Tesar-Reynes

I have read the statistics for years and can’t believe that all of a sudden boomers really are going to retire.  I talk to my peers and many of them have moved to places with less winters and downsized so the kids can’t move back in. I look at our clients and there seems to be a disconnect with the stuff in the media. I see lots of gray hair. These people appear relatively happy and not ready to check out.

Maybe a better way of phrasing “retirement” is that people are seeing 2-3 careers in their life. Maybe the first formal career is going away for something new. For many, it’s consulting. There appear to be a growing number of boomers out there …

Tony forwarded an article to me the other day called “War of the Ages – how a host of new agency realities are pushing boomers out before their time.”

The article talks about how older (read 40-60 year old) executives are being pushed out of ad agencies because of their lack of digital experience.

Ageism, as the article states, is becoming a real problem. There are two sides to this argument, I suppose.

On the one hand, it’s the fault of executives who are not adapting to the times. As people of digital disciplines become more relevant, you can’t blame agencies for placing more value on that skill set.

On the other hand, while agencies are profiting from digital advertisers, they are losing the years of client management experience and long-term …

I remember a long time ago, when I got into the search business that I was embarrassed to ask people what they earned.  I felt it was an invasion of their privacy.  Nowadays, I just see it as another statistic like a street address or the year they got out of school.

Even though I am not uncomfortable with asking the question, I still experience pushback from the people I’m talking to.  What they don’t realize is the question is an essential tool in the overall evaluation of them as a product for the job marketplace.  I tend to believe that many people feel they need to inflate their worth by telling me a salary or package that is higher than what they really earn.  On the other hand, I think some other people feel they are underpaid and are embarrassed by it.

Once I know the scope of an individual’s experience …

I have a confession to make. As a graduating senior, I am paralyzed with fear at the thought of getting a job.

I hear bad stories about this whole category for entry-level positions: lower pay, 10-hour workdays, cutthroat coworkers, not to mention, GULP, the recession.

I’m wondering if our resident guru can provide some advice to all of us dealing with the same fears.

Tony, can you help us out here? We’re kind of freaking out.

Tony’s response:

The pressure and the anxiety of landing the first job are amazing. Everyone handles this differently. I was fortunate to be able to defer the process for a while. After I graduated from college, since I was NROTC, I went into the Navy. When my time was up I extended for 6 months to figure …