Elliot publishes 5th ebook
Former Princeton newspaper publisher offers help Surviving Midlife Career Changes
The second page of former Similkameen News Leader owner/publisher George Elliott’s fifth ebook says it all.
“We were really just trying to make lemonade as things got difficult with the paper without realizing we already had the lemons sitting there waiting.”
The lemons he was referring to were two part-time ventures he and his wife, Brenda, had started two years earlier.
“I started a home-based freelance writing business in January 2014 as a way to supplement my income when things got slow with the paper,” Elliott said. His wife started a home-canning business featuring specialty jellies and salsas at roughly the same time.
The closure of the Princetonbased weekly in July 2016 forced the pair to look at their options — without realizing they already had the solution quietly chugging along in the background.
Their story became the foundation of Elliott’s ebook Surviving Midlife Career Changes.
“The ebook idea was an afterthought, he said.
“I found myself in a conversation with a local job coach at a social gathering. We talked about the changes Brenda and I were going through as the paper was shutting down and the conversation shifted to how little information exists on those 55-plus making career changes late in their lives.”
Elliott said the idea for his ebook came from that moment.
“I remember saying something about that being an idea for another ebook, but left it at that as we were still going through our third quarter transition — as it is called.”
Once Elliott began writing full-time at home with a handful of regular freelance clients, he was able to start working on the ebook.
“The interesting thing I discovered was that it is not uncommon for many of us 55 and older to virtually start over by doing something completely different for a career.”
He said that stats show the highest number of new — and successful — entrepreneurs is coming from the over-50 age group. Plus, many Canadians reaching their 50s are nowhere near their retirement goals and resort to working longer in order to be able to afford a comfortable retirement.
These are things his ebook looks at, as well as offering strategies for mature workers re-entering the workforce. There are tips on how to handle a job interview and what to put in and leave out of a resume.
“While a mature worker has tons of experience and dedication, job interviews are usually conducted by someone much younger — and that creates an intimidation factor,” Elliott said.
“Also, I can put on my resume that I currently have 38 years of marketing experience through my working years. While that may sound impressive to some, for a younger HR person reading it all it does is says I’m old, which could eliminate me from the race for that job.”
Elliott’s ebook unlocks the mystery of how to get around these hurdles as well as breaks down the list of transferable skills that a senior worker has and how they can come into play in the job interview and new workplace.
“The funny thing I learned about being 55-plus myself was that I have much more value in the workforce than I thought I had, and the same goes for everyone else in my age group. We are actually a sought-after demographic for various reasons in today’s marketplace.”
While he admits his situation is different from that of the average person, after researching the content he used for his ebook Elliott is confident it will inspire and encourage anyone changing careers late in life.
“The numbers actually are in favour of the 55-plus crowd in finding new jobs or succeeding at starting new businesses,” he said.
“That alone made me realize that message had to be the main part of the ebook.”
To find out more about Surviving Midlife Career Changes, visit Elliott’s website at www.MidlifeCareerChanges.com where he has a blog and details on how you can order a copy of the ebook via Amazon.