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Unretirement Career Pivot
Making a career pivot for retirement may sound a bit odd. I was first introduced to the term unrest by Chris Farrell in his book Retirement: How baby boomers are changing the way we think about work, community and the good life in 2016.
At the time, it was thought that many baby boomers would retire in the years to come, but would look for a different retirement. Perhaps they would be looking for an encore career or a second career that would have more meaning.
The term has exploded in the last year as millions of additional workers have retired during the pandemic, but many are either having to find a way to earn an income (think inflation) or others are simply failing to retire to go. You need to do something.
Let me give you some quality hints.
Return to your previous career path
This exit path seems to be the most logical. If you are retiring and just looking to earn extra income, you can contact your current employer to make a cut.
We have a member of the Career Pivot community who recently did just that. He waited and waited to tell his employer that he was retiring. He thought they would be mad at him, but instead they offered him a part-time job where he could continue to contribute towards his retirement.
The interesting result was that he realized that he actually didn’t want to work much in his old job anymore. He loved people but not work.
If you are already retired, you may consider returning to your previous employer.
Have you considered an interim position?
There is a growing need to fill senior-level positions on an interim basis. These jobs usually last 3-6 months, are well paid and often come with additional benefits.
I have published 3 different podcast interviews with companies specializing in interim positions: Patina Solutions, which was acquired by Korn Ferry, Bolster and StevenDouglas.
Listen to the latest episode
Check out these podcast episodes:
I would listen to all three of these episodes and check out the websites.
Retirement to something new
Several members of the Career Pivot community have decided to try something new.
I want you to check out my post 3 Career Pivot Community members transitioning to an Encore career.
business coach
Alec Arons has spent much of his career in corporate finance consulting. In 2019 he retired with the idea of becoming a business coach. At the same time, he wanted to rekindle his passion for photography, which he had given up many years earlier.
Alec’s financial goals are to earn enough money to fund his photography and other personal interests.
Alec has built a very nice portfolio of coaching and teaching. He teaches an online course for a professional association in the field of financial auditing. It can also do this in your sleep if you do sporadic work, but it pays off well.
City Council Member
David Jenkins has spent much of his career in and out of state and local government. He also served in the US Army National Guard for 38 years, which included his deployment to Bosnia some 20 years ago.
When David joined Career Pivot Community over 3 years ago, he was the CEO of Southern Maryland Association of REALTORS®. This was a job David did not enjoy and which he eventually left to pursue some other pursuits. He taught an online business course for the University of Maryland. He also became a business consultant for his local Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
David spent the next two years volunteering on several committees for the city of La Plata, Maryland. He started a blog about the importance of placemaking and planning for our communities. David has learned many new skills since his career change.
As a result, he was told by several people inside and outside of La Plata City Council that he should run for a seat on the city council. He did it… and he WON!
You can listen to him lead his first political campaign on the podcast episode Learning How to Run a Successful Political Campaign in the Second Half of Life [Podcast].
author
Russ Eanes has had a varied career. Before joining the Career Pivot community, he ran MennoMedia, the publishing arm of the Mennonite Church, for 11 years. Over time, he grew tired of downsizing and firing friends. In 2018 he said goodbye and needed a year to find himself. I love his comment to me where he said “I had to admit I was lost before I could find a new direction”.
He hiked the Camino de Santiago and decided to write a book about it. He wrote The Walk of a Lifetime: 500 Miles on the Camino de Santiago. He self-published the book through the Amazon KDP service and IngramSpark in September 2019.
Russ accepted a full-time position at GetSetUp, where he led the travel team. That has now reduced to a part-time job while he works on his next book about walking another pilgrimage route, the Way of St. Francis in Italy.
Other
I want you to listen to the podcast episodes:
Both Adele and Deborah have passions very different from their previous lives.
There’s no way to do it
I left my last tech startup in 2011 to start Career Pivot. I’ve spent several years planning it, but it has now evolved from a full-time coaching practice to a part-time add-on career.
There has never been a better time to plan for retirement. Even in a recession, companies will continue to look for temporary jobs.
Downturns are often the best time to start something new.
What’s stopping you from retiring?
Markus Mueller
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