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Yes, many older people find their last work years challenging, whether employed or looking for remunerative work. Perhaps one or more of these ideas, derived from my new book, Careers for Dummies, will help you.
Rebrand yourself in your current job. If you’re already employed but unhappy, sometimes, rather than a job or career change, just a job tweak will do. Such a tweak could use your age as a plus as well as make your job more enjoyable. For example, should you, as the wise elder, offer to mentor new or existing employees. Or if you’d prefer to be paid more on your acquired wisdom than on how much you crank out, could you angle for a changed job description, whether a promotion to management or informally to do process development or help other employees or customers solve problems? Or make more suggestions in a meeting based on what you’ve seen work? For example, “I ran into a similar situation a number of years ago. We tried X and Y, which failed, but Z succeeded.”
Pursue a job in which age is a plus. Your being older is a plus, for example, as a manager at a senior center or assisted-living community, Social Security eligibility specialist, selling long-term care insurance, management in a durable medical equipment company, or selling big-ticket items that mainly older people can afford: boats, airplanes, luxury cars, even architectural services. Particular mention should be made of fundraising work. Most people have acquired sufficient wealth to make big donations only when they’re older, and such people would generally prefer to be solicited by a gray-hair than by a fresh-face.
Consider under-the-radar careers. Of course, there are thousands of those but to jump-start your thinking, here are a few that most people don’t think about and are well-suited to people 50+.
Conference administrator. Conventions and other professional meetings require people to manage mailings, registration, selecting and monitoring onsite services, etc.
Ghostwriter for executives. Variation: Contact celebrities who are just over the hill and afraid of losing their celebrity. Offer to ghostwrite their biography.
Consultant, even if your career hasn’t been senior-level. For example, a former administrative assistant might hire out as a trainer of admins.
Fashion model: While many young adults salivate at the thought of modeling, fewer people 50+ do, yet many ads picture older people.
Image consultant and personal shopper specializing in older people.
Support person in a cosmetic surgery clinic. Most clinics employ people to answer questions before and after surgery as well as to do administrative tasks.
Indexer. In the U.S. alone, between 600,000 and a million books are published each year. Many need an index.
Sell your age as a plus. No one’s going to ask you to do 50 push-ups. And just because you’re not as tech-savvy as a Millennial who has been programming since parturition, doesn’t mean you’re unemployable. Indeed, a case can be made for your age being a plus: Most older workers take fewer sick days, fewer days to take care of a sick child, have that lifetime of experience and Rolodex to draw from, and are more likely to have the perspective and reduced impulsivity that's helpful amid today’s many reflex-reactive workplaces.
Want a last hurrah? What’s the most exciting project you could pursue that would leverage your experience, natural talents, and desire for contribution? Here are a few examples that might trigger your ideas: Give a “Last Lecture” at a conference or local college. Write an article or book on lessons learned from a lifetime as a psychotherapist (or whatever.) Take a trip in which you visit, in different countries, a preschool, a prison, or workplace like yours. Document your experience on YouTube, Facebook, whatever.
Want to take a big risk? As people get older, some become more risk-averse while others figure, “Now or never!” How big a risk would you like to take? For example, might you want to chuck your remunerative career in exchange for low-pay work for a nonprofit or to perform in a musical group? Or, sick of your field, to fight (like hell is usually required) to land a job in a new field? For example, after decades in the software world, might you be tempted to worm your way into the sports or fashion biz? Of course, do make the case for how your age is a plus. For example, “Many older people want to look great but what works for them is different than for a teeny-bopper. My sensibilities and empathy for older people should make me a better employee.”
Learn efficiently. When we’re younger, we feel we have the luxury of time and so, if we like school—its structure, its social life—and the piece of paper as a going-away present, we might have opted to get a degree and perhaps another. But as we get older, it’s wise to consider more efficient ways of learning. Perhaps most efficient is to pick something specific that you want and need to learn now, read a few articles on your own, noting where you’re getting stuck. Then find a tutor, someone probably not officially labeled as such but who has the practical expertise to answer those questions and those that come up from your additional reading or practicing what you learned.
Create your succession plan. Consider creating a glide path from full-on employment to retirement. For example, might you want to replace a day a week of your standard job to mentoring young people or recruiting and then training your replacement? Then perhaps work part-time, maybe doing a little consulting on the side, which you might continue after retirement.
Consider pre-retirement activities. Sometimes, your last years of paid work can feel more rewarding by supplementing with a pre-retirement activity. Here are a few that many people enjoy:
Writing a blog, perhaps with video, a memoir, short stories, or fiction/non-fiction book.
Mentoring young people, for example, students from your alma mater or volunteering for SCORE, which helps would-be entrepreneurs.
One-on-one friend-raising or fundraising for a favorite charity.
Joining the board of a local nonprofit.
Taking a photography course and then specializing in, for example, naturalistic portraits of children, the surreal, or urban realities.
Getting involved in community theatre as an actor, set designer, costumer, usher, or light/sound person. Community theaters often welcome such volunteers.
Spending extended time with current or past friends, perhaps a get-away to a nature spot.The takeaway
As with all such advice, there are no guarantees, but my clients have found one or more of these ideas to make their last work years rewarding, maybe even their best years.
I read this on YouTube.
