From fitness trainer to Facebook intern: The transformation of a 60-year-old [Podcast]

From fitness trainer to Facebook intern

Description:

In this episode, I speak to Howard Waldstreicher. He is the author of Facebook’s oldest intern: How a 60-year-old fitness trainer reinvented himself with the most unlikely companies. This is a fascinating story of how Howard, who was totally caught up in the pandemic as a gym owner and fitness trainer, pulled himself together, resumed a previous career and was hired on Facebook at the age of 60.

This is how Howard describes himself on his Amazon author page.

Call him what you will – a horsefly, a shortie, or a squeaky-voiced Texas cowboy. But I had a great time working for Ross Perot.

At the age of 26, this Queens-born boy got his first real job as a computer programmer for Perot’s Electronic Data Systems in Plano, Texas. I liked the structure and the dress code: wingtips, blue and gray suits, short haircuts, and conservative ties. In fact, if you dared to visit the bathroom without your jacket, that was grounds for termination.

Nowadays it’s a little different. At 60 (now 61) I stumble out of bed, put on a pair of sweatpants and saunter over to my desk. Nobody cares if I’ve brushed my hair or showered or if I’m wearing pants. After all, I work at Facebook.

Wait, it’s meta now. At least that’s what millennials tell me. They have helped me with many things that I don’t know as I am the oldest employee in the office, definitely in the top three.

The thing is, despite the fact that it’s the alter universe of Perot’s clean company, I absolutely love it.

I got the job after a 20-year hiatus from the information technology world of running a fitness center, teaching tennis, and having a family. So I not only left my field, but also the world of having to answer to a boss – at all. My adult children thought my new appearance was cool. No other employer would even approach me for a job at my age.

This episode is sponsored by Career Pivot. Visit the career pivot community, and be sure to pick up my latest book, Reshape Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life Third edition.

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Sites Mentioned in the Podcast:

Facebook’s oldest intern: How a 60-year-old fitness trainer reinvented himself with the most unlikely companies

Howard’s email

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