She has visited 94 countries and she can’t find anything better than Thailand. She no longer feels physically fit to travel full-time.
[27:17] Barbara says she is doing more at 66 than a lot of people she knows who are in their 40s. But she needed to have a base again. She rents a one-bedroom apartment on the sixth floor of a condo in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She has a mountain view with beautiful sunsets. She’ll travel five months and stay in the apartment for seven months.
[28:41] Barbara talks about living on Social Security and what the cost of living is in Thailand. She can afford it.
[29:39] Because Barbara doesn’t sell ads, her income stream is minimal. She gets offers for press trips, sponsored by cities and countries. Most travel writers and publications accept these, with the notable exception of Condé Nast.
[31:15] Barbara is taking a two-week land-and-sea trip in Greece with Collette Tours later in May. At the first part of May she will work with Ethio Travel and Tours on a two-week tour around Ethiopia. She doesn’t do a lot of press tours, unless it’s to a place she really wants to visit, from a reputable company. She’ll do two or three a year.
[32:06] Barbara has done this all throughout her 11 years of blogging. This is one of the tricks to maximize money coming in. The blogger is paid to travel. Barbara puts it in writing that the travel agency does not have any right to review or change her writing. They don’t get to see it before it’s published. She will write the truth about the trip.
[34:36] Barbara will not accept a per diem because it is a conflict of interest to write something negative after she has been paid to write. When something falls apart, she will write about it. Most of the time, things go very well.
[35:00] Barbara talks about other content bloggers provide.
[35:35] Barbara talks about how things turned out, compared to what she planned. It’s about the same, except for how much work it is! Tweets, Instagram come after culling a day’s worth of photos. Then there is the email to answer, blog updates, and finally, research and writing. On average, Barbara sleeps four-to-five hours a night touring.
[37:57] Barbara tells people it’s never too late. If you can visualize, down to the smallest detail, what you want your life to be, then you can create that life. She is proof of that. She reinvents herself as many times as needed.
[38:40] Barbara talks about her mission, discovered during her year of recovery. We are one human family.
[41:47] Marc hopes you are inspired to follow your dreams!
[42:50] Check back next week, when Marc will answer your questions!
Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code, by Marcia LaReau
and Neil Patrick
HoleInTheDonut.com Named for when she felt empty inside before finding her calling.
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is alive and in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has two initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life and they are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the third cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Beta groups will be brought in 10 at a time. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-70 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest 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.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
Coolworks is a website that is focused on jobs in great places. The site has been around for 23 years. It launched in 1995 from the Tower Ranger Station in Yellowstone National Park, and ever since then, its focus and mission has been to connect employers in destination locations with adventurous job seekers that are looking to take on a different type of career or maybe just have a brief adventure and everything in-between.
Matt learned about Coolworks long before he became a part of it. Matt grew up in North Carolina and got a degree in business but on graduating he wasn’t excited about traditional banking or finance roles. He had more of an entrepreneurial spirit. He wanted to take some time before jumping into a career to find something he was excited about. He went out West to find a job somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. He found Coolworks, found a job in Grand Tetons National Park, and it really changed the trajectory of his life. That seasonal job turned into a short career in hospitality that led to Matt and Kelcy meeting. She hired him for the position. Kelcy had also found jobs through Coolworks. They started traveling together and Kelcy began to work for Coolworks. Matt joined the team a little bit later.
Kelcy was at a crossroads. She was 21 and had used up the resources her parents had set aside for her to pursue higher ed. She either needed to get a loan or to leave school. She decided to take time to evaluate what she wanted to do. She stumbled upon the Coolworks website. She had had a cousin who worked in Wyoming. That’s how she learned about the subculture environment that exists around seasonal jobs. On the website, she found a job in a wonderful little spot in Grand Teton National Park. She took a front desk agent position for six months. Then she was promoted to an HR Assistant position, which was a year-round position that allowed her to work and live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. After a year, she was HR Manager. She lived in the Tetons for just about six years. She hired thousands of people over that time, including Matt Moore. She calls it a full circle adventure. It is a great resource that puts a pretty powerful “magic wand” into each of our own hands to choose and make our own destiny. It has charted the course of Matt’s and Kelcy’s lives. Without a college degree, Kelcy received workplace training for a career in HR that she had never imagined she would be interested in. It’s a very powerful opportunity and potential for folks to do something different. Maybe that balloons into something couldn’t really ever have imagined.
[:44] Marc welcomes you to the episode and invites you to share this episode with like-minded souls. Please subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast, share it on social media, and tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:11] Marc gives an overview of the podcast series. The first in the series is an interview with an expert. Last week, Marc interviewed Marcia LaReau and Neil Patrick, co-authors of Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code.
[1:31] This episode is a special interview with Kelcy Fowler and Matt Moore, owners of Coolworks.com, the Mecca of seasonal jobs at places like the U.S. National Park Service and other cool places. Next will be an interview with Barbara Weibel, owner of HoleInTheDonut.com travel blog. She has an inspiring reinvention story.
[1:59] March and April episodes may vary a bit, as Marc and his wife leave for Mexico on March 14 for four weeks as they are exploring the possibilities and working on all of the uncertainties. Marc will record several episodes in Ajijic, Mexico.
[2:23] The last week in the series is a Q&A episode.
[2:28] Marc introduces Kelcy Fowler and Matt Moore. They begin by telling their story so Marc does not read their bios.
[8:17] Kelcy and Matt are not the first Millennials on the podcast. Marc also interviewed Taylor Pearson who wrote the book End of Jobs. This podcast is focused on people in the second half of life. Marc asks what Kelcy and Matt would like Marc’s audience to know about Coolworks.
[8:39] The opportunities on Coolworks are for individuals at every stage in life. We get a lot of questions from folks in the second half of life that are really interested in the potential of these positions and opportunities. People of all ages use Coolworks.
[9:22] Recruiters at these locations are thrilled to get applications from folks in the second half of life. Some are in retirement, some are looking to change careers. Those candidates show up, they have a great work ethic, they do their job, they’re reliable. They have the opportunity to be mentors to younger employees. They add diversity.
[10:26] Kelcy says from her HR experience, it’s really important for people to know they will be wanted, valued, appreciated, and celebrated. They will be able to form incredible relationships across generations. Kelcy lists a few of the locations available.
[12:08] Marc tells of summer jobs he had growing up in New Jersey working for Manpower and the variety of people he met.
[12:39] Kelcy speaks of the wide variety of jobs available on Coolworks. A large portion of the employers is in the hospitality and tourism realm. There are all sorts of wonderful industries focused on guest services. The one qualifier is to be in a great place.
[14:39] Every employer that posts on the site goes through a screening and registration process first to make sure it’s a good fit.
[15:00] A few years ago, a person posted for a personal assistant to manage their administrative affairs sailing around the world on a sailboat for a year.
[16:04] For a more gritty and unique opportunity, there are positions in Alaska at fish processing plants or canneries. They make great overtime working hard in a short season Marc notes the North Dakota sugar beet harvest has similar conditions.
[17:21] Matt says people in the second half of life are eligible for the majority of these jobs. Recruiters welcome people in the second half of life for reliability and their work ethic. Some of the younger generation are still learning. People in the second half of life bring life experience.
[18:46] We see a lot of Boomers and a lot of Millennials striking up great friendships, working alongside one another and really gaining some wonderful value from that relationship.
[19:38] Boomers were raised to get an employment resume. Millennials work for a college resume. Most Millennials don’t get a job until after high school or college.
[20:41] Kelcy talks about housing options. It is different at every property. Just ask the questions you need to know. For people in the second half of life, RVs are popular, but there are diverse options.Right now it’s a job seeker’s market and there are so many opportunities available. Make sure you get the right fit.
[23:37] The unemployment rate is low. Matt says this is definitely the most difficult recruiting year they have seen in over a decade. There’s just a very limited supply of labor.
[24:34] Matt says if your thinking about seasonal employment at all, just go for it. Over 20% of the traffic on the site is from people in the second half of life. Sometimes people hesitate because they think they won’t be hired. Matt invites you to reach out if there are any concerns you have.
[27:25] Coolworks just published an 80-page e-book with a supplement workbook that answers questions and helps people educate themselves, written by Susan Shain.
[28:35] Kelcy says most people on the site are flying solo. It’s very intimidating to pick up your life and move to a new state where you will not only work, but also live alongside your coworkers. Making the journey is very much worth it. Whatever’s holding you back, reach out and drop Coolworks a note.
[31:24] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode and are now ready to try seasonal work in someplace great.
[32:24] Check back next week when Marc interviews Barbara Weibel. It is one of the most inspiring interviews Marc has done for this podcast.
Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code, by Marcia LaReau
and Neil Patrick
The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5, by Taylor Pearson
Nomad Land: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by Jessica Bruder
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is alive and in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has two initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life and they are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the third cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Beta groups will be brought in 10 at a time. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-69 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest 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.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
Marcia Lareau’s career has included five career changes, including college music professor, software QA analyst, project manager, learning technologist, and corporate trainer. Throughout, she studied employee selection, integration, and evaluation. Her research on hiring practices includes up-to-date trends throughout U.S. industries. After three lay-off experiences, Marcia started Forward Motion with a mission to increase job seeker success, reduce time-to-employment, teach principles of career management. Marcia holds a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, A Master’s degree from Northwestern University, and a Ph.d. from Ohio State University.
After graduating in business at university, Neil Patrick initially worked for Wilkinson Sword. He then joined Standard Chartered Bank, where he spent the next ten years. From international corporations, Neil just moved to the world of startups. In 1997, he was head-hunted to be marketing director for a U.S. financial business expanding into the UK, FirstPlus from Dallas Texas. The U.S. parent went into Chapter 11 in 1998 but Neil and his Co-Directors saved the company by selling it to Woolwich Building Society, which, within two years, was itself bought by Barclays Bank. By 2005, the picture had become like Groundhog Day. Neil agreed to leave and become a sleeping partner in the firm. He desired a fresh challenge although he had no idea what this would be. This was the start of the third phase of his career. This coincided with the social media revolution. Neil looked at how businesses were using social media, and thought, more often than not, making a mess of it. One of the first things he did was set up a blog, 40PlusCareerGuru. This blog now has over a half-a-million hits. His online profile brought him into contact with small business owners all over the world. These new relationships formed were the basis of his diverse client base.
This is how he and Marcia met and led to joining forces to write the book, Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code. Neil lives in a forest in Wales, which is no sensible place for a marketing consultant to live, but the internet pretty much solves that problem.
[:44] Marc welcomes you to the episode and invites you to share this episode with like-minded souls. Please subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast, share it on social media, and tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:13] Marc gives an overview of the podcast series. The first in the series is an interview with an expert. In this episode, Marc interviews Marcia LaReau and Neil Patrick, co-authors of Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code.
[1:31] Next will be a special interview with Kelsey and Matt Moore, owners of Coolworks, the Mecca of seasonal jobs at places like the U.S. National Park Service and other cool places. Marc is working on interviews with travel bloggers and other exciting guests. If you know any who have repurposed their career, please tell Marc.
[2:03] March episodes may vary a bit, as Marc and his wife leave for Mexico on March 14, for four weeks as they are exploring the possibilities and working on all of the uncertainties. Marc will record four episodes in Ajijic, Mexico.
[2:29] The third in the series is a topic Marc chooses. The last in the series is a Q&A episode.
[2:34] Marc reads the bios for Marcia LaReau and Neil Patrick.
[5:23] Marc welcomes Neil Patrick and Marcia LaReau. Neil spent 15 years in large corporates, then became director of a financial firm that wants to come into Europe, beginning his involvement with business startups. He finally recognized he wanted to work for himself, which he has done for the last 10 years.
[6:30] Marcia is a career bouncer. She started as a professor of music, orchestra conductor and composer. That industry has ‘closed down.” and Marcia had to find a new role. She moved into corporate training, which she calls ‘rehearsal.’ She promoted herself as a project manager based on her experience managing concerts.
[7:18] Marcia found a job as a project manager in the corporate world. Every few years she got laid off, and after a while she got tired of it. In a period of so many layoffs, executives she had worked with came to her asking for help finding a good job. So, she started Forward Motion, 11 years ago.
[7:44] Marcia says, like Neil, she is grateful for all the places she has been and all the people that have helped her learn.
[7:52] Neil and Marcia started thinking about writing a book together based on the quickening pace of change in the world and the lack of mainstream information about managing careers in a changing environment.
[8:43] Neil notes two groups who are affected by changed conditions: Millennials and Boomers. Boomers, due to losses in 2008, are looking to work longer than expected.
[9:11] People between the Boomers and the Millennials are also looking at changes due to the shifting nature of employment contracts and the move to the gig economy.
[9:30] Neil says the book is for everybody who really wants to try and sustain a career and income in a world that is changing incredibly quickly.
[9:52] Marcia explains her reason for writing the book. Her background was in the nonprofit musical performance arts. In 2001, the reinsurance industry died, and with it, support for arts programs. She also recognized that Millennials have low wages, on average. As they will own the workforce for decades, what happens to the tax base?
[10:47] Knowing she couldn’t get to everybody as a consultant to help them plan ahead and even sustain the U.S. economy, she went to writing a book about it. She felt the urgency of helping all demographics prepare for a changing future of limited options.
[11:44] The book is not just to help people today, but to be evergreen, to show how to manage the change, and adapt that change to have continual revenue.
[12:12] Unemployment numbers hide some facts. Some people have three jobs and still can’t make ends meet. Unemployment is down, but so is household income. The book teaches how to understand the revenue stream. Many people are not included in the official 4.1% unemployment figure.
[13:37] In Austin, TX, where the advertised unemployment rate is under 4%, the unemployment rate for over age 50 is actually over 12%. The Atlantic rated Austin as one of the worst places to be old and unemployed.
[14:00] Neil notes that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is much more transparent than the data controlled by the UK Office for National Statistics. In the UK, everyone self-employed is considered employed, even with little or no real income. Levels of income growth in the UK and in the U.S. are incredibly sluggish.
[15:51] Marcia comments on zero-hour contracts. She has a friend who will work from 14 hours in a week to zero hours in a week, and she is counted as employed. This skews the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[16:25] Marc talks about Austin’s very bifurcated job market, with a lot of low-end service jobs, and high-end jobs, but not a lot in-between.
[16:53] Automation technology and Artificial Intelligence are eliminating some jobs and generating others. Some people are not aware of skills they have that are applicable. People have to adapt and manage their skill sets and their networks to access the jobs that are and will be available. That is part of the reason for the book.
[18:04] Marcia cites a study that says three out of four jobs today are at risk, in the U.S., from technology that already exists. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other jobs coming through.
[18:20] Neil talks about the gig economy, or the fluid workforce. This is a transition from permanent employment to a large number of relatively short-term engagements. How do people sustain a decent living? Not as an Uber driver. One trend is intermediation, with a middleman between the employer and the worker. It is brokering of work.
[20:10] One of the essential things is for people to figure out how they can engage in the fluid workforce but keep the middleman out so they can negotiate terms and prices and choose what to do and what not to do.
[20:40] The future of jobs is people are going to have to be managers of their own careers and gigs even if they are employed. People are changing jobs every 2.5 to 3.5 years. Above 55 the time at a job is even shorter.
[22:13] Firms used to sustain a domestic workforce. That is rarely true today, as far as manufacturing is concerned.
[23:19] Boomers grew up believing they would stay at a company for their career. Job requirements change so quickly that a five-year plan doesn’t work. People are responsible to update their own skills for the workforce of the future.
[24:19] The company is no longer responsible for your career. Be on the lookout for ways to develop. Keep yourself trained and skilled. It is at your cost to become trained in skills that will not immediately become obsolete.
[25:12] The six engines of change show which jobs are coming up and which are going away. The first three are choices firms are making: globalization/offshoring, technology, and disruptive business models. The second set are changes outside the firms: educational/institutional change, aging demographics, and financial and fiscal policy.
[26:23] Some offshoring is returning to domestic production in both the U.S. and the UK. Some globalization occurs from companies outside the U.S. starting project management groups in the U.S. to help bridge gaps for clients they have in the U.S.
[27:06] At any job you have, make good friends with someone in the IT unit to understand what projects are coming, and what kinds of opportunities will come with them.
[28:16] Disruptive business models replace job-heavy business sectors with job-light organizations. This feeds the shift to the fluid workforce. For example, Uber has completely disrupted the taxi industry but employs just 12,000 globally. Marc notes that Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb are platform companies, not employers.
[30:01] The sooner people stop thinking of themselves as employees, and start thinking about earning a living, the more successful they will be. Marcia finds in her focus groups and Millennial clients that they still want a secure job, not a flexible gig.
[30:51] Some disruption comes from startups replacing other startups. Company A learned to grow your skin in the lab, over three weeks, to graft onto your burns. Company B learned to grow to grow your T-cells that could be sprayed onto your third-degree burns and replace your skin in three days. Company A becomes obsolete.
[32:00] Marc talks about uncertainty that causes lots of stress. Most of us want to know what’s coming. It took Marc 18 months to stop worrying about a paycheck when he started his own business.
[33:25] Millennials were taught they would have a career or job waiting after college. That has disintegrated. They are angry and disenfranchised. Marc says Millennials who graduated before the Great Recession are in better shape than those who graduated after (2009-2013).
[34:29] What are the most important things to understand and do after reading the book? Marcia says, 1. Don’t abandon hope or fear change. 2. Do have a plan and put it into action. Change and manage it as you go each year. 3. Do have a backup plan even if you have a job.
[35:22] Neil says, careers used to be relatively straight-lined and predictable. Everyone now is on a twisting road. Going around corners is easier and less frightening if you know where they are taking you. Neil, Marcia, and Marc are all in the gig economy and make their own way in the world without an employer. Neil will not return to a “job.”
[37:06] Marcia wants every reader not just to have a plan and manage what’s coming ahead but to know how to read the jobs market, understand where jobs are disappearing and where jobs are coming through and that they need to prepare and they know how to prepare and save for their retirement as well.
[37:50] Neil says the subtitle of the book is about cracking the code to career. The code is opaque, and the book provides transparency.
[39:10] Marc highly recommends everyone pick up a copy of Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code. Marc adds that everyone from his online community tells him they want freedom to work when, where, and how they want.
[41:46] Check back next week when Marc interviews Kelsey and Matt Moore, owners of CoolWorks.com.
Careermageddon: Cracking the 21st Century Career Code, by Marcia LaReau
and Neil Patrick
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
UK Office for National Statistics
40pluscareerguru.blogspot.co.uk
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