People often think that retirement should be spent on leisure and doing nothing. For many job-holders, retirements are like an end of the road. On average, people retire at the age of 60 or 70. Should you think about building a fresh career after your retirement? Let’s find out why is it essential to do post retirement career planning. Here we will also discuss some tips about how to choose a suitable career after retirement.
Benefits of Working after Retirement
The age of retirement varies from 60 to 70 across the globe. People usually think that this is the age where the body needs rest and should stay away from workloads. However, this rule doesn’t apply for all. Even after reaching the retirement age, many people stay healthy and capable to work. Not to mention their years of experience are at play to hunt a new purpose for life.
The leisure and resting period of retired life will soon become boring. If you are working after retirement, you are helping both yourself and the society. However, it is not always necessary that you have to work for money. You can put your experience to good use in relevant fields after retirement.
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Retirement gives people the opportunity to try new things in life and career. Some people try to do the things that they might not have got the chance to do before. Did you have any passion at young age which you had to give up due to job or family responsibilities? If yes, you still have the chance to plan your dream career after retirement.
Overall, there are countless opportunities of working after retirement. Now let's look at the things you should consider before jumping right back in.
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How to Pick a Career after Retirement?
Wanting to work and knowing how to work after retirement are different things. You might feel you still have what it takes. However, there’s always the problem of where to start and how to start. You should consider some of the below-mentioned aspects to get started.
Understand the Scenario
Whether it's for a monetary reason or simply because you don’t want to stop working, you have to find works that you want to do. It's easier said than done, however. You might be interested in a particular field but interest might not be enough.
Every field of job has its own set of requirements. There are skills associated with each field. The more you excel in those skills, the more your chance of getting the job increases. To start things off, you need to do your homework and understand what is expected in that specific field and how you stack up against it.
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Work on the Skills
The next step is an obvious one. After you’ve done your research on the industry, you should have a pretty good idea regarding your eligibility. If you are already stacked on the qualifications, then there’s nothing to worry about. If not, now is the time to start working on acquiring those skills.
Depending on the industry, the skills will vary. For instance, most office jobs will require the proficiency of the Microsoft Office Suite. Other technical jobs might require relevant technical skills. There are tons of platforms where you can acquire skills with professional certification.
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Rework your CV
Being a retired person gives you an upper hand among the rest and that is your experience. Since you are planning to start things afresh, we recommend that you revamp your CV. If you are going to stick to the field or industry you’ve worked in before, then you can highlight all the experiences that you gathered during your service year. There is a huge demand for experienced labor in addition to skilled labor.
However, what should you do if you are switching to a new industry? You need to replace the experience with skills. As long as you are skilled labor, age is just going to be a number on a paper.
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Online Presence
There are two aspects of online presence – personal and professional. The personal aspect would focus on your personal development. You need to stay up to date with the changing times. For example, LinkedIn is a popular place to get hired. You can start by building your work profile which can be an easy reference for potential employers. Then there’s the professional aspect. Here you can join different seminars and job fairs online. These will help you not only to build a robust online presence but also to get hired easily.
Show your inner youth
In all honesty, employers tend to be skeptical about the potential output of a retired candidate. They might think that age might have slowed you down or you might not be able to perform at an optimum level. This is where you need to ward off ageism and show your inner youth. You need to show that you can bring positive energy and effort to the company. But more than anything let your work ethic and skills do the talking.
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Start by Volunteering
This is something that applies to people who are looking to get back from a career break as well. Volunteering can be a great starting point within an industry. While your initial days will be spent on revamping the CV and working on acquiring new skills, you should also focus on doing some voluntary works.
This will not only have a positive impact on your CV but will also present you with the opportunity to demonstrate your skills. Some voluntary work might even generate additional skills for you so it’s always fruitful.
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Find Low-stress Jobs
No matter how strong you are, you need to avoid stressful career at old age. Stress can lead towards lot of health issues like hypertension, stroke, etc. It would be an intelligent decision, if you can find a low-stress job after retirement. Look for fun jobs which are directly related to your passion and interest. It will serve the purpose of keeping you engaged, cheerful and simultaneously make you feel useful to the universe.
Networking is the Key
Whether you are a fresher or a retiree, one thing is common to get any job and that is networking. We cannot possibly emphasize enough the importance of networking. In the digital era, connecting with people has become easier than ever. You should make use of every opportunity at your hand to build a professional network relevant to your industry.
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To get started, we suggest you to attend the job related online webinars. You can also use email and social media to connect with your industry peers and get insights. Overall, networking not only opens up a new door to explore but also acts as a crucial stepping ground within the industry.
Final Thoughts
Before anything else, you need to believe yourself and have the conviction to build a career post-retirement. The process is somewhat tough; but with the right approach and relevant skills, it becomes increasingly easy. We hope that this article would be of help to kick start your dream career after retirement.