I felt that the term Baby Boomer pinpointed the generation in which I was born but didn’t really capture the essence of what I’m all about. Nor did it describe many of the people I gravitated toward such as my friends, business associates, colleagues, clients, or even stories I’ve read about fascinating people who intrigued me. So, I decided to invent my own word. I prefer being referred to as a Voomer, how about you? Read on and see if you relate.

Anyone who knows me would use the words creative, innovative and passionate to describe what I am all about. I had an urge to create a unique word, so I chose “VOOMER” to describe myself and all of us who are vibrant, vivacious, vital, looking for our next adventure and, let’s face it, on the move — v-o-o-o-o-o-ming around!

Several years ago I experienced a career transformation due to the downturn in the economy. I parlayed my talents into a new venture as a BABY VOOMER (TM) Career Coach and Executive Leadership Coach. For me part of the fun exploring a new career or reinventing myself has been the process of collecting a lot of research about people my age and Boomer trends. Studies have pointed out that our generation (those of us born between 1946 and 1964), all of us admittedly who are celebrating our 39th birthday over and over again, are active, healthy, and many are still working, stretching ourselves and exploring new creative talents, traveling, volunteering and generally re-inventing ourselves.

In my new life as a coach, I’ve learned several sobering facts from research studies that confirm my belief that NOW is the time to start really living and enjoying every minute of every day and night. Sobering Fact #1: Up to 70% of all workers dread coming in to work on Monday mornings. Sobering Fact #2: Most suicides happen on Sunday night between 4 PM and 10 PM. Sobering Fact #3: Most heart attacks happen on Monday morning. If you are in your mid-40’s, 50’s or 60’s maybe it’s time to realize it’s never too late to take out your very own magic wand and give yourself the gift of discovering what you are truly passionate about, whether for career options or volunteer opportunities, so that you do not become a sobering statistic. The 1st step may be using some evaluative assessment tools; the 2nd step is to develop an action plan to figure out how you are going to get where you want to go, and the 3rd step is to follow through with a self-developed support team. I am so grateful to have found my passions leading to Career and Leadership coaching. That led me to spreading my entrepreneurial wings and becoming a Career Coach.

Here are a few interesting tips I related to when I came across an Ask.com article called
“10 Baby Boomer Trends & How To Profit From Them”, by Susan Ward —-

#1: I have to see it or do it before it’s gone.

“One of the big Baby Boomer trends is the compulsion to see it/do it before it can’t be seen or done anymore. The Great Wall, the Great Barrier Reef, Venice – Boomers feel a need to visit places, species and lifestyles that are vanishing and experience them for themselves. Environmental concerns, such as global warming, seem to have exacerbated these feelings. Seeing polar or spirit bears in their natural environment or visiting Antarctica, for example, are high on the’must-see’ list.”

Sounds like a Voomer to me! For example, I am planning a trip this fall to go on an African Safari in the Serengeti and Tanzania, in addition to seeing the gorillas in Rwanda. After all, how long will it be until some of these many animals may become extinct? And I want to see everything before my bi-focals may go to tri-focals, and while I can still see!

I can recommend a wonderful company for when you are planning your next great travel adventure. My highest kudos goes to OAT (Oversees Adventure Travel, www.oattravel.com). This company has never disappointed me or my family. We have gone on several wonderful trips with OAT, as well as several of my aunts and uncles who traveled with them for over 30 years. What I like best about this touring company is they guarantee traveling with16 people or less. I always feel like a little kid, waking up each morning without even reading the itinerary in advance, just waiting to uncover new adventures in the Amazon, Machu Picchu, Tuscany, China. Some days, when I dream about planning my next trip and can’t figure out where to go next, I contemplate just throwing a dart to see where it lands on a world map.

By the way, most of OAT’s advertising is done by word of mouth and we can both benefit from one of the features it offers. Feel free to use my name, Valli Swerdlow and the code #952868, immediately when you sign up for your adventure and both of us will receive a monetary credit toward our next trip. I am not kidding when I tell you that a few years ago I went on their trip to Thailand for almost 16 days for under $300. It included everything—air, land, most of the food, (I used my own frequent flyer miles), food (except a few dinners), accommodations and admission to sites just by recommending it to 4 couples, who also took advantage of their credit program. The best part was a one hour ride on top of an elephant through the jungle and river followed by being entertained by 6 trained elephants playing in a band. I kid you not! They were playing the harmonica, drums and two were holding a big gong. Unbelievable, and I have photos to prove it!

#2 I’ve got that loving feeling…

“For the world. For whales. For victims of the latest hurricane. Baby Boomers love to feel good and contributing to a cause is one quick way to do that. Especially if it’s a popular cause. In some circles, there almost seems to be a cause one-upmanship operating; the more causes one visibly supports, the better. The best thing to do, though, is to espouse your own cause and host/sponsor your own events.”

For years I volunteered at Miriam’s Kitchen in Washington, DC, a food kitchen that provides close to gourmet breakfasts for over 200 guests. That’s how I combined my love of cooking with reaching out. I always felt that I got much more than I gave. It was such a creative experience because the head chef was so wonderful to work with and allowed me to sometimes experiment by adding fresh ingredients and spices of my choosing.

I recently started volunteering at AARP’s WorkSearch program as a Virtual Career Coach. It provides twelve thirty-minute free telephone coaching sessions by trained volunteers. By talking by phone (one of my favorite pastimes) and reaching Baby Voomer nationwide I can share my knowledge of career transitioning with individuals who are experiencing quite challenging economic circumstances in their life.

#3 Of course I’m not too old for that!

“This is another Baby Boomer trend that you have to have been living abroad for the last decade to have missed. No matter how grueling an experience may be, to even suggest that someone of a certain age may be too old to participate is to risk having your head verbally snapped off. Where I live, 80 year-olds drag themselves onto the tennis courts and 60-somethings enthusiastically kayak and hike mountainsides. Baby Boomers refuse to be or act old until it’s absolutely unavoidable.”

I find my Baby Voomer comes out when I paint daily between coaching sessions with my clients. I am not sure if painting sparks my coaching creativity, or if working with my clients inspires creativity in my artwork. You can check out my work at http://paintingsbyvalli.shutterfly.com and decide for yourself! What I do know is that I was inspired by a trip to Thailand a few years ago. Upon returning I started drawing some illustrations for a children’s book I was writing. I moved into painting furniture and dabbled with miniature canvases. Next, I took a big plunge and began painting large canvases, which I find really exciting! If you had told me two years ago that I was going to paint anything other than a fresh coat of wall paint, I never would have believed you. Now I can’t imagine not painting because it makes me happy to be immersed in vibrant colors (there’s that “V” again!)

Conclusion….

Well, as I’m sure you can now see, I am definitely a Baby Voomer! The question is, are you?

My name is Valli Swerdlow and over 20 years ago I wrote a booklet called “Dress Your House For Success”. The premise was based on several years of research that I conducted about what colors, textures, sounds and smells helped make a home stand out so that it would sell more quickly and at the best price. It was featured in major real estate, remodeling and home and garden magazines nationwide, newspapers like “The Christian Science Monitor” and “The Chicago Tribune”, and by syndicated real estate columnists. I reached further and sold thousands of my publication to homeowners directly by having it reviewed by their writers, columnist and editors. For example, the concept of “neutralizing” the color of wall and exterior paint to attract a wide range of buyers was years ahead of its time. Use of these concepts has blossomed into a new profession: today a Stager can be hired by homeowners to suggest well placed furniture, lighting, and accessories to increase the chances of selling a home quickly and at the best price, by emphasizing the qualities that home buyers are looking for and make it stand out from the competition.

Several years ago I became an Executive Leadership and Career Coach after 11 years in a career as an Executive Search Recruiter placing candidates in vertical markets, from entry-level positions to senior level executives. At that time using the standard “action word bullets” on resumes to demonstrate accomplishments such as “managed”, “oversaw, “directed”, and “created” were good enough to describe an individual’s strengths. To make you stand out from the competition anything but “neutralizing your image” was the goal of job seekers, to attract a wide range of potential employers. Boy, how times have so quickly changed! I realized that today, the same concepts used in staging a home need to be used to promote an individual’s attractiveness in the job market.

“Personal branding” has expanded into the process of distinguishing the essence of an individual’s relevant career attributes and communicating them consistently whether you are looking for a new job, evaluating a career path or navigating a promotion within your organization. Positioning yourself can take the form of using marketing materials to network such as your business cards and LinkedIn profile; writing a resume and bio; during an interview when looking for a new job; or evaluating your message, reputation and standing within your industry or at your current job to see if you are communicating the image you want to project effectively.

Vivid and expressive words can take the image of the average Joe or Jennifer from limp, colorless, pale and not memorable to dynamic, distinct, desirable and passionate. Who would you rather hire or work for? Who would a progressive corporation or organization promoting innovation within want to groom to become an emerging up-and-coming leader or put on the fast track for a promotion?

For example, anyone who has met me soon realizes that I am known for being creative, innovative and passionate. I love to use color, not because I want to be known as loud or gaudy, in what I wear. I love clear bright hues because it makes me feel confident, compliments my features and skin tones and when I wear them people remember me. Purple, fuchsia, pink, red, bright blue, black, navy blue and bright green are my favorites. I primarily use these colors when I paint and they make me feel happy and alive. Personal branding is not about what colors you like it is about what colors express your “personal brand”. Just as we can use color in our personal lives to express ourselves, we can use colorful, expressive language to reveal who we truly are and what strengths we can bring to the workplace.

I am a 360Reach Personal Brand Analyst and my passion is partnering with individuals to explore what their strengths are and how to stretch themselves so that they work at their peak performance. The results of my 360Reach Brand Assessment were such a gift to me. It collected 360 degree data, reported and described what my reputation was from the hearts and minds of people who knew me the best, which included: friends/ family, professional colleagues, volunteer partners, and clients. The results were incredible because it explained the persona brand attributes and interpreted them into “leadership competencies” such as: Visionary, Inspiring, Expressive, Relating, Developing, Resourcing, Solving and Delivery.

Owning and embracing my contributions and gifts is a process. Now I can use some of these phrases and sprinkle them within the messages I am communicating to reach and target specific types of corporations, individuals and organizations that appreciate and resonate where my “heart” is and what I represent. One of the messages and workshops I chose to embrace my brand is “Match Your Head To Your Heart”.

Neutralizing yourself is out. Why not explore your personal brand, identify colorful words that describe you the best, and give yourself a gift?
Personal branding is the process of distinguishing the essence of an individual’s relevant career attributes and communicating them consistently throughout the resume and interview. Personal branding is the process of distinguishing the essence of an individual’s relevant career attributes and communicating them consistently throughout the resume and interview.

Your chances can increase ten-fold of being offered a job by prepping before an interview using a FAB, also known as Fabulous Facts About Yourself, to prepare yourself before the job interview.

My clients have told me time and time again that by using this exercise they were able to more clearly see strengths that they had overlooked and better articulate them during the interview process.

Here is why it works:

Research has shown that when hiring authorities interview a candidate, individually or by a team, the employer will not be able to recall specific facts about each individual after wards. This includes the whole gamut of interviews such as by telephone, SKYPE and or in-person.

To sum it up for a hiring authority all the qualities of each candidate becomes foggy recalling hundreds of facts such as to where each person went to college, their work history, etc. One thing that decision makers do more easily remember is what you bring to the table, what the benefits of hiring you will be at their company or “what is in it for them”.

Here is how it works:

Employers will remember the benefits you will bring if you learn how to clearly state them. Most candidates’ qualities are overlooked because they thought that it would be enough just by mentioning them. Inferring an important point is one thing but you will be more effective by turning each “F”act into an “A”ccomplishment into a “B”enefit statement.

Here is how to begin:

Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three vertical columns with headings. The left column title “F” for facts; middle column title “A” for accomplishments and also put a # sign next to it to quantify as to number of years, $, number of employees, etc.; and in the right column title “B” for benefits or specifically what benefit you will bring to that company.

To prepare yourself for each interview list 6 to 10 specific facts before you meet with the hiring authority, turn them into an accomplishment and then into a benefit statement. Select only the facts that pertain to the particular position at each company.

For example:

Fact 1.) attended XYZ college; Accomplishment 1.) graduated in top 10% of class; Benefit 1.) I can bring this level of top achievement to you.

Fact 2.) Title—Project Manager; Accomplishment 2.)15 years experience; Benefit 2.) I can bring my expertise to your organization.

Fact 3.) Oversaw a team; Accomplishment 3.) State quantity of each position—5 Directors, 2 Project Managers, etc.; 3.)Benefit – can hit the ground running in developing same size team.

These results/benefits should be stated in terms of the value added, and in as tangible and quantified a manner as possible. State the action you took to achieve those benefits/results. (What steps you took or what techniques you used). Use action words and avoid using words such as “responsible for” which aren’t as strong. Here are a few to choose from but there are hundreds more:

• I can hit the ground running
• I am proficient in and can bring this strength to you
• I am strong at this and can bring those results to you
• I can bring this strength to you
• I have brought projects on time and under budget

You will find a job, it’s just a matter of time!

From the 1950’s to the 1980’s our fathers or grandparents may have worked for one company during their lifetime and relied on getting promoted from an entry level position to an executive or CEO of the company. Options at that time had boundaries, but if you followed the rules the sky was the limit.

My husband, Richard, worked for Bell Labs for 32 years, which became Lucent Technologies, before he took early retirement. He worked for them straight out of college after getting his Master Degree from MIT as an electrical engineer. He knew that if he did well, worked hard and was a dedicated employee he would get promoted up the corporate ladder, either on the technical or managerial side, and he did. We felt his career path was almost guaranteed and secure at that time.

Relying on one company to promote you during your entire career is long gone, due to downsizing, mergers and acquisitions. Farming out technical work to foreign countries, like India, have put departments and divisions out of business causing mass layoffs nationwide.

Embracing the concepts of “Lifetime Employment” vs. “Lifetime Employability” can make all the difference in the world. Edgar Schein, a noted specialist in organizational psychology and career dynamics, developed this concept. Why? Because it can help you feel more in control about your future by putting you in the drivers seat. You can steer it in any direction that you choose. Schein emphasizes that career development, known today as Career Management, is about achieving flexibility with an ongoing emphasis on re-evaluating and developing your skills in order to remain employed over your entire career, no matter what field or industry you are working in.

There are certain concepts and actions embracing “Lifetime Employability”.

#1 Limited job security
#2 Jobs are temporary. Projects and contracts may be here today and gone tomorrow.
#2 Proficiency in transferable skills, most importantly keeping up with technology, replaces seniority as a measure of success.
#3 Self-Directed Career Management – have plan ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ in your back pocket.
#4 Research shows that having anywhere from 3 to 7 careers in your lifetime is the norm.
#5 *Boundaryless careers can be a door opener because they can move across industries and organizations, not within just one company.

I have found that putting in the effort to evaluate who you are, and what you want to do is well worth the time and planning you put into it.

The payoff can be exciting and empowering, opening doors that you may never have imagined.

All that changed several years ago when the economy went downhill, and if you can believe it, my recruiting specialty was in Commercial Real Estate – a double whammy! I would have been perfectly happy headhunting until I retired but chose to transition my skills and enroll in an Executive Leadership Development and Coaching program. That led me to spreading my entrepreneurial wings and becoming a Career Coach.

I came up with a “magic wand” Career Coaching question and now ask it to baby boomers 45 to 65 years old where I actually pull a colorful wand out of my purse and say, “If you knew you had 5, 10, 15 to 18 years until you could afford to retire could you see yourself working at the exact same job in the same position?”

If your answer is “Maybe or no,” it may be due to feeling burned out having done the same occupation for 20, 30 or 40 years or when you get up every morning you no longer “click your heels” in anticipation for going to work.

The downturn in the economy has effected most of us so that we have had to move our threshold or push up our retirement date due, to the fact that our financial net worth has gone down. Our dreams of retiring at 55, 60, 65 and today even 70 years old is now on hold until we feel we can better afford it, thus creating the term “The Threshold Generation”, which was introduced by a PEW study in 9/10.

According to a 2010 article: 4 Signs You Are Ready For A Career Change, the Gallup Organization released a study which showed that 29% of the US working population is engaged in their work, meaning that these workers feel passionate about what they do. Sadly, 16% are actively disengaged while 55% are just not engaged.

Did you fall into your career path, being influenced by parents, a spouse or general family pressure, not really giving it much thought as to what would really excite you?
Doing a little soul searching today can pay off big time in your professional, personal life as well as mapping out future retirement plans.

Don’t feel stuck. Realize you have choices. Do-it-yourself, seek out support from colleagues for feedback, or seek outside unbiased help and support from a professional. Take an assessment of your Values, your Skills, your Personality (how you make decisions), your Interests (areas of enjoyment, hobbies) and your Career/Lifestyle is the key.

You can go on-line and take free assessments www.onet.org, www.careeronestop.org, or use www.rileyguide.com. A certified Career Coach can provide assessments to identify your strengths such as the Myers Briggs, Strong Interest, Values Card Sort, SkillScan, and Career/Lifestyle. Having an independent interpretation and putting the results all together and can make all the difference in the world.

You deserve to find your passion and believe you are awesome, no matter what age!