Is my glass half empty or half full? I AM GRATEFUL to be in a healthy enough position where I can still actively pursue a new job but on the other hand, FUCK! Why I am looking for work again at 67! We have been approaching this cliff for some time-we had three real estate deals under contract and were all but finished when-POOF! Gone! The money we kept spending was based on projected income, not cash in hand, so now we scramble. You would think after as many times down this same road we would learn, but apparently not. Optimism is always a good thing but the reality of the current housing market doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. The media (my real estate network, which tries to be as positive as possible) feel it will likely be 60-90 days before things settle down. Reminds me of the early Covid cure forecasts. In June 2020, we were told it would be better by fall, if not at least by the holidays…. yeah, right.

I had anticipated this might happen. I had no interest in attempting to re-enter my previous career so after updating my profile on LinkedIn recently, I included that I was “Open” to the position of Property Manager. I felt this similar enough to my current profession to make sense, whether I got any hits or not remained to be seen. Almost immediately I started getting alerts. At first, I didn’t need it so I reviewed a few, some I glanced at and the others were ignored and deleted. Today, I noticed they were all full-time. My preference was part-time but I never checked that box.

I sighed and realized I needed more than checking a box on LinkedIn.. It is time for Indeed. I see the commercials. My son uses them often; seem to be the only decent source for potential employees he says. I log on and create a basic profile. Easy enough to navigate and start completing available “skills” I can include on my profile. Later, as I type the position I am interested in into the search bar, it begins to auto-populate. Property manager etc…… Depending on my choice, jobs begin appearing on the right of the screen. I dig through to see what is available. As I continue scrolling through the offers I realize I need to post a resume or what, if any, offers I see will be limited by my lack of relevant information.. I don’t recall ever needing one. I did create one on LinkedIn years ago for work as a consultant but not for a job. Needing a template, Word was my first (and only) stop. I find lots of choices, many with pops of color and a wide variety of graphics. I choose the simplest one I see. Being in the workforce since I had a paper route at twelve, it was surprisingly intimidating. To distill your entire adult life onto a single sheet of paper was hard. I have benefited from years of experience and countless classes and training programs but lack much post-secondary education. No degrees or doctorates here, only certificates signifying a broad and diverse life-that finds itself needing money at 67.

P.S I always worked hard and made decent money. I bought life insurance. I invested heavily in company stock programs and 401K whenever available and if we hadn’t spent it moving or bailing out poor financial decisions, we would be pretty comfortable right now. But we also wouldn’t have had the amazing life experiences either, so I call it a fair trade. Besides, nothing I can do about it now. What I would caution my 30-year-old self is quite simple though. Is spending your savings a life or death matter or just for more material goods? Like gambling, only spend what you can afford to lose. Buying a “Dream” toy that you finance for 15-years and only use four or five times is not frivolous, it is just plain stupid. Live within your means and if you are fortunate enough to own your own business hire people than will tell you no when it needs to be said. Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you deserve everything you want. If you do need it, buy the best you can afford and enjoy every minute of it.