This month I had the pleasure of shadowing and interviewing someone I consider to be a rock star Millennial Boomer. Bill Vick, entrepreneur, long standing executive with Revlon, Maxx Factor, speaker, writer, recruiter, mentor and the list goes on. At 70ish years young, he’s not only made the decision to embrace this crazy tech world we live in; he's making technology work hard for him! And oh how he does it. His latest venture? A dynamic lifestyle/career website dedicated to Boomers: www.BoomersNextStep.com
I could go on for days about why I wanted to learn more about Bill, but to put it simply, he just plain intrigued me the second he asked “do you want to meet on Skype.com?” He then proceeded to send me a link to his Tungle.me site where I could pull up his calendar in real time and book myself a groovy little time that worked best for both of us. Amazing and impressive to say the least.
“So, tell me what you’re finding out there Bill. You’re a retired head hunter. You know what the world of business demands and you’ve worked with Boomers since forever.” He empathetically replied, “Well it’s defiantly a different climate out there today Patty. Like anyone else that is in today’s workforce, Boomers are looking for stability and want to make sure they can stay employed. In the past, many of these folks have experienced the luck of recruitment right out of college and not had to search very hard to find work. However, today they’re finding themselves faced with an entirely different game. They’re having to keep up with technology to maintain that stability. I talk to people that were used to making $100-200K per year that are happy to find a job for $30,000 simply because of the healthcare benefits! On top of that, they’re beaten down with negative messages of dispair, claiming that Boomers don’t have what it takes to compete in today’s market. It’s just simply not the case. If I can learn the tools, anyone can. The difference between a Boomer and a Millennial Boomer is that the Millennial Boomer is not afraid to ask for the help and seek out solutions,” shares Vick.
Wow. What an amazing amount of truth spilling out all over the place. I couldn’t agree more. How does a Boomer cross that bridge and more important how does a Boomer now communicate with younger generations without feeling inferior? It’s a process and very much a learned skill. Bill believes it starts by embracing where one is TODAY, learning to use one or two of the many tools the Internet has to offer and understanding that it’s not going to happen overnight, but that it can happen!
It’s super exciting to meet and chat with someone that mentors other Boomers, has so much figured out and is willing to share perspective; but that’s not all I discovered in chatting with Bill. As he shared the stories, his concern was not that it’s all soooo big or that it might take time for Boomers to comeback strong. The point he kept alluding towards was not even related to age. It was related to FEAR. The hope that this not become an epidemic of Boomers downgrading themselves purposefully, some to the extent that they leave valuable experience off their resume in order to look more marketable.
In closing I can’t express what a breath of fresh air it was to meet someone that has so much passion for his fellow Boomer. I strongly recommend spending a little time on the BoomersNextStep.com site. To read more about Bill and his amazing Millennial Boomer journey, check out: http://boomersnextstep.com/about-2
Don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts!
Patty - it was a joy and rewarding experience to both interview with you and to get to know you better. I'm so glad you have taken on the job of being the 'Paul Revere' of the Boomer generation and carrying knowledge, wisdom and hope to all of us.
ReplyDeleteGreat points both from Bill and from you. Thanks so much for the post - As a Boomer in a tight market and mom/colleague of Millennial Boomers, these have been huge issues for myself and my own circle. The comment about Fear is spot on and now that I think of it does go both ways, esp in the workforce. A new paradigm would be to cross those chasms with awareness. This worked pretty well during my formative organizing years in the 70's and 80's when the cultural values were focused on inclusion of minorities, women, disabled, gay....perhaps time to apply those principles and gained wisdom to aging and young adults. Maybe that would be one of the great lessons we can pass on. Again, thank you and Bill for the insights.
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