Monday 30 April 2012

Over To You

I would really appreciate so much if you could spare the time to help me with this blog,,,,as you will be aware it is about the issues surrounding older people trying to get jobs, but also deals with the issues which can arise when we are unemployed, lack of money, loss of social life and the feelings of depression and isolation.

I would really appreciate it if any readers would write an article for the blog, or just make some comments if they have experience of these issues, and indeed how they went about coping, or hopefully solving the problems...and perhaps being successful in getting a job.

Also, help and advice re the blog and help to develop my technical skills would be great and so much appreciated

Thank you so much

Valerie


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Career Sucess - Jobs Over 50 - Tips on Searching For Jobs for Over 50s by Jared D. Ingram

Career Sucess - Jobs Over 50 - Tips on Searching For Jobs for Over 50s by Jared D. Ingram

I believe this is written for the USA job market as it refers to resumes rather than a CV, however, I still found the article very informative and helpful



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Just A Thought

" He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."Muhammad Ali, Boxing champion



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Sunday 29 April 2012

Sunday..... Sunday Sunday by Blur

Sunday, Sunday, here again in tidy attire
You read the color supplement, the TV guide
You dream of protein on a plate
Regret you left it quite so late
To gather the family round the table to eat enough to sleep
Oh, the Sunday sleep

Sunday, Sunday here again, a walk in the park
You meet an old soldier and talk of the past
He fought for us in two world wars
And says the England he knew is no more
He sings the Songs of Praise every week but always falls asleep
For the Sunday sleep

You dream of protein on a plate
Regret you left it quite so late
To gather the family round the table to eat enough to sleep
And Mother's Pride is your epithet
That extra slice you will soon regret
So going out is your best bet
Then bingo yourself to sleep
Oh, the Sunday sleep


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Museums online.....

Many museums and art galleries including those around the world,which you may not normally ever get to see are now online and simply searching Google for museums online will take you to lots of them where you can have a virtual tour and discover some hidden gems you didn't know about...some museums are still free to visit... but if not then enjoy a virtual tour and learn something !!The Foundling Museum tells the story of Britain's first home for abandoned children....


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When I was a child I remember my Dad spending hours painting by numbers !! he was never going to be a great artist without the help of the painting by numbers kits, but they seemed to be great stress busters and were duly put up on the wall when he had finished. Not so long ago I found a sort of modern day alternative...grown up colouring pages for adults...also very relaxing stress busters and let you create a work of art even when like me you can't draw !!

Again, just Google Colouring pages for adults ..Squidoo at http://www.squidoo.com/adultcoloring has loads of links, although some of them seem a bit vague and don't always click, even so its a huge site and you will find loads of colouring pages if you fancy that for a wet Sunday...

Also try the lovely site Colouring- pages- for- all- ages.com

Adult Coloring Pages


Blur - Sunday Sunday

Saturday 28 April 2012

Love and Friends Search Friends Get New Friends Friendship Dating Site

Love and Friends Search Friends Get New Friends Friendship Dating Site

Its really important when you are not working to keep in contact with people and have social connections. Some of your friendships may change because of the difference in your incomes and your ability to stay in contact witht them visit and go out etc , and you might lose contact with old work friends. This looks a really good site and you can get started for free....






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Can't Bring Yourself to Throw it Out?

Can't Bring Yourself to Throw it Out?: Can't Bring Yourself to Throw it Out?

When you are job hunting and just might start work suddenly at any time it really helps to try to stay organised and on top of your stuff and clutter..... a job for the weekend, especially if it looks like being a wet one !!



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Friday 27 April 2012

50 Creative, Cheap Ways to Have Fun...Something for the weekend ! !


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50 Creative, Cheap Ways to Have Fun


This is a repeat of one  of my earlier postings , but expanded a bit to suggest some things to do to make the weekend special even with little or no money. One of the problems about not working is that it can seem that all the days feel the same and the weekend stops being different and special, because there is little change in routine...quite a few of the ideas here are really geared to children and families, but that's great because with more and more families unable to afford holidays, ways to amuse children and keep them off the computer and away from the telly are really welcome...The modern scavenger hunt using technology sounds fun , and the sort  of thing that groups like the Girl Guides and Cubs are now doing, to appeal to modern youngsters...

Saturday night frequently does not offer much on the telly and so I would recommend the idea of a home movie night with friends, where you choose the movies from DVDs that you already have, and instead of sending out for a really expensive pizza delivery, buy pizzas instead from the supermarket, some chicken nuggets and garlic bread etc for a fraction of the cost of a delivery service...or .if the weather holds have a barbeque.....

Another fun idea is the open mike night, which is really just a fun night in with your friends , maybe the neighbours, singing, reading poetry etc and you an do quite cheap pub style food..cheaper still if everyone brings a dish, eg a bowl of chilli, jacket potatoes etc

Something often overlooked these days with our constant access to TV and computers is the fun we had playing board games when we were younger...Scrabble, Monopoly, etc...and again you can have a break for food.

Swap blogs with your friends, family etc...and get some different content, and perhaps new ideas and techniques for your blogs or websites ...

Check out your local library, where there is often lots of things going on besides borrowing books



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Just A Thought


'I knew that whatever I set my mind to do. I could do.'

Wilma Rudolph, Track star and Olympic gold medalist 



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(Please note this is NOT an image of  Wilma Rudolph, but I do think whoever she is looks pleased with herself !!)

Thursday 26 April 2012

50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First | Online College Tips – Online Colleges

50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First | Online College Tips – Online Colleges

....just goes to show that success can come after lots of failure, hard work, waiting and that it can indeed come to us at a later age...

work quotes | Quotations at Dictionary.com

work quotes | Quotations at Dictionary.com  inspirational quotes and thoughts for the day about...work !!

 Work is and always has been my salvation and I thank the Lord for it.

Louisa May Alcott... Author of Little Women

 


Wednesday 25 April 2012

Study suggests being optimistic is heart healthy | CTV News

Study suggests being optimistic is heart healthy | CTV News

Just A Thought

Optimism ? Well, its a state of mind that lots of people talk about but not quite so easy to stick to !!Some people even think it helps people to recover from illness, salespeople are encouraged to practice it in their manner when trying to close a deal , lots of people read things just like I am putting on my blog..daily inspirations..somehow or other, at some, time we have all experienced the benefits of being positive...

Looking on the bright side can help to at least make things a bit better...if you are out of work, think of the opportunities it can give to use your time to do things and learn new skills while making yourself employable....just a few years ago I was the most reluctant Facebook user, and only joined because my friends said I must, and now here I am learning how to blog and hopefully to turn it into a business..all because I have discovered a talent for writing and marketing.

I have had a life that would hardly encourage optimism, and yet I think it is a personal choice, to be optimistic or not. How we think about the world and the people we meet in it, and how we relate  can often influence what we get back...

How can we become optimistic ?...I'm certainly not saying it is easy, and many people have lives which would defy the most cheerful thinker, but the thing abut being optimistic is that we can almost learn it while we are doing our daily things and not have to make special time for it..so the next time we fill in a job application, or send off that CV....

...I have learned this  at least by my experiment that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours....

Henry David Thoreau

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Just A Thought

Change can be a really scary and challenging thing , especially when we thought we were secure in a job, and with the loss of it comes all sorts of other huge worries, like paying bills and whether or not we can afford our housing.....
We need to hold tightly to hope and remember that 'When one door closes another one opens'..there can be new beginnings and a bright successful future.

Electric Light Orchestra Hold On Tight Lyrics..hold on tight to your dreams...


Hold on tight to your dream
Hold on tight to your dream
When you see your ship go sailing
When you feel your heart is breaking
Hold tight to your dream.

It's a long time to be gone
Time just rolls on and on
When you need a shoulder to cry on
 when you get so sick of trying
 Just hold tight to your dream
[CHORUS:]
When you get so down that you can't get up
And you want so much but you're all out of luck
When you're so downhearted and misunderstood
  just over & over & over you could

  Accroches-toi a ton reve
Accroches-toi a ton reve
Quand tu vois ton bateau partir
Quand tu sents -- ton coeur se briser
Accroches-toi a ton reve.

[REPEAT CHORUS]

Hold on tight to your dream
Hold on tight to your dream
When you see the shadows falling

When you hear that cold wind calling

Hold on tight to your dream.

Oh, yeah
Hold on tight to your dream
Yeah, hold on tight...
To your dream. 



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Monday 23 April 2012

Just A Thought

Learn the wisdom
of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break.

-H G Wells


 So important to learn this when in the world of looking for a job when you are over fifty !!




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Sunday 22 April 2012

The unexpected psychological effects of unemployment

The unexpected psychological effects of unemployment

This article is written from a Spanish perspective, however, it is still an excellent and relevant article showing great insight into the psychological effects of unemployment.










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    50 Creative, Cheap Ways to Have Fun

    50 Creative, Cheap Ways to Have Fun
                                                                                 

    From Tiny Buddha...Simple wisdom for complex lives...Life is certainly complex when you are not working with all the complications that come from being seen to be unemployed and the accompanying financial pressures. I think of God as being God by whatever name you know him so simple wisdom from Buddha  is fine by me...
    “Never let lack of money interfere with having fun.” ~Unknown




    When I was young it really did seem that summer holiday days went on and on, and how I hated going to bed in the daylight !! The thing is that everywhere seemed safe and we played out in the street, and roamed the local common...Wandsworth common, and went to the library ( so many of which have seen closure due to the current governments cuts ) and none of it seemed to need any money..other than for the ice cream man !!




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    My first blog post...here goes

    Well, here goes !! my first blog entry written on a Sunday afternoon. I don't know about you but I find that one of the problems about the weekend when you are not working and have little money is finding ways to still make it feel special in the way that the weekend is special when you are at work. My first posts are going to be some ideas and good things I found with tips on things to do and places to go that are cheap..or even free...its important to have fun and keep interested in things, and it helps also to keep connections open which maybe lead to that job !!..keep interested....