career Archives – Unretirement Project

A Career Coach Can Help You Find Your Encore Career

September 20, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

One of the great things about unretirement is that you don’t have to go it alone. For example, there are dozens of retirement-related blogs that you can read for inspiration and information. There are also professionals who can help you.

Let’s say you’re considering an encore career in your unretirement but aren’t sure yet what you’d like to do. Do you want to be a consultant? A writer? Or maybe just take a part-time job as a barista at Starbucks? All of those options are possible. But realistically, the decision could be tough. If you’d like help making decisions about your encore career, consider getting a career coach.

To understand more about what career coaches do, I reached out to Hannah Morgan (aka Career Sherpa). She is a nationally recognized career coach and author of the book, “The Infographic Resume”. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Hannah over at HR Bartender. Her suggestions on “What to do if You’re Stuck in a Dead-End Job” are worth a read.

Hannah, first of all, briefly describe what a career coach does? I could see someone saying “I’m already employed. What do I need a career coach for?”

[Morgan] There are times in your life when need expert advice. Let’s say you wanted recommendations on what to do with your financial investments. Would you get advice from a friend or would you consult with a financial planner? You might do both, but you would probably rely on the recommendations of someone who manages investments for a living. This is why tapping into the expertise of a career coach is so valuable.

A career coach is someone who has expertise in helping people evaluate career options, not just find jobs. A career coach regularly consults with clients on career decision making issues from identifying the right opportunities to planning future career moves. A coach can help you see alternatives and is qualified to help map out a solution that’s right for you.

Many workers are considering a new second career (also known as an encore career) as they get older. How should a person decide if an encore career is for them?

[Morgan] When deciding what you will do for your encore career, there are many things to consider:

What are you interested in (or passionate about)?
What skills do you enjoy using?
What is the market demand for those skills?
How much do you want to work? And,
What are your income requirements?

For the first time in your life, you have the opportunity to choose a career move that will serve your wants and needs. As you can see, identifying what you may want to do as an encore career is a complicated decision and one you will need assistance evaluating.

Is it better to have an encore career in a field related to your current profession? Why or why not?

[Morgan] If you loved the work you did in your last role and love the industry, then it would make sense to stay within it, perhaps as a consultant or working as an advisor. However, if you are no longer excited by the type of work you are doing, you may want to tap into your outside interests for ideas which would provide options for an encore career.

Sometimes collecting a big fat paycheck isn’t the main driver- people may just want something to keep busy. Taking a retail job, seasonal work or even tapping into the sharing economy, with Airbnb, Uber or Lyft provide social and mental stimulation.

Whatever direction you go in, you should be interested and engaged in the work. Breaking into an encore career may require assistance to help you define what is most important to you during this point in your career and can take effort. A career coach can help you identify opportunities that meet your needs.

I assume pursuing an encore career takes time. How long should people expect to prepare for an encore career?

[Morgan] Finding encore opportunities is going to be challenging. You may have to invent the position or start your own business in order to get what you are looking for. This will take time. How much time will depend on factors like the viability of your idea, your messaging and announcement, and the strength of your network.

Before you do anything, you also want to speak with your accountant and financial advisor about social security regulations and access to investments in your 401(k) or pension. You don’t want to be penalized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for making too much or early withdrawal of funds.

Is applying for an encore career job the same as applying for a regular, full-time job now? How should a candidate explain they are transitioning to their encore career?

[Morgan] You can’t go to Indeed or any job board and find a listing of encore careers. Well, not at this time. Your encore career may be an existing role within an organization. You might be able to slip into an existing role if you have the right connections. But a question that any interviewer wants to know is whether or not you’ll stick around for a couple of years. It is your responsibility to anticipate this question and proactively address why you are looking for an encore career.

Your explanation should include your motivation or why you want to make the transition into a new role at this point in your career. You also need to convince the interviewer that you are dedicated to this new career path, so explain why you are pursuing that company and that type of job.

A HUGE thanks to Hannah for sharing her expertise. If you want to learn more, follow Hannah on Twitter and read her blog.

Encore careers can be an exciting and fulfilling part of unretirement. But deciding what your encore career will be could take some time. And some planning. Using a career coach could help you focus on your goals so you make the right decision.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby somewhere in her South Florida offices.

Successful Retirement Takes a Partnership Between Organizations and Employees

September 6, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

When Keith and I started this blog, we assumed it would focus on the things people do when they retire. You know, like traveling and volunteering. However, we’re finding that what people really want to hear is about how to prepare for retirement…specifically from a careers perspective. Yes, people know they need to save money. But how do they tell their boss that they want to transition to part-time before retirement?

The key to a successful retirement…or unretirement…is learning how to partner to create a win-win. Not only employees, but organizations. Here are a few articles to get the conversation started.

There Is No Such Thing as a Traditional Retirement

There are many ways to fill your retirement life. With such variety, traditional retirement becomes history. The future is unretirement and it features the Gig Economy.

Organizations Aren’t Prepared for the Aging Workforce

Are businesses ready for the aging workforce? Not yet. But they will have to engage freelancers to get stuff done in the Gig Economy. Enter the concept of unretirement.

6 Reasons You Should Embrace #Unretirement

Regardless of age, at some point, we all probably enter a post-work phase of life. That requires planning and understanding. It’s time to start thinking and planning for your unretirement.

Why Unretirement and Why It’s Important

We remember what retirement used to look like. But those days are gone. We need to retire on our own terms. Unretirement can help us have a modern retirement.

Retirement Plans Are an Essential Part of Employee Well-being

High employee engagement hinges on well-being. Dean Aloise from Conduent HR Services says retirement plans are crucial to employee well-being.

You might be saying, “I’ve got a long way to go before I retire.” And that could be true. Planning for your retirement unretirement takes time. Think of it like networking. The last thing you want is to need a network and not have one. You can’t build a network overnight. It takes lots of small steps.

Planning for your unretirement is the same. Unless you win the Lottery, it takes years of small steps. Start now to build the future.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA

The One Key to Successful Blogging

August 9, 2017 by Keith Lauby Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, Sharlyn wrote a post about blogging as part of your overall unretirement strategy. I thought I would add my suggestions about what blogging can (and can’t) do – with a focus on growing your audience.

There are many different reasons to blog. But, if you ask just about any blogger, they do it because they have something to say. Don’t assume, however, that having something to say is the goal of the blog. That may, or may not be the case. Some people blog just for fun. Or maybe they want to make people aware of something they enjoy or believe in.

People also blog for profit.

Regardless of the goal for a blog, the typical measure of successful blogging lies in its audience. Whether it’s quality in terms of loyalty or engagement or just a large quantity of readers, your audience is often what makes or breaks your blog. And the one key to building an audience for your blog is marketing.

No, you don’t need an MBA from Wharton to market your blog. If you’re just starting out, you should focus on two important things:

Letting people know about your posts. Trust me when I say that “Build it and they will come” only works in Kevin Costner movies. After you write a post, you need to tell people there’s some new content to read. Social media is a great place to start, so fire off a quick note on Facebook or Twitter. Some readers will want to get your posts emailed to them so they can read it when it’s convenient. Giving them a place to sign up to receive emailed posts is an important part of blog marketing. Be sure to put it in a highly visible part of your blog.

Learning as much as you can about your audience. Successful blogging means giving your readers what they want to read. Makes sense, right? Initially, you attract an audience because they generally enjoy what you have to say. Now the goal is to get more. Any marketer will tell you, that means finding out what you’re doing well, and doing more of it. Google Analytics is a great place to start. Just a few of the basics at first – how many visitors, where do they live, popular pages and posts, and how do they access your blog.

Blogging and unretirement can be a dynamic combination. Successful blogging can give you the freedom to enjoy all aspects of your unretirement. That’s why we will talk about it a lot here. All it takes is a little creativity, some basic marketing know-how, and a lot of patience.

Out of curiosity, what do you find are the easiest (or most challenging) aspects to marketing your blog?

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after attending the Great Place to Work Conference in Austin, TX

What Does Delaying Retirement Mean for You

July 12, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

My father-in-law retired at age 55. He then spent over 35 years enjoying his retirement life by playing golf, tending to his gladiolas, and eating pork chops with potato chips. He could do this because he planned and saved for retirement.

Today, many people won’t be able to enjoy the same kind of retirement my father-in-law had. In fact, I’m certain that I won’t have the same kind of retired life he did. For some, the Great Recession dwindled – or eliminated – retirement savings. And the current discussions about changes to Social Security and Medicare…well, are making folks nervous.

That’s why I was particularly interested when I ran across this report from The Conference Board titled “Delaying Retirement” [PDF]. While the report is a few years old, I don’t know that the dynamics have changed much. And the report does offer some perspective about the extent that the Great Recession impacted families and their post-work savings.

For example, the report says that households’ net worth dropped from $66 trillion during the peak of the recession in 2007 to $48.5 trillion in 2009. That’s a pretty big chunk of change. Which explains why parents moved in with their adult kids and started rethinking when and how they plan to retire.

From a work perspective, the decisions being made to delay retirement are giving companies a little bit of a reprieve. Several years ago, HR pros were all running around like Chicken Little talking about the Boomers retiring and the impending labor shortage. Now Boomers are delaying and redefining retirement. So, the sky isn’t falling…yet.

But make no mistake, all of the Boomers will retire at some point. Some are already retired and others are making plans right now. They’re figuring out what the new normal is for their retired life. They’re getting comfortable with the changes they need to make in both their personal and professional lives.

While I initially read The Conference Board report as a human resources professional with the need to develop a workforce plan, I’m now looking at this retirement data differently – from the perspective of a person considering retirement. What lessons can I learn? You can grab a copy of the report here [PDF]. It’s well worth your time to understand the retirement dynamic and how it will potentially impact you.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby at the Neon Sign Graveyard in Las Vegas, NV

The Business Case for Hiring Older Workers [infographic]

July 5, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I’ve been to quite a few conferences lately and recruiting remains a top challenge for businesses. So, I think we’ve moved past the point where we need to convince people that recruiting is difficult. It seems to be a given that finding qualified talent is tough.

Organizations everywhere are looking for qualified workers.

If you’re not aware, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has partnered with AARP to help organizations understand the value of recruiting, engaging, and retaining older workers. At this year’s SHRM Talent Management Conference, we learned about a report titled “A Business Case for Workers Age 50+: A Look at the Value of Experience”. In addition to the report, AARP produced this infographic.

Let’s face it. We know that many older workers had to postpone retirement in the wake of the Great Recession. But as the economy gets stronger, and older workers are considering their options, not all workers are looking to retire. Many older workers have a passion for the job they do, like contributing to the organization, and enjoy the mental/physical challenge of work.

This is an opportunity for HR and hiring managers who are looking for talent.

But the reason I’m writing about it here on this blog is because it does involve open, honest communication from everyone. It’s true that organizations need to create cultures where having open dialogue about retirement is acceptable. Workers do not want to think that mentioning retirement means the clock is ticking on their departure.

Managers need training on how to discuss options with employees. They have the ability to redesign jobs. The only way they can do that is by 1) knowing an older worker is interested in a job redesign – maybe to part-time or flexible hours and 2) having enough time to work with HR and senior management to properly make the change.

Finally, workers have to communicate as well. If the company is willing to work with them, are there ways they can work with the company? Maybe in terms of assisting with job design, hours, pay, benefits, etc.

My point is this – companies want qualified workers. Workers age 50+ are qualified workers. Conversations need to happen and jobs revisited, but it can be done. It could be the best thing that ever happened for the business and employees. If you’re not thinking about what work might look like during your unretirement, now might be the time to start.

Bookmark This! #GigEconomy Opportunities Edition

June 28, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Opportunities multiply as they are seized. – Sun Tzu

If the gig economy had an official quote, this would probably be it. Think about it – the more gigs you work, the more people know about you and your work. Thus, your opportunities can multiply. And that brings us to another quote, this one by William Arthur Ward: Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.

The gig economy goes by many other names (agile economy, flexible economy, servant economy, optimized economy) and is defined as a labor market characterized by the prevalence of freelance work. There appears to be more gig opportunities available now than ever before. Since we don’t want to miss them, let’s take a look at a few great resources to help us get the most out of this growing trend.

Careercast has assembled a great list of freelance, contract and part-time jobs for 2017. The list crosses several industries and includes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) such as projected growth and median salary. And, since they are a job board for temporary and part-time jobs, information regarding how to apply is also available.

Small Business Trends shared their list of “20 platforms that are growing the gig economy”. So, if you aren’t sure which direction to take your unretirement, consider a quick look at this list. Maybe being a Lyft driver isn’t your dream gig, but how about being an expert instructor? Or even a freelance chef? Yes, there are jobs in those areas and platforms dedicated to them.

Still not convinced gig work is for you? The BLS published an article that offers a quick but comprehensive look at the ideal occupations for gig employment, pros and cons of gig work, and different ways to get started. The article also includes a variety of census data on gig workers because, you know, that’s what the BLS is known for.

Finally, if you have the skills but don’t want to be tied to one of the specific platforms we’ve talked about here, consider hanging out your digital shingle. Workify offers what they call Hustleware – their “all-in-one platform for making a living online”. You can digitally set-up shop and market your services all in one place.

Whatever you choose to call it, we know the “agile economy”, isn’t for everyone. But we think it can be a great fit for those who want a little more freedom and income in their unretirement life. Knowledge can give us the tools we need to be successful part-time entrepreneurs.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby during an adventure of a lifetime at the Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport

HOW TO: Set Up a Home Office for Unretirement

June 7, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Years ago, my father-in-law gave me a piece of advice – live where you want to live and then go find a job there. It was that piece of advice that made us realize we want to live in Florida and eventually become consultants.

When we first realized that we might want to consult in the future, I took every opportunity to talk with consultants about their experiences. One area where there was quite a bit of differing opinion was office space. Some people told me the first chance you have to lease space, do it. Others said working from home is fine.

In fact, one person told me that it would take two years to get used to working from home. And for me, it did. I was so concerned about getting distracted with Hamster Dance videos that I made myself miserable. Once I lightened up about the benefits and challenges of working from home, I found my productivity (and outlook) significantly improved. So, if part of your unretirement might involve setting up a home office, here are a few things to consider:

Figure out your “flow”. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term “flow” to represent a state of consciousness where you are at peak performance. Finding your flow is uniquely personal. To do your best thinking and work, your office space needs to be comfortable for you. Don’t apologize for it.

Think about proper ergonomics. I broke my back several years ago, and since then, I’m a posture freak. I feel better when I’m sitting up straight. Not only does your home office need to be comfortable but it also needs to be good for your body.

Don’t forget good lighting! We are a very technology driven society, which is fine. I love tech. But I also realize that working and reading in front of a computer are hard on my eyes. Proper lighting, including sunlight, is essential.

Research how much internet you will need. Speaking of technology, chances are you will have to consider internet access in your home office. Even if it is to say, I don’t need it and will go to the library when I do. It’s easy to overbuy (or underbuy) WiFi. Start keeping track of how much you’re using so you can properly estimate your needs.

Make decisions about communication. In addition to internet, you must decide about phones, voicemail, etc. Think about if you plan to do podcasting or webinars as part of your unretirement and if you need to have a phone line. IMHO, you can always tell when someone is trying to conduct a webinar using their cell phone. The sound and reception just isn’t the same.

Create a charging station. Working from home means all your technology needs a place to charge. Will that be in your home office? Or a place somewhere else in the home that everyone can use?

Surround yourself with stuff you like. This might sound a bit trivial but I think it’s important. Make sure you find pleasing what’s on the walls and your desk. Use office supplies that you enjoy. I’m not saying go crazy, but you’ll find that you’re happier and more productive when you like your surroundings.

Think about software. If you will be using a computer, you should think about word processing software, file storage, backups, etc. There are free options available and others that pricey. Consider how much you will use a piece of software and if the price is worth the expense. Many offer free trials to check them out.

Ask about the legal stuff. If you work from home, you must consider general liability insurance as well as your home owner’s insurance. You’ll want to get advice about what’s deductible (and not) on your income taxes. And if you’re working with client files, you’ll want to know about secure storage and how long you need to maintain files.

Anticipate your marketing plans. At minimum, you’ll want to have business cards for your unretirement side hustle. The question becomes, do you list your address? Or set up a post office box? And if a client wants to meet with you, think about where you would suggest.

The good news is that setting up your home office can be one of the most enjoyable experiences you’ll have for unretirement. My home office is by far the nicest office I’ve ever had in my career. And that makes it nice to get up and go to work every day. I spend too much time there not to have it be my dream space.

For those of you who work from home, what’s the best part about your office space? Leave us a note in the comments.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby just off the beach in Key West, FL