Employers are gearing up after the summer slowdown, putting new projects into place, and hiring. They need employees to fill positions and carry out their plans—so don’t let this important time pass you by!

I know the news is bad and especially discouraging for older applicants. However, you need to realize that the statistics the articles quote do not take into account how YOU are conducting your search: how many hours a day you devote to looking for work, how you’re going about your search, how qualified you are, and who is in your network.

Please take best advantage of this special time of year and arm yourself with the latest and most effective ways to make your mark. I’m happy to say that I’ve recently revised my book, Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50 and added even more helpful tips and tools to get you on the path to your next position.

This truly is your time to shine, so get prepared, learn the best ways to navigate today’s competitive market, and let them know all the wonderful skills and attributes a jobseeker with maturity can bring. You just need to learn the ways to present yourself as the WINNER you are. Please take the brief 15 minutes and listen to this interview where I share tips and techniques to put you on the fast track to success!

Summer is perhaps my favorite season. But, of late, I’ve experienced my fair share of trepidation about what to wear. When a certain level of camouflage is the obvious choice these days, it’s difficult to know how dress for the heat while cleverly covering the fleshier parts of my anatomy. Unfortunately, for me, “letting it all hang out” is no longer an option.

However I may be in the growing minority of older women who feel that way. I just came across an article with amazing photos of three 50+ bikini-clad women. According to the piece, more and more midlife women are ditching the staid and modestly demure one-piece for the saucy two-piece variety—so much so that fashionistas are dubbing this cheeky garb, “grankini!”

Two of the skimpily attired women pictured, Jerry Hall and Kim Catrall, both 54, looked great. But the third model was the hottest of all. At 65, the stunning Helen Mirren, clad in a jaw-dropping red grankini, left the others pounding sand.  The sight of her abs alone had me curtail my planned trip to the fridge and drop to the ground for several long overdue crunches.

Just as I was coming up for air, however, I remembered it’s late August and summer is almost over. Although I always hate to see the season of sun and fun pass by, that leaves me an entire nine months to crunch my muffin-top to smithereens.

So move over, Helen, there’ll be a brand new grankini on the beach next year. Or maybe not—maybe I’ll start a new fashion trend in 2011 that’s much more doable. Anyone out there up for “Big Mama Muumuus?”

When the ball in Times Square drops this year signaling the start of 2011, the first of our generation officially become senior citizens. Sixty-five! YIKES!

No doubt about it, this particular birthday can blow your mind and challenge the very essence of your flower power. In truth, I’ve already had to face up to wrinkles, blotches, puckers and the like—not to mention that doggone muffin-top—staring back at me each time I have the courage to peer into a mirror. Yet I do realize that age is just a number… but sixty-five—that’s a doozey!

Nevertheless, I’m always proud of stating that we boomers are revolutionizing the spirit and style of aging and it suddenly occurred to me we have real life examples of this. So let’s take a look at just a few of the amazing boomer women who’ll be celebrating their sixty-fifth in 2011. Check out what sixty-five looks like now:

Candice Bergen (May 9, 1946)

Cher (May 26, 1946)

Patti Duke (Dec. 14, 1946)

Sally Field (November 6, 1946)

Diane Keaton (January 5, 1946)

Dolly Parton (January 19, 1946)

Susan Sarandon (October 4, 1946)

These women were all drawn from Hollywood and the stage and, yes, they’ve undoubtedly enjoyed their share of rejuvenating treatments, wrinkle minimizing facials, and air-brushed photos. But still and all, they do represent our fabulous and feisty forever-young spirit. So, just like we’ve revolutionized every aspect of the culture that doesn’t suit our liking, here we go again: Watch out world! Sixty-five is gettin’ groovy. Far out!

In fact, if you’re an older applicant and are looking for a job, the best time to be doing so is right  NOW! Early fall is one of the two strongest hiring periods of the year. Companies large and small gear up after the summer slowdown and start putting new ventures and projects into place. This  means bringing on new managers, supervisors, individual contributors, and general employees to see these projects through.

So, if you want and need a job, don’t make the critical mistake older applicants often do and try to sell yourself on a resume and in an interview the way it worked 20 years ago. Believe me, it won’t work in today’s competitive market!

You’ve got to be current, confident, and well prepared and I’ve got a few ways that I know will help. My newly revised book, Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50, has even more insider tips and techniques to make you shine as the candidate of choice. Please take a moment to check it out.

Also, if you want or need immediate help, take a look at my E-book, The Baby Boomers’ Survival Guide to Finding Work Fast. For the price of a cup of coffee and a doughnut, you’ll have the winning tools that will set you up with what you need.

For those who want some personal help and coaching, I’ve joined forces with Life Coach and owner of Soul Purpose to Prosperity, Christine Laureano, to present a 3-day mini-teleclass series starting Tuesday, August 24th. Transition to Success: Midlife Tools for Career and Life Empowerment is certain to help you overcome blocks and fears, reignite your passion for work, and turbocharge your job search. Take a look here.

Don’t let this critical time pass you by. Most jobseekers don’t start really looking until after Labor Day. Right now your competition levels are low and, if you learn the ways to present yourself as the valuable candidate you are, you’ll find yourself first in line for that new position. So get ready, get set, and go!

But, after patting ourselves on the back, we need to recognize there were some pretty amazing women who led the charge decades before we were born. The last weeks of August mark the anniversary of their greatest and most triumphant accomplishment—Women’s Suffrage.

Every grammar school student knows our country was founded on the assurance of freedom and the pursuit of happiness for every citizen. Well—to be more specific—every white, male citizen! As foundational and inalienable as these rights were, such triumphs of democracy were reserved for men and men alone. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as a number of countries in the newly industrialized world were moving toward a more democratic means of government, women were consistently, deliberately, and without remorse or doubt, denied their human rights. Male leaders, themselves freely elected by their peers, barred women from governing bodies and legally denied them their right to vote. In fact, the United States had celebrated its 144^th birthday before its female citizens could cast a single ballot of their own.

The brave, spirited, and tenacious suffragettes fought valiantly to achieve this long overdue right. They bore verbal abuse, physical attack, starvation, and imprisonment in service to their cause. And, thanks to their amazing efforts, the Nineteenth Amendment granting voting rights to women was finally passed in June of 1918. However, for the amendment to become law, a minimum of thirty-six states was required to ratify it. Tennessee became the final state to do so on August 26, 1920.

Legislator Henry Burn, then twenty-four, cast the deciding vote.  He had not intended to vote for the amendment but had received a note the previous evening from his mother. She told him in no uncertain terms to “vote for suffrage.” As a respectful son, he complied and explained: “I changed my vote in favor of ratification because a mother’s advice is always safest for her boy to follow.”

So happy 90^th birthday Nineteenth Amendment! And many happy returns of the day! As Hillary Clinton said while running for President, “My mother was born before women had the right to vote, but my daughter was able to vote for her own mother for President.” Quite an accomplishment for ninety years, I gotta say! And one huge, albeit belated: “Thank you, Mrs. Burn—you deed indeed raise one fine son!”

Yet, now that we’re past fifty, friendship and a sense of community with likeminded women holds even greater meaning. Aging can bring with it a shrinking world: we may no longer be working and feel the loss of day-to-day communication; we might live on the opposite side of the country from our dearest family members and mourn the physical closeness we yearn for; and we may lack the social resources that once gave our lives richness and depth.

Viola! Enter The Transition Network. This nationwide organization was founded to fill the void that many of us feel as we move beyond our initial careers and seek to find fulfillment elsewhere. Their Mission is to provide “a community for women over 50, who join forces as they navigate the transition from one career to another—or whatever is next.”

And, true to the boomer trailblazing spirit, The Transition Network defines itself as a “movement”—a national movement of engaged and energetic women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who together will:

• DISCOVER new perspectives and opportunities
• IMPACT their lives and their communities
• ADVOCATE with a collective and powerful voice

Talk about a feisty spirit! I’ve recently become a member of TTN and look forward to interacting with women my own age who understand the issues and concerns I’m facing at this time in my life. And, making things even more exciting, I just had the pleasure of interviewing the inspiring speaker and “encore career role model,” Betsy Werley, who also happens to be the Executive Director of The Transition Network.

I invite you to spend the brief fifteen minutes to listen to what Betsy has to say. You’ll come away from the experience with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence in all you can accomplish during this rich and fertile time in your life.

Also, be certain to check out the website for The Transition Network. With a few new friends on your side, a bit of information and support, and the inherent power found within a group of menopausal women on a mission, you’ll be feeling feisty for sure!

Special Event: I’m joining forces with the National Association of Baby Boomer Women to present a special Teleseminar, How to Land the Job You Love on Thursday, Aug. 12th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. If you or a boomer friend are looking for work, please sign up and attend. There is absolutely no charge and we’ll be covering the critical tools and techniques that will jumpstart your search and help you maximize your opportunities in today’s competitive market. The last 10 minutes will be open for Q & A–so think of the special answers you need to know and plan on attending. Sign up here!

Now, she’s taking her work one step further and has gathered together several of the nation’s top experts in the health and wellness field to present a one-of-a-kind teleseries. The programs, although varied, are each packed with information that will have you feeling and looking great in no time. And, the series is FREE!

The topics Greg’s experts will cover run the gamut from bone and heart health, to finding and sustaining inner peace, to that all-too-common bugaboo at midlife: taming the muffin top and halting the hips from unrestrained expansion.

At 3:00 p.m. ET on nearly every weekday in September, you’ll be treated to the best, most cutting-edge information the industry has to offer—and it’s all focused on the needs of us gals on the far side of fifty. In fact, Greg’s named her broadcasts the “Midlife Women’s Mind and Body Experts Teleseries.”

Moreover, these folks truly know whereof they speak. Greg has gathered together an amazing group of well-known specialists including nutrition experts, master teachers, life coaches, authors and more.

Take a look at the website. There’s a WIIFY (what’s in it for me?) page, a “Meet the Experts” page, a Series Schedule, and a FAQs page. Greg’s laid it all out so you can make the most of the information her panel will share. Also, if you have a conflict and need to miss a call, you can listen to the session for up to 48 hours after airing. Better yet, you can upgrade to VIP status, get recordings of all the calls, and an added super plus: additional phone time with Greg. This will ensure you can implement all the wonderful tools and tips you’ll learn and truly transform your health and wellbeing.

So give yourself a very special gift that will keep on giving and sign up. As Greg puts it, this series will “fire you up and give you the goods to rock the second half of your life!”

But there’s a fresh (um, actually mature) role model on the scene and she’s showing us an even greater lesson: 80 is now the new eighty. Maybe it’s her dimples or perhaps it’s the ever-present twinkle in her eye, but Betty White has become the pin-up girl for the Wrinkled Revolution. And, speaking of fresh, this gal has got some mouth on her! Did you catch her Saturday Night Live appearance?

Although her life has not always been easy (she lost her beloved husband, Alan Ludden, back in 1981 and never remarried), Betty White is showing us the art of aging without losing the spark and sparkle of youth. Her mind remains cuttingly clever and she’s not afraid of delivering a bawdy retort when interviewers give her any opening to inject that famous sense of humor. This lady is still taking risks, still making waves, and still enjoying life to the fullest. In fact, in just a couple of years, Betty will be showing us how to be a cheeky old broad at ninety!

So here’s to the woman who’s provided us countless laughs and many great moments for more than half a century: may her star continue to shine as she shows us the way to the Feisty Side of 100. If anyone can make her centenarian years sexy and fun, it’s gotta be Betty!

Now we’re facing a similar dilemma. Many of the so-called experts are touting the miraculous properties of bio-identical hormones. Are these hormones safe? Are they the “natural way” to health and wellbeing after the change? Are they for YOU?

As is the case with so many of the supplements, food additives, and medicines we take, there are a ton of differing opinions on the matter. Thankfully, Staness Jonekos and Dr. Wendy Klein have joined forces to write the definitive book on menopause entitled: The Menopause Makeover: The Ultimate Guide to Taking Control of Your Health and Beauty During Menopause.

Their areas of expertise meshed perfectly to write the book because Staness is an award-winning television writer, producer and director who helped to launch Oprah Winfrey’s television network, Oxygen Media. She also co-executive produced the inaugural season of Celebrity Fit Club. But, most of all, she had her own significant struggles with the change of life and chronicles her journey from feeling overweight, down, and desperate to feeling better than ever before. Dr. Klein is a national leader in women’s health and an Associate Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Please give yourself the gift of listening to our broadcast on Blog Talk Radio. I promise you’ll learn the truth behind hormones, what the science is showing to be the best way to take them, and the lifestyle changes you can make that will have you feeling fabulous in no time!

Also, be sure and check out the Menopause Makeover. It’s packed with all the information you’ll need to make the right decisions for yourself. And, there’s a step-by-step action plan so you can’t lose! (Actually, you will lose—things like unwanted weight, mood swings, hot flashes and lots of other less than fun aspects of the change!)

You can find out more about the book and the amazing results of the Menopause Makeover by checking out their website. After all, it’s tough to feel feisty when you’re feeling dumpy, grumpy, itchy, and hot—so get going—the Menopause Makeover will have you fit and feisty in just 12 weeks!

I don’t want to sugarcoat things too much or discount the difficulties inherent to finding work these days, but I call much of this doom and gloom just plain “overblown, exaggerated hooey!” The media knows bad news sells so that’s just what they spin: bad news on just about everything. Moreover, the figures they cite are drawn from generalities and take no account of the personal drive, and energy an individual puts into his/her job search. Adding to that, if you focus your search on industries and companies who welcome the experience and mature skill set you bring (and there are plenty of them out there), you’re far more likely to be successful.

It’s true that it may take longer to find a job in a tight market—especially if you’re of a certain age. Nevertheless, if you arm yourself with the techniques and strategies that work, you can’t help but set yourself apart from the crowd and get your name in front of key decision-makers. After that, you just need to present yourself as the problem solver they’re seeking. Actually, all of this is not so terribly difficult once you learn how.

My book, Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50, is packed with the insider tips and tricks I’ve learned over my twenty years as a career consultant/job search specialist. I KNOW from my experience that these techniques do work and they’ll save you time, money, and loads of frustration.

Right now, I’m revising the book to add even more cutting edge information. But the bad news is that the book will not be available on Amazon for several days while it’s being updated.

However, for those of you who are in a career crisis and want to find the most direct and immediate route to your next job, I’m now making an E-book available. For a limited time, the Baby Boomers’ Survival Guide to Finding Work Fast can be downloaded by clicking this link. It has all the information you’ll need to make yourself THE candidate of choice. So take a moment and check it out. Remember, summer is one of the very best times to look for a job: so get yourself armed with the essential tools and strategies you’ll need, prepare to shine, and expect success!