unretirement Archives

Your 5-Day Plan to Using LinkedIn In Your Unretirement

January 16, 2019 by Keith Lauby 1 Comment

A little while ago, I wrote about using social media to help grow your messaging as an independent contractor during retirement. By now, you know that you can use social sites to gain practical experience that will help in unretirement. The first article was about Facebook. Today, let’s talk about LinkedIn.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 562 million members in over 200 countries. Most of us have LinkedIn profiles and know how to connect with people. But did you know:

Over 20,000 companies post 3 million jobs on LinkedIn.
80% of the 146 million U.S. LinkedIn members want to have a mentor or be one to others.

Maybe you’re not officially looking for your dream job, but do you really want opportunities to pass you by? Even in unretirement, you want people to find you on LinkedIn.

How do you create (or update) your LinkedIn profile?

There are hundreds of articles that share great ways to structure your LinkedIn profile. Check out some of the best on the LinkedIn blog. If you want a couple posts that can help optimize your profile, check these out:

Creating a Killer LinkedIn Profile [INFOGRAPHIC]

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, Make Your LinkedIn Profile Shine [SLIDESHOW]

Your 5-day Plan for Learning More about LinkedIn

DAY 1 – Read articles of interest. Your home page will have articles that your connections are posting. This will give you a good sense of what your connections find interesting. Try to find content that both you and your contacts will enjoy. Because a little later on, you will want to share articles with your connections.

DAY 2 – Add to Your Feed. LinkedIn isn’t shy about making recommendations and you will find a few along the right side of your homepage. Trending topics are first, followed by recommendations of people or companies to follow (yes, you can follow companies). It’s a great way to expand your LinkedIn community.

DAY 3 – Check Out Suggested Features. Along the left side of your homepage you will see even more recommendations for LinkedIn Groups and hashtags. LinkedIn is trying to expand the use of hashtags so find a few that interest you – like maybe #unretirement and #retirement.

DAY 4 – Get to Know Your Dashboard. Your Dashboard can be found in your profile, right under your profile section. It offers a quick and easy way to understand who is paying attention to you. It also gives recommendations on ways to expand your interactions on LinkedIn.

DAY 5 – Write a Post. At the top of your feed is a box that says, “Start a post”. Since you’ve found articles in #1 above, share them with your connections. Please remember – LinkedIn has a business focus so save those vacation or adorable pet posts for Facebook.

BONUS! Publish an Article. That’s right, LinkedIn lets users publish their own articles. At the bottom of your new post box you will see a link to “Write an article”. This is your opportunity to share your expertise with the world! Once you do that, LinkedIn will create a page with all of your articles that everyone can follow.

There are a lot of things you can learn using LinkedIn and connections can be valuable. It should definitely be a part of your social media activity in unretirement. So go have some fun growing your community!

Retirement Success: We Need to Learn About Happiness

January 9, 2019 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

pandas, panda statues, happiness, retirement, unretirement

Yale University’s most popular class ever is called “The Science of Well-Being”. The good news is you can take it for FREE on Coursera. And, just out of curiosity, I did. I could see how it might make sense to incorporate this program (or something like it) as part of an individual’s planning and preparation for retirement. Here are a couple of reasons why:

Happiness is about judgment and decision-making. The professor for this course, Laurie Santos PhD, started the course sharing the G.I. Joe fallacy, which is that the age-old mantra of “knowing is half the battle” really doesn’t help when it comes to making real-world decisions. So, if we want to be happy and satisfied during our retirement, then we need to *retire* the idea that just giving people information is enough. (No pun intended.)

Happiness means knowing what will make us happy. Santos also talks about the concept of “miswanting”. This is the idea that individuals think they want something a lot more than they do or that they believe they will like something a lot more than they actually will. An example might be the person who thinks they’re ready to quit working and travel the world, then once they officially retire, there’s a bit of remorse.

I’m bringing this up because, in our retirement life, we will often have to deal with trade-offs. For example, we can travel often but our accommodations might be economy. Versus traveling less but more luxuriously. Or we can retire earlier but it means downsizing and paying off a mortgage. Or we can work longer, but it means becoming a freelancer or contractor without healthcare insurance. For us to make good decisions, we need to truly understand what makes us happy. In addition, we need to have a greater understanding of how to make the decision, not just have the information but have enough self-awareness to know the conditions that are right for us.

The last thing anyone wants is to make wrong decisions where their retirement is concerned. I remember years ago meeting someone who was approaching their retirement based on what they read in a book. The book said they needed to retire at XX age. So, they did. And they were unhappy. The book told them they should do XX. So, they did. And they were unhappy. Of course, their unhappiness spread to their spouse. It wasn’t until they said, “I’m just going to retire my way.” that they found their retirement happiness.

Santos suggested a catchy acronym that individuals could use in evaluating decisions and taking action. It’s called WOOP:

W = wish for what you want

O = outcomes are defined

O = obstacles are identified

P = plan your strategy

For me the real success in the WOOP method is in the W. Wishing for what you want means understanding what makes you happy. I don’t know about you, but no one ever talked about this in school or college or at work. I’ve learned what makes me happy over lots of years and many mistakes. “The Science of Well-Being” could be one of those courses that helps individuals focus on happiness. And hopefully not use trial and error as the way to reach it.

There’s an increasing conversation about money not buying happiness and how happiness impacts personal well-being. But it only works if you know what your happiness is. Maybe it’s time to start finding out. That way you can create a successful retirement plan.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while happily exploring Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, HI

What We Are UP To in December 2018

December 19, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

December, Santa, Santa Claus, holiday, UP, Unretirement Project

Watching| The Good Place

> Keith and I took a cruise during the Thanksgiving holiday and accidently discovered this show. We were immediately hooked! There’s a nice juxtaposition between the education of ethics and morality with well-written humor. And the plot twists keep us on our toes…

Reading| The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

> While “death cleaning” is a thing, I’m finding this book to be more about the art of minimalist living. There are plenty of references to “your kids don’t want your stuff” and “the need to “downsize” but my takeaway from this book is that getting rid of possessions is hard and everyone needs to find the right time and way to do it.

Remembering|A Year of Images

> This year, I made a resolution to post an image every day on Instagram. And I actually accomplished it. It was a fun activity and it helped me to identify my photographic voice. You know, writers have “voices”, which is basically their writing style. I’ve been struggling to find my photography voice. Not completely there yet in December…but a big step in the right direction.

Working On| Exercise

> Moving to Gainesville has majorly interrupted our fitness routine. We loved Pilates in South Florida and finding something like it has been a challenge. So, I think we’re resolved to finding something new. Not sure what that is…but we’re starting with Disney’s Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon. We can participate at our own pace and still get a finisher ribbon.

Feeling| Excited

> The builder has finally started construction on our home this December. This has been the absolute longest house building process ever. But we were so excited to drive by our “pile of dirt” and see activity. We still have months to go, but it’s so nice to ultimately see progress.

Planning| Strategy Meeting

> We’re a small company. Over the years, we’ve found that having a regular strategy session helps us. Keith and I try to get away for a weekend to discuss our personal and professional lives. That includes a discussion about what we want our retirement to look like and are we doing the right things now to make our plans a reality.

Loving| 7 Little Words

> I love word games. A few years ago, I met two ladies on a cruise who introduced me to the app “7 Little Words”. Since then, I play the game every single day. They offer a daily freebie. It’s challenging but not impossible. And it’s fun. If you’re looking for a way to keep your brain cells working, this might be something to consider.

Geeking| Mophie Juice Pack

> I love my iPhone X. And the battery life is good. But I must admit that there are times when I’m at a conference or during Pokemon community days, when the battery starts running dangerously low. Mophie finally introduced a juice pack for the iPhone X. It’s not big and clunky like some other battery cases. And it’s able to use a Qi charger.

What’s UP with you this December? We hope your holidays are filled with friends, family, good food, and fun. Thank you so much for reading Unretirement Project. We look forward to seeing you in 2019!

Inspiration: The Best Thing To Do With Success Lists

December 12, 2018 by Keith Lauby 1 Comment

success list, inspiration, rules for success, business, business success

We’ve all seen inspiration lists that feature a wildly prosperous person (like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or Steve Jobs) under a catchy headline telling us how to be successful – either in business or life in general. It’s followed by a number of things we should all do to achieve that success. The idea, of course, is that it worked for this person, so it should work for us too.

It’s easy to dismiss these offhand – – I’m never going to be a billionaire entrepreneur so just forget it. Early in my business life I did that all the time. At some point, though, I started to pay attention to some of the inspiration lists. And this is what I decided to do with them:

Look for things you are doing already. Okay, we all work hard. We all read and try to learn things that will make us more effective and productive. We try our hardest to achieve without giving up. These are affirmations of the great job we are doing every day. Look for them in inspiration lists and celebrate them! Then think of ways to do even more of them.

Cross off things that are beyond your control. This one will take some soul searching because it’s easy to dismiss a lot. You don’t make the company’s products, or you don’t have any input on who gets hired or who you get to work with. But you can offer great service, whether it’s to the general public or coworkers. And you can always help others improve. Make better the things you can and don’t worry about the rest.

Look for things you can start doing. Whether it’s focusing on your well-being or taking more risks, there is almost always something in an inspiration list that you could do better. And avoid the temptation to feel you have to do it on a grand scale. If organization is a problem, schedule a little time to organize something small. Too many distractions? Develop a morning routine and stick with it! That will help you focus for the rest of every day.

The best way to be successful is to know yourself. Know what you do well and find ways to do more of it. Regardless of where you are in your career, we all have areas we can improve so make that a priority. Learning resources are abundant so take advantage of them.

In the end, we all make our own success. Our stories can be an inspiration to others. But everyone has to find ways to make it on their own. In the year ahead, be your own inspiration and create your success story.

Do Not Be a Pest In Your Job Search, Do This Instead

December 5, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby 4 Comments

I recently ran across an article on the site Career Pivot about following up to get a job. There was a sentence in the post that said, “If you want to get the attention of a prospective employer, you may very well have to be a pest, a nice persistent pest but a pest none the less.” I get it and I completely understand why Career Pivot wrote it. Candidates want the job. So, they’re anxious and excited.

As a human resources professional, let me offer some advice. Don’t be a pest. Not even a “nice pest”. What you do want to do is be effective, efficient, and a good communicator in your job search. You want to follow-up and try to connect. But do not be a pest.

That being said, how do you follow-up and not step over the line to “pest” status? Well, here are a few considerations.

Remember the goal of job search. I worked for an outplacement firm many years ago and we always told candidates the goal of a job search was to receive multiple offers. The key word being “multiple”. That means job seekers should be constantly working leads – multiple leads – in the hopes there will be multiple offers. I’m bringing this up because…

Don’t put all of your efforts in one basket. If the goal is to get multiple offers, then candidates shouldn’t be focused on one company or one job. Yes, I’m sure there are jobs that you really like. But if a company isn’t responding, there are other opportunities available. Especially in today’s job market with record low unemployment.

When you go to an interview, find out next steps. Then follow them. I tell recruiters that a candidate should never leave an interview not knowing 1) when the company is going to make a decision and 2) who to contact with follow-up questions. If the recruiter doesn’t automatically tell you, ask the question. Then, once you know, do what the company asks.

Now, if all of these considerations haven’t convinced you that “being a pest” may not be the best approach in your job search, let me toss out one more thing. Do you really want to work for a company where you had to become a “pest” to get the job? Even a “nice pest” to get the job? When it comes to new opportunities, you should be interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. And if it takes pesky behavior to land a new job, just imagine what your career will be like. Enough said.

Maybe it’s just my perception of the word pest, but when you cross over to the pest category, you run the risk of organizations questioning your ability to follow the rules. This doesn’t mean you can’t contact the company or send a follow-up note. (You absolutely should.) Just be careful about going from appropriate job seeker follow-up to pesky candidate.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Austin, TX

Create Your Own 10 Word Retirement Definition

October 17, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I read a very interesting post over on the Intentional Retirement blog titled, “My 10 Word Definition of Retirement”. I hope you’ll check it out. It’s a good read. Two things I found interesting about the post:

Everyone’s definition of retirement is different. And I mean this from multiple viewpoints. On an individual level and as a family. Because everyone’s definition is different, the path to get there is going to look a little different as well.
Everyone should take the time to develop their own definition. I think we have the foundation for the definition in “not working full-time” or “collecting Social Security”. But what does it really mean in terms of how we spend our time?

My real takeaway from the 10 word definition post is that we can create this activity for ourselves. You can do this a couple of ways:

Make a list. Put a date on your calendar to come up with 10 words that describe what you want out of retirement. Or put a piece of paper on your refrigerator and write down one word a day for 10 days. You get the point. After you create the list, put it aside for a few months and come back to it. Does it still describe what you want from retirement?

I could see this being an annual activity. Once a year, pull the list out and make sure you’re okay with it. If you want to change words, do it. At some point, you might want to share your list with family members. See if there are common words. Maybe there needs to be some discussion or compromise about other words.

Make a vision board. If you prefer visuals to words, find 10 images that represent retirement. You can keep them in a paper journal or post them on a site like Pinterest. (And if you’re not ready to share your images with the world, just label your retirement board “secret”.) Like with the words, you can revisit your images whenever you wish and change them as you like.

One of the things that’s nice about vision boards is you can eventually create smaller sections for areas like second careers, retirement locations, or retirement finances and add articles you want to refer to later. The other thing that’s nice about vision boards is you can search the internet for plenty of creative inspiration. Just be sure that the inspiration is something you really want.

It’s never too early or late to start thinking about the definition of your retirement. The definition is going to change. Trust me, I’m not retired (yet!) and my definition has already gone through some changes. And I’m cool with that.

My last takeaway from the post was that even when I become retired, it might make sense to every once in a while, revisit my definition of retirement. Very similar to my career. My career goals when I was in my 20’s weren’t the same as when I was in my 40’s. I could see retirement being the same way.

I’m beginning to think that the key to a successful retirement involves many of the same skills that I’m using to manage my career. Who woulda thought?!

How To Build Your Elevator Pitch

October 10, 2018 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

As working professionals, we’re aware of what an elevator pitch is. It’s those couple of sentences that we say to someone we’ve just met that answers the question, “Who are you, what do you do, and why should I pay attention to you?” No one would really ask this question, of course, and I didn’t write it this way to be evil or mean. But let’s be honest – this is the intention.

It’s called an elevator pitch because it’s supposed to be brief. Something you could easily say between floors during an elevator ride. Elevator pitches still matter as we’re approaching unretirement. Whether you plan to transition to part-time or try freelancing, having an elevator pitch is a perfect way to start a conversation or capture someone’s attention.

During AARP’s webcast on “Sharpening Your Networking and Interviewing Skills Online”, they talked about elevator pitches still being relevant, especially in job search. But here’s an example of how to use an elevator pitch when you’re not looking for a job:

Tell people who you are. As in your name, title, etc. I am amazed at times when I’m introduced to someone that they say their name but nothing else. For example, “Hi! I’m Joe.” doesn’t tell people who you are. But saying “Hi! I’m Joe, owner of MoJo Bakery” does.

Share what makes you special. Add a little something extra to your introduction like, “Hi! I’m Joe, owner of MoJo Bakery. We have the best brownies in the city of Denver.” You could also tweak this to reflect an accomplishment like “Hi! I’m Joe, owner of MoJo Bakery. We just won Denver’s Best Brownie award.”

Explain what you’re looking for and what you can offer. Sometimes people will upfront this part as in “We’re looking for tasters to try our latest brownie.” Or “I’m looking for a company to put brownies in their employee breakrooms.” Another approach is to introduce yourself and wait for a question like “Nice to meet you Joe. What brings you here?”

Elevator pitches have value in building relationships. And, in our unretirement, relationships are still important. They help us get jobs, volunteer board positions, and frankly, just build friendships.

Many of the skills we’ve learned over the years – like elevator pitches – are going to help us in our unretirement. We just have to refine the message to align with our unretirement goals.

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