Introducing The Front of the Check

Introducing The Front of the Check,

Front of the Check exists for one reason: to help experienced professionals claim ownership over their income and their future.

Our analogy is simple. The front of a check serves as the legal authorization for transferring funds from a payor's bank account, that would be yours, to a payee, that would be someone who works for you, or to yourself.

For decades, workers were told that loyalty would be rewarded, careers would be protected, and pensions would arrive on schedule. That contract is gone. In its place is volatility, disposable talent, and permanent uncertainty.

Front of the Check teaches a different model.

We believe every person over 50 must become, in some form, self-authorizing. Not reckless. Not isolated. But system-driven. Platform-enabled. Ownership-minded.

When you sign your own paycheck, you change your posture. You stop waiting. You stop asking. You stop hoping institutions will rescue you.

You build assets. You build leverage. You build optionality.

This newsletter exists to help you turn experience into systems, systems into income, and income into independence.

No permission required.

The Resume Isn’t Broken. Hiring Is.

If you’re over 50 and you suddenly feel invisible, here’s the uncomfortable truth:

This isn’t a skills problem. It’s a systems problem.

Modern hiring is optimized for speed, filtering, and risk reduction—not judgment. Experience didn’t lose value. It just stopped fitting neatly into software and snap decisions. It’s only going to get worse.

If you have to do everything in your power to land a “JOB”, no judgement here. We typically need some form of revenue as we build our futures outside of regular employment.

All work is good work. If you’re applying for jobs as an Over50Pro, take advantage of the tips below. Afterall, if you are going to extract some coin from “the man” as you make your way, you may as well do all you can to stand out.

Five Reasons the Resume Is Failing Pros Over 50.

1. The first screen in the application process is a rejection engine.

Most resumes are filtered by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) before a human ever looks. If your experience doesn’t match exact keywords, recent tools, or current titles, you’re often eliminated—regardless of capability.

Depth gets mistaken for misalignment.

2. Recruiters decide in seconds.

Eye-tracking research shows recruiters spend only a few seconds on an initial scan. If your “why me, for this role, right now” story isn’t obvious immediately, you’re out.

This isn’t personal. It’s time scarcity.

3. Age Is easy to infer. (Even When You Don’t Say It)

Graduation dates, early-career roles, long timelines, “30+ years of experience”—all quietly signal age. Resume-audit studies show that when age cues are visible, older candidates receive fewer interviews. When age is removed, outcomes often improve—at least early on.

Bias doesn’t need to be explicit to be effective.

4. “Overqualified” Is code for risk.

“Overqualified” often means: too expensive, too independent, too short a runway. From the employer’s view, it’s risk management. From the worker’s view, it’s a hidden penalty on experience.

5. AI Is making the front door narrower.

Hiring automation is expanding fast. Many workers 50+ worry AI will worsen bias—and they’re not wrong to be concerned. Opaque scoring systems are increasingly shaping who even gets seen. If you don’t learn how to navigate the rejection engine, you won’t get through any gates.

What the data actually says about hiring after 50

This isn’t anecdotal. It’s structural.

Reemployment gets harder with age. Reemployment rates drop sharply after job loss:

Some displaced workers do recover prior pay—but older workers are far more likely to take wage hits when reemployed. Studies show median declines of:

Nearly three-quarters of workers over 50 believe age is a hiring barrier. When perception and data align this closely, it’s not paranoia. It’s pattern recognition.

So do 50+ workers get back to the same pay grade?

The honest answer is, some do, many don’t. Odds worsen with age. Time to a new job takes longer. Wage concessions are more common. Experience still matters but the market now demands faster proof of that experience.

Seven things actually working right now.

Not theory. Tactics.

1) Rebuild the resume for ATS + the 7-Second Scan.

2) Apply where skills matter more than chronology.

Older candidates perform better in processes built around skills tests, work samples, certifications, or portfolios. Avoid companies obsessed with pedigree and timelines.

3) Go referral-first (or don’t go at all).

Automated filters are brutal. Your goal is to route around them.

Target 10–20 companies. Identify hiring managers and adjacent leaders. Reach out with a short message framed around a business problem you solve, not a job request.

4) Prove modern relevance—without pretending you’re 28.

5) Target adjacent roles to preserve pay.

If your old title triggers “too expensive,” pivot sideways:

These moves often protect compensation better than starting over.

6) Run a 30-Day evidence sprint.

7) Use bridge roles as on-ramps.

Contract-to-hire, project roles, and interim positions lower resistance and let performance speak quickly.

It’s being poorly packaged, poorly routed, and poorly signaled in a hiring system built for speed.

The solution isn’t nostalgia. It’s design.

Design for machines. Design for bias. Design for proof.

Then let experience do what it’s always done—deliver outcomes.

I met Nisey in December 2025 through conversations with a variety of Over 50 Pros. 

Nisey Woods is a SAG-AFTRA actress based in Atlanta, GA. Her résumé includes performances in productions like The Vampire Diaries (2009), Open (2020), and Gray Hairs per IMDb. Behind-the-scenes content on her site shows on-set moments, collaborations with other artists, and her perspective on life as a creative. You'll learn much more as you read through the interview. 

Her Backstage history highlights skills including comedy, physical comedy, music production, improv, construction, event management, promo work, and much much more.
Nisey's energy is infectious and her insights and experiences serve to inspire anyone who is seeking to sign the front of the check instead of the back. 

Q: Can you share a bit about how your journey into acting and entertainment began? Are there elements you are still excited about today?

A: Wow, I love this question.  

I grew up thinking I wanted to go to law school (my dad was an attorney, and yes, I  heard a lot of lawyer jokes during my youth…Why don't sharks bite attorneys? Professional courtesy.)  My dad was a good guy who showed me the importance of volunteering and pro bono work.  

The product of divorced parents and living with my dad, I spent a lot of time in his office after school (it was super fun to use the copier and lots of office supplies to make crafts).  And, I quickly learned that I didn’t want to have anything to do with law.  I saw how taxing it was on my dad; how he didn’t get to spend as much time as he wanted playing the piano (he had perfect pitch since age 4 and played like Chopin), or coaching my brother in soccer, or talking with my super intelligent big sister about things I didn’t yet understand, and how there was always that additional family member at the dinner table: the dreaded yellow legal pad.  He worked so hard for his clients, at the expense of family time.  

My next brilliant idea was that I would join the army (my dad was a Lieutenant Colonel in the army, and while living in Germany, was a Judge Advocate General).  I have a natural gift of order.  My dad said I would always organize my toys instead of play with them.  I would have my bed made so well you better believe that coin would bounce right off of it.  

To this day, I’ve only been late once to work, by two minutes, and that was after I changed a flat tire.  My life is labeled and alphabetized.  Perfect army material, right?  When I told my dad I wanted to join, he looked at me with a look I will always remember and can’t begin to describe, and simply said: “No you don’t.”  And that was that.

So, off to University I went, using my academic scholarship (I was the class Valedictorian, which made my dad so proud!) clueless as to what I wanted to do with my life.  Then I saw a class that caught my eye: “Writing For Radio.”  

I took it as it sounded like it would be fun, and I needed a fun class since I had been taking my required courses for two years, just cranking them out.  I enjoyed the class.  Then I saw another class: “Basic Video Editing.”  I took it.  I loved it.  Then “Advanced Video Editing.”  Yep, you guessed it…I was hooked.  

Before you knew it, I was interning at a small local TV station with a Kick Ass (can I say “ass?”) Boss Lady, Byron, who saw my creativity and encouraged the heck out of me.  I was operating cameras, I was editing, I was segment producing, I was hosting, I was doing voice over work, I was technical directing live tv shows, I was doing whatever I wanted to do because Byron believed in me, and then I believed in me.  

I was encouraged to enter some of my edited work into contests, winning them (one little contest you might have heard of earned me an Emmy award while I was still in University).

When I graduated from University (Communications Multi Major with a minor in Technical Communications), I was hired full time, on a freelance basis, at the TV station.  This was like having a copier and office supplies on steroids!  

Being lost and not knowing what to do, well, that is how it all started.  And that’s just the beginning.

Are there elements that I’m still excited about today?  ABSOLUTELY!  ALL OF THE ELEMENTS!  I have been working in the TV & Film industry since 1991.  My own jaw still drops at the thought of the experiences I’ve had because of my unexpected career that I had no idea would bless me so much.  I often catch myself saying “I’m so lucky.  I am so very lucky.”  

The locations I’ve filmed at, the people I’ve worked with, the destinations I’ve traveled to, the sets that I’ve been in…never in my life would I have dreamed that such magical experiences would be part of my life.  And I get paid for that?  Say what?

Q: Your résumé includes TV, film, and on-set work — how did you navigate the transition between different types of performance work?

A: There really isn’t a difference between the different types of performance work, and the crews & equipment are mostly the same.  I am either in front of the camera (or audience, in theater) or behind the camera.  

At the end of the day, the goal is the finished product.  Everything is crafted for audience enjoyment, which is absolutely thrilling to be a part of creating!  

Q: What does being a creative professional over 50 mean to you personally?

A: Growing up, I had Superhuman Women in my life that were my role models: my Great Aunts, my Grandma, my Great Grandma.  Their years of birth range from 1866 – 1912, and they were all over 50 when I was born.  

I was surrounded by these Power House Beings, watching them do incredible things (carpentry, custom dress making for clients, volunteer work, rising in the ranks of the Navy, car repair, shoe making, Michelin Star worthy recipe creation – just to name a few!) all while tending to our large family, managing everything.  

They Were Unstoppable.  They had to be given the time in which they lived – through wars, The Great Depression.  So, to me personally, being a Creative Professional Over 50 is a Tribute To Them, My Heroes.  My first teachers.  My first look into what’s possible, no matter your age.  They all kept going, full throttle, until their death (average age of death: 99).  

Q: Acting and entrepreneurship both require resilience and adaptability. What skills from your acting career have helped you in entrepreneurial or promotional work?

A: “I must be like water, else I snap and break.”  Bruce Lee

Acting requires Authenticity.  Awareness.  Letting Go of The Self, of The Ego.  I have worked so hard on auditions over the years.  The formula is: every 100 auditions results in 10 callbacks, and from that, 1 booking.

Countless times I’ve heard the silent word “No” (a lot of actors take that as rejection).  I look at it as excitement as that means the Director found the perfect person to execute their vision, and that is to be celebrated!  

When I’m doing promo work, there are a lot of people that say “No” to sampling the product that I’m demoing, or to making a purchase.  Again, another celebration as people know what they prefer, and have the confidence in sticking to it!  

I never take it personally as I too have my own preferences (sourdough bread over French bread always!).  There are 8.4 billion people on the planet – is it really worth it to take it personally when a few of them say “No?”

Q:  As someone with a diverse set of skills (e.g., improv, music, comedy, construction, sales), how do you decide what opportunities to pursue next?

A: “The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing.”  Jim Kwik, Brain Coach & author.

My health and that of my doggie boy Cobi are the most important thing.  My body is the only home I have to live in, so without it, I am of no good.

I recently started my own business, Build & Bloom LLC to build single family homes with integrity, in Georgia.  My business grew out of my love of construction, which I’ve had since I was a little girl.  I thank my mom for all those trips to the hardware store, and showing me how to do things like sweat weld, electrical repair, pouring concrete, framing.  
There wasn’t anything my mom couldn’t do!  I have completed 3 full rehabs, including my home in which I currently live, and which has been used as a location for TV, movies and music videos (super cool, and makes me proud!).  I often have flashbacks to my childhood where my mom is rockin’ some amazing tool, and then Voilà, something stunning emerges.

I get such a charge, creatively, when I get to work on construction projects (I often stop at other construction sites as I just can’t help myself; I drool).  Building a home is like creating an amazing piece of art, living art, in which families can thrive!

I also continue with my acting & music gigs, my promotional work, and my volunteering. All of this is important to me.  There is Invisible Teamwork happening, constantly, that I benefit from.  

What I mean is, there are literally a zillion things happening every moment that have nothing to do with me, yet everything to do with me.  They are out of my control and yet play an important role in what opportunities I pursue next.  

For example, I might apply for an acting gig or a promotional gig that has moved me in some way, be it the character or the product.  I might not get any of the gigs, and then another opportunity will pop up that will come to fruition.  

I trust that All Is In Divine Order; that what is for My Highest & Best Good will happen.  I lean into my Buddhist Faith and don’t get attached to any outcome.  As singer Jelly Roll so beautifully sings in his song ‘Son of a Sinner:’  “I took the rearview off of this old Ford so I only see in front of me.”  Keep it moving baby.  Keep it moving.

Q: Do you think age brings an advantage in creative work? If so, how?

A: YES!  Something rooted deeply in me switched when I turned 50, almost 5 years ago.  Something amazing, beyond expressible.  It was as if I became a Jedi (noble order of Peacekeepers in Star Wars), a fox (widely regarded with intelligence, and adaptability; known for being strategic, foxes use these traits to thrive in diverse environments) and part Mother Nature, who to me, is the most Creative of All.  Author Michael Singer said: “If you keep letting go of who you’re not, you will end up who you are.”  

So, I am JediFoxMotherNature, not giving a toot about what others think (please understand that I intend for this to be polite and encouraging, not crass).  

Age has taught me to continue to color outside the lines as it Frees My Soul.

Q: What’s one belief you’d tell other professionals over 50 to let go of?

A: The belief that you have nothing to offer.  All of us over 50 have POWERFUL VOICES that NEED TO BE HEARD!  Don’t you dare silence yourself.  Take a look at your life with the wonderment & curiosity of a child, and then you will truly see how Phenomenal You Are.  Others are lucky to be in your presence.  Give of yourself freely.

Q:  If you could share one defining piece of wisdom with the Over50Pros community, what would it be?

A: BEING OVER 50 IS A SUPERPOWER!  Actress Kathy Bates stars in the TV series Matlock.

These lines said by her character Matty sum it up: “You see, there’s this funny thing that happens when we women age. We become damn near invisible.  People assume I’m a harmless old lady.  It’s useful.  Nobody sees us coming.”  

Share who you are with the World.  You have incredible insight that ONLY YOU CAN OFFER!  Your knowledge is worth more than gold, so get out there and share it.  Google has nothing on you.  You Rock.

Q: Is there a legacy you hope to leave — either through your art, your mentoring, or your professional journey?

A: The earth has been around for 4.54 billion years.  I’ll be on it for around 99 years.  I keep it in perspective.  So my legacy that I hope to leave is more of a daily legacy, and that is to shower people with Sunshine.  Bring about Smiles and Love.  That’s it.

Learn more about Nisey and her work with Build and Bloom and other cool projects below. A Build and Bloom Site is forthcoming and will be shared in upcoming editions!
https://www.niseywoods.com and https://www.theyellowhouseatlanta.com.

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Final Thoughts

Thank you to those 82 job application rejections back when I was 52. I had been self-employed in a couple of previous lives but after a divorce and a reboot, I needed some near term stability. Your rejections fueled me to never loose sight of my own agency. I sign the front of the check now and have for a good while. Adopt this attitude for yourself if you’ve not done so. Reach out for resources from us at Over50Pros. Connect with us via our Second Act Clarity Check. It’s a useful tool and you’ll get an invite to our Second Act Sessions, our twice monthly virtual meeting of minds. We discuss topics all related to your taking control of you life.

Until next time,

Experience Leads to Outcomes