• Health
• Money
• Leisure
• Make a Difference
• Family
• Online Community
• Membership

  Regular visitors to AARP.org’s Money and Work channel may be aware of my  “Ask Bob About Jobs” column. You can submit your work-related questions directly to me.  Several questions are selected each week to be answered in either my blog or the twice-monthly column in the hope that the questions and answers are of value to the 50+ reader.  

Some questions ask for information and specific guidance about finding and keeping meaningful and rewarding jobs.  Other times, the questions are more general and invite a bit more judgment and personal opinion.  I thought I would try answering several such questions in my journal in the hopes they will trigger reader responses and suggestions.  Perhaps you’ll be encouraged to send in your own question.

Q:  I’m 50 years old, divorced since age 35 and getting ready to send my youngest off to start college.  After earning a BA from UCLA, I worked in several challenging professional positions but then became a working Mom about 20 years ago and since then have held only modest jobs so I could focus on raising my children.  Finally, it’s “my time” and I want to resume a stimulating and rewarding career.  I am open to any options though I’m having a tough time getting on track to pursue appropriate employment.  What in the world can I do??  Terri, Bellport, N.Y.

A: 50!  Wow, 50 is YOUNG.  I’d love to be 50 and know what I know now!  First, my compliments on your decision to put work in its proper place and focus on raising your children.  Sending the youngest off must be a relief but what to do with your time now? 

Age 50 is a wonderful time to restart a career or transition to something new.  You have at least ten to fifteen years or more to work before considering a more traditional retirement.  The problem can be that you have too many choices and it can be difficult narrowing down your options.

It’s an ideal time to take stock of your resources and then ask “what’s next?”  Retirement Living TV produces an excellent show titled just that – “What’s Next?” The show features real life makeovers for people 50+.  The steps they generally recommend are:

1. Health Evaluation: What is your health condition and are you caring for yourself and living a healthful lifestyle? What type of health insurance coverage do you have?
2. Financial Evaluation: What is your financial status and what are your current and forecasted income needs?
3. Social Evaluation: Are you living where you feel most comfortable and do you have a close and supportive social network?
4. Work:  What role does meaningful work play in your long term plan? 

Then comes the big question:  What do you want to do now that you’ve grown up?  What are you passionate about?  What tasks do you most enjoy?  What kind of work environment and colleagues do you most enjoy?  Make a “dream job” list of your top 10 career choices and prepare a “pros” and “cons” rating.  You may even want to consider those that require additional training or education.  Ask others what career they envision you pursuing.

Considering working at temporary positions available through top staffing firms such as Manpower;  Robert Half;  Kelly Services;  Adecco; and Express Employment Professionals to try out different occupations.  You may even want to consider a part-time job in occupations and industries of interest.

There are several excellent career reference books available as well:

1. Over-40 Job Search Guide, Gail Geary, JIST Works Publishing, 2005
2.  Second Careers – New Ways to Work After 50, Caroline Bird,  Little, Brown, 1992
3.  How to Find a Job After 50, Betsy Cummings,  Warner Business Books, 2005
4.  Job Hunting After 50, Samuel Ray,  John Wiley & Sons, 1991
5.  What Color Is Your Parachute?  For Retirement,  Richard Bolles,  Ten Speed Press,  2007

Narrow your “dream jobs” down to three or four and sketch out a plan to prepare for each occupation.  Starting with your top priority prepare a job search plan, identify target employers, prepare a statement of career objective and resume (highlighting that you’re are a career “re-starter”) that emphasizes your skills, capabilities and knowledge.  Describe your 20 years as parent and provider as a single item on the resume. 

The key though will be a clear and decisive declaration of your career objective.  You need to “knock the socks off” of potential employers with your enthusiasm for specific career opportunities and their organization.  You need to research employers of interest and impress them with your knowledge.

I checked job openings at RetirementJobs.com within 30 miles of your home – there were 94 and I suspect you would consider most of them “modest.”  If you are willing to commute to Manhattan there are countless challenging jobs available.

So my advice?  Make sure your “house is in order”, identify your top “dream jobs”, lay out a search plan for each and get started.  It’s sort of like being 20 again when people asked, “Well, what do you want to do for a living?” except that you have all that life experience to call on now. 

Do you have questions about organizing a job search plan?  Write again if you do.  Best wishes.