Top 10 Career Pivot Posts

I wanted to share with you the top 10 Career Pivot posts that were published in 2016. I published a similar post last year and I suggest you take a look at that post.

This will be the first of two posts that details what Career Pivot readers found interesting in 2016. This post focuses on the most popular articles published in 2016. Next month’s post will list what readers found most often via Google. That will be an interesting list!

Let’s get started.

#1 – Why Are You Not Being Found? Try Thinking Like a Recruiter

Most of the time, the reason you are not being found is that you are not thinking like a recruiter. Recruiters are using LinkedIn to search for talent using specific strategies.

Think of this like dating. If you want to find a mate, you need to hang out where the opposite sex can find you. When I was a young man, that meant belonging to social organizations or clubs and hanging out with friends. When I got older, it also meant going to bars and doing other activities—I met my wife playing volleyball through an informal Sunday evening volleyball group.

If you want to be found by recruiters, then you need to understand the strategies recruiters use to search LinkedIn. This way, you can be found by recruiters…just like you wanted to be found by the opposite sex.

Let’s start with the basics.

Click here to read the entire post.

#2 – Careers in the 2nd Half of Life

I have been thinking about how careers in the 2nd half of life are different. In fact, I claim that the idea of a career in the 2nd half of life is a relatively new concept.

My father was forced into retirement at the age of 59 in 1978. He did not want to retire, so he decided to teach college economics (he had been an economist for the NYSE for 25 years). He did not have his Ph.D. and had a really hard time making the transition because everyone expected him to retire.

Things have changed. We are living much longer. I plan on living both a longer and healthier 2nd half of life than my parents.

Click here to read the entire post.

#3 – 5 Things to Consider Before a Midlife Career Change [Guest Post]

If you’re in your 40s or 50s and are considering a career switch, you’re not alone. According to a 2014 survey, more than 4.5 million Americans made a career change in midlife, either to pursue a more fulfilling line of work or earn more money.

Another study that looked at workers aged 45 and older by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) found that 82% of those who made a midlife career-switch had been successful. Of these successful career switchers, 60% said they were finally doing something they felt good about, 65% felt less stressed at work, and 70% were earning the same or a higher salary.

Of course, before making any big changes to your career, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons to make sure it’s the right decision for you personally, so here are five important things you should consider before a midlife career change.

Click here to read the entire post.

#4 – Top Companies Hiring Remote Workers in 2016 [Guest Post]

When you finally make the decision to abandon office life once and for all and find a flexible job that will allow you to work from your home office (or essentially anywhere on the globe), you want to start ASAP. After all, who wants to wait weeks—or even months—to realize their dream of working remotely?

The good news is that there is a marked increase in the number of remote jobs being offered. In fact, telecommuting job listings rose 36 percent from 2014 to 2015, as compared to a 26 percent increase from years 2013-2014. And now, finding a remote job should be a whole lot easier, thanks to FlexJobs’ “100 Top Companies with Remote Jobs in 2016.” The list, comprised of 100 companies that have posted the most remote (i.e., telecommuting, work-from-home, virtual) jobs over the past year, features a wide variety of companies and spans many industries, too.

Click here to read the entire post.

#5 – Turning 60 – What It Meant Then and What It Means Now

Turning 60—which I did a few months back—was not what I expected when I first began my career.

Boy, has the world changed.

When I started my career, what did I think turning 60 would include?

• Security
• Financial freedom
• Grandchildren
• Travel

Well, some of them are true. Let me explain.

Click here to read the entire post.

#6 – The End of Jobs – A Book Every Boomer Should Read

I was first introduced to the book End of Jobs and author Taylor Pearson on Ryan Rhoten’s Brand New You Podcast. (By the way, I became a big fan of Ryan’s podcast after I was interviewed by Ryan late last year.)

I immediately ordered the audio version of End of Jobs and listened to it twice. Taylor’s focus and message are primarily directed at his generation—Gen Y—but I believe this is a message that every boomer should listen to.

Taylor claims that we are exiting the knowledge economy and entering the entrepreneurial economy.  It has never been easier to become an entrepreneur with little risk. At the same time, jobs are getting to be a riskier and riskier.

Click here to read the entire post.

#7 – Anatomy of a Passive Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile

In my last post, Are You an Excellent Passive Candidate or a Turkey?, I discussed why you want to be a passive candidate. I am following it up with how to construct your LinkedIn profile into a recruiter magnet.

The infographic below is provided Akken Cloud and has been used by multiple bloggers. I am going to explain how this applies to being a passive candidate.

I am going to break this down into two phases:

• Being found by a prospective employer
• Getting the prospective employer to contact you

Click here to read the entire post.

#8 – Failure Is Not an Option Is Total BS

Those of us who grew up during the race for space are familiar with the phrase, “failure is not an option.” Gene Kranz wrote the book Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. The phrase was immortalized in the movie Apollo 13.

It was ingrained in our entire generation that failure is completely unacceptable.

This belief gets many of us into trouble in our careers. We hang on for too long to failing jobs, careers, or businesses.

I am going to tell you that, in today’s world, this is total BS!

Click here to read the entire post.

#9 – What Skills Will You Use in the 2nd Half of Life?

Have you thought about what kind of skills you want to carry with you into the 2nd half of your life?

Have you thought about the skills you wish to leave behind?

Notice, I said skills and not talents. Do you know the difference between your talents and skills? For an in-depth discussion, please check out my post, Talents versus Skills – Do you know the difference?

A talent is a special ability that comes naturally.

A skill comes from one’s knowledge, practice, or aptitude. A skill is learned.

Do you see the difference?

Typically, we learn skills to either make us employable or to do something we enjoy. We learn skills to make us employable based on market demands. We learn skills to do something we enjoy (think hobby) because we want to learn them. There is a big difference.

Skills that are not based on your innate talents can wear you out if you overuse them.

Click here to read the entire post.

#10 – 4 Things to Do When You Lose Your Job [Guest Post]

Losing your job is a tough pill to swallow. What makes it seem even tougher? Losing your job 20 or 30 years into your career. Since giving up is not an option, the trick is to come up with a game plan. Your game plan should be to turn your job loss into a positive experience instead of a negative one. Need some help? Here are four things to do when you lose your job.

Click here to read the entire post.

What is Next?

In 2016, the Career Pivot website had approximately 200,000 visitors which is a 40% growth over 2015.

You will notice that 3 out of the top 10 posts were guest posts. You will be seeing a guest post every other week from organizations like FlexJobs and JobScan. In addition, you will be seeing posts from people like yourself. If you are interested in submitting an idea for a post please read the Career Pivot Guest Post guidelines carefully. Failure to follow the procedures will get you rejected.

What do you think of this list?

Wait until you see the list of “most found” posts in 2016.

Marc Miller  

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