Unretirement Project – Retirement Redefined

Networking: It’s Still Important in Unretirement

September 19, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

AARP recently hosted a webcast on how to “Sharpen Your Networking and Interview Skills”. If you missed it, it was an interesting session and you can still catch it via the archive. Of course, one of the big topics during the webcast was how to network. Frankly, it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who only network when they need to. Which is usually when they’re looking for a job.

Add to that, the number of people who swear that they’ve learned their lessons about always needing to network. Then once they land a new job, what do they do? Yep, they stop networking. They completely forget that conversation where they swore they’ve learned their lesson and realize they need to continuously network.

One of the best books I’ve read on the subject of networking is Keith Ferrazzi’s “Never Eat Alone”. I do have to admit it was kinda ironic that I read the book while traveling (alone) from a conference. But we won’t go there today.

In addition to the takeaways in Ferrazzi’s book, I’ve learned a few things about networking over the years. But, it might be easier to explain what networking is by saying what it’s not:

Something to cross off your ‘to-do’ list (as in “I networked today.”)
Only connecting with people who you feel can do something for you
Calling someone just to ask for favors
Giving your resume to everyone you meet
Only talking with your posse and not meeting anyone new
Handing out your business card to everyone you meet

The purpose of networking is building relationships. Let me say that again. Networking is about building relationships. And, how do you build solid relationships? I think of listening, smiling, sharing, helping, and connecting. Let me add that building relationships is a two-way street. Good networking has a balance to it. It’s not about one person always making the call. Or one person always asking a question. It’s about equal giving and sharing.

One last thing about networking. It’s not about always saying yes to every request that’s made of you. That’s a sure-fire way to starting feeling like you’re being taken advantage of. Learning how to say “no” is an equally important business skill.

Networking is still a critical skill in unretirement. As we get older, we can’t simply say, “I don’t need to network anymore.” We might want to network to find a part-time job. Or a consulting gig. Maybe just to get some information about Social Security or Medicare. We could also use networking to get a sought-after volunteer role, like being an usher at the local community theater (i.e. think about all those free shows!).

Networking isn’t just about getting jobs. So, we need to keep refining our skills and cultivating our network. Because that’s how we help others and get the things that we want.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after speaking at the Flora Icelandic HR Management Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland

Choosing the Right Unretirement Gig

September 4, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

One of the reasons that we started this blog was to share our experience with blogging. Little did we know when we started HR Bartender that it would become something that we love to do while making a little money.

And my guess is we’re not alone when it comes to retirees or soon-to-be retirees wanting to find a little something they can do and make a little side income. But I will admit, blogging might not be for everyone. So, how do you find what makes sense for you?

Well, one of my favorite career sites is The Muse. They recently had an article about “How to Choose the Right Side Hustle for You”. Of course, the article is focused on anyone, but I thought this could be perfect for individuals thinking about their unretirement.

Developing a side hustle or side gig (whatever you want to call it), takes time. Just because you’re doing to do it on the side doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put any thought into it. Having a side hustle still involves business plans, licenses, taxes, etc. Here are three things to consider when choosing the right side work:

What do you want to do? Not simply “What am I doing now?” Or “What am I good at?” You might choose to do something completely different in unretirement. Maybe follow a dream you’ve had for years. But it’s worth taking the time to think about where you want to focus your energy because that might give you some indication of skills you want to polish up.

What are you willing to invest? Starting a side hustle might take some money. Some side hustles take very little. When I began consulting, all I needed was a desk and a computer. Both of which I had at home. Other side gigs might take saving and purchasing equipment over time. If you begin the process while you’re working, then you can budget for the expense while you still have income from another source.

How much time do you want to spend? The main reason I’m bringing this up is because how much time you want to spend doing your side gig could tell you if a marketing investment will be necessary. If you don’t mind starting slow and working your way to greater income, then little or no marketing might be okay. If you want to have a certain amount of income right away in your unretirement, then it might take a more robust marketing plan.

And let me add, these questions also allow you to decide if you like the side hustle you’ve chosen. That way, if you decide that the side hustle you thought was going to be so fabulous…well, isn’t, you have time and resources to change it.

It’s perfectly logical to think about having a side gig during unretirement. But the time to consider developing one is when you’re still working. That way the pieces are in place when you’re ready.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Denver, CO

Sometimes We Need to Take a Digital Vacation

August 27, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

A digital vacation is when we turn off all of our devices and focus on face-to-face interactions. In this fast-paced world, it’s important that we don’t spend all of our time online.

The reason I’m bringing up digital vacationsis because Unretirement Project has some scheduled website maintenance this week. Our website hosting company tells us that the site shouldn’t ever be down during this time. But I’m a safety girl, so I’m notifying you now…

Feel free to take a little digital vacation from Unretirement Project. But only for a few days though. We’ll be back to our regular posting schedule next week.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring Duval Street in Key West, FL

What We’re UP To – August 2018

August 22, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Occasionally we receive free products for review or include advertising links in posts, but no one impacts the honesty of our opinions.

Watching| Mama Mia!

> I’ve always been a fan of ABBA (don’t judge!) and I loved the Broadway show Mama Mia! But when the first movie came out, well, it was a disappointment. Now that there’s a second movie, I’ve been debating watching the first movie again. So, I did earlier in August. The verdict: It’s still just okay. That’s all I can say.

Reading| Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

> Or should I say listening. It’s very confusing. Keith and I are interested in this series, but we’re trying to figure out the best way to enjoy it. We’ve heard about radio programs, books, and movies. Like Star Wars, there appears to be a fan recommended “best” order to consume it.

Remembering | Pizza Night

>When we lived in South Florida, we had a weekly pizza night. Keith and I would make pizza at home (from scratch) and watch a movie. Because we’re living in a rental home, we’ve temporarily given up pizza night. But I still miss it. At least we’re having movie night. And next month starts football Sundays!

Working On| Another book!

> Yep, I’m about half-way through writing book number four as of the middle of August. This one will be focused on the future of performance management and published by the Association for Talent Development sometime in 2019. I’m very excited about this topic. Everyone seems to have an opinion about performance management (including me!) so I’m honored to be sharing my thoughts and ideas.

Feeling| Happy!

> We’re very happy to share that Unretirement Project has been included on a list of “17 Twitter Accounts for Older Workers to Follow” It’s always nice to have your work recognized by others. And there are some great names on this list. If you have a Twitter account, it’s worth checking out and adding some new sources.

Planning| Las Vegas

> One of our favorite conferences is coming up next month, the HR Technology Conference. Which means we’re going to one of our favorite places – Las Vegas! I’m working on lots of restaurant reservations and maybe some show tickets. (After all of the educational sessions and networking, of course…)

Loving| Graphic T-shirts

> As a kid, I never wore t-shirts. Now that I’m older, I’m in love with graphic tees. My “Be Weird.” shirt always gets complements. As well as my “I Love Sundays”. But my new fave is this one with Negasonic Teenage Warhead. I’m becoming the nerd I always wanted to be. LOL!

Geeking| Smart Table

> I recently read an article about an end table that functions as a speaker and Qi charging station. It was in my favorite Mid-Century Modern design. Couldn’t resist! Keith and I decided to give it a test drive. Even if the speaker and charging station die, we love the design.

What’s UP with you? How are you saying goodbye to summer as August fades like the sunset in Key West?

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring Duval Street in Key West, FL

Is It Possible to Flunk Retirement

August 8, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby 1 Comment

A friend of mine recently recommended the book “Don’t Retire, Rewire!” by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners. The focus of the book appears to be very similar to the concepts of unretirement, meaning that when we stop working full-time in Corporate America, we don’t have to sit around and do nothing.

I haven’t finished reading it, but one of the early sections that captured my attention was a list titled “The Top 10 Reasons Why People Flunk Retirement”. My initial reaction was “Can you flunk retirement?!” For me, the word “flunk” conjures up the idea that we failed, and we can’t recover. There were two interesting things about the list.

Beyond “didn’t have a plan”, there was no mention of money, finances, insurance, estate planning, etc. While I don’t believe that retirement is all about the Benjamins, we do need to be realistic about having the means to live and take care of ourselves during retirement. Even if that involves living with a family member. And I could see individuals who don’t feel they’ve prepared enough financially for retirement feeling like they’ve flunked that aspect.

There were several reasons that fell into the category of “assumptions”. For example, I assumed my partner would be my social life. Or I assumed that rest and recreation would be enough. And finally, that I didn’t know myself very well. I’m not sure these are mistakes that an individual can’t recover from. Now, I’m not saying it will be easy. The process of self-discovery can be hard. Not only do we have to come to our own conclusions, but we might have to share our feelings with friends and family.

But the real takeaway for me wasn’t to focus on the flunking part. It’s to figure out how to move forward.

In today’s business world, we appear to be much more accepting of failure than ever. Billionaire business people like Sir Richard Branson and Spanx founder Sara Blakely remind us that it’s okay to make mistakes. But I can see how people could feel different about flunking at 20 than flunking at 60. They also might choose to handle the situation differently based on their circumstances.

We have to view our unretirement and retirement as a journey. A journey that starts early in life. Will there be stumbling blocks and changes along the way? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean we’ve flunked life or our retirement. It does mean that we need to find ways to adjust.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while wandering the streets of Miami, FL

Employee Retirement Programs: Employers Need To Do the Right Thing

August 1, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I ran across this article in Talent Economy titled, “The Long, Winding Road to Retirement”. The article starts no differently than other articles about the predicament with Boomers and retirement: lack of company sponsored pension plans, dwindling employee savings, Great Recession impact, etc. But what surprised me about this article was the author’s feeling that it was a leap of faith that organizations would get around to doing the right thing because of their pressure to deliver profits.

I certainly hope that’s not the case.

I do agree that organizations are under pressure to deliver results – financial and otherwise. But the way that organizations will deliver those results is with people. Let’s add that the numbers tell us that there are more jobs than people to fill those openings. So, organizations need to find ways to keep older workers engaged and, in the workforce, longer.

Now, I’ll also admit that this challenge doesn’t completely lie with companies. Employees need to think about their retirement plans. They need to find ways to save and take advantage of plans like 401(k), individual retirement accounts (IRA), and Roth IRA. Individuals approaching retirement should be researching how Medicare and Social Security work, so they file for benefits at the right time.

But the way employers and employees can do the right thing is by being authentic and transparent.

Employers need to start thinking about their staffing needs and whether they will act to retain older workers beyond traditional retirement. If that’s their plan, they should have conversations with employees ahead of schedule, so employees can start thinking about their plans and whether they want to stay in the workforce longer.

In turn, employees need to start thinking about their retirement strategy. Do they want to consider working part-time or as a freelancer? Employees need to start building skills for that transition. Is that something they can do on their own or would it make sense to ask the company for assistance?

This isn’t an easy fix. Or an overnight one.

Organizations looking to meet and exceed their goals will need talent. Some of that talent will be individuals approaching retirement age. But if companies want to keep talent, they have to start thinking about offering jobs, salaries, and benefits that that are going to do that. Frankly, that means doing the right thing.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the Wynwood Art District in Miami, FL

What We’re Up To – July 2018

July 25, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Occasionally we receive free products for review or include advertising links in posts, but no one impacts the honesty of our opinions.

Watching| The Marvel Cinematic Universe

> Ever since Avengers: Infinity War came out, we’ve been catching up on older Marvel movies we hadn’t seen. We finally watched Avengers: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, and Spider-man: Homecoming. I love how Marvel is tying the storylines together. Next on the list for us later in July is Ant-Man.

Reading| Common Financial Sense

> I’m not a financial advisor, so I make it a rule not to tell people how to spend their money. That being said, I do feel it’s okay to say that we have to think about our financial future. I received a copy of the book “Common Financial Sense” by Harris Nydick and Greg Makowski. Both are certified financial planners. The book delivers on the title and will give readers who are thinking about their financial future a few things to consider.

Remembering| Old HR Bartender posts

> I recently read an article on Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger about “How to Update Old Posts on Your Blog (and When You Should Consider Doing it)”. First off, if you’re considering blogging in your unretirement, you should definitely start paying attention to ProBlogger. Second, if you have a blog, Rowse makes a good point about keeping older content fresh. HR Bartender has been around over ten years. We have thousands of posts. It’s worth a look at our older content.

Working On| Scheduling More Fun

> I enjoy reading the “Yes and Yes” blog authored by Sarah Von Bargen. One of her recent posts was titled “A Weird Tip for a More Fulfilling Life: Make a ‘To Do for Fun’ List”. It’s exactly what the title says. We spend so much time making lists for the work things we need to complete. Or the errands we need to do. Why not have a list of fun stuff? And for a planner like me…it’s the perfect July project!

Feeling| Like a Homebody

> I don’t mind traveling at all, but I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. It’s nice to be home for a few.

Planning| Doctor’s Appointments

> When you move to a new city, there are so many people you have to find – like an accountant, hair stylist, and doctors! I must admit that social communities like NextDoor have been very helpful in getting recommendations. We’ve received some excellent information so far.

Loving| Inside Trader Joe’s – a Podcast

> I’m a fan of Trader Joe’s and after listening to this 5-part podcast seriesabout the store, I’m becoming an even bigger fan. The show talks about how the store started, their food tasting panels, why employees wear Hawaiian shirts and much more. Check it out wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Geeking| Amazon Cloud Cam

> We picked up one of these during the July Amazon Prime Day sale. It’s an indoor camera that works with Alexa. You can control it from a mobile app. Very easy to set up. Just direct it at the area you want to monitor and turn it on. You can watch the activity from your phone. If you’re in the market for a security device, this might be worth consideration.

What’s UP with you? Let us know how your summer is going so far.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of New Orleans, LA