Finding Your Best Career Yet -- After Retirement
Imagine waking up every morning looking forward to doing
whatever you most enjoy. This may not be easy. Caught up in
your current career and raising your family for so many
years, you may not even remember where your true passions
lie.But the approach of retirement doesn't mean your
chances of having a career you love have passed you by --
quite the opposite. It's a great time to rediscover your
passions -- and some new ones as well.
Start by listing every job you've ever had, and noting
what things about each you enjoyed the most. Maybe it was
managing employees, mentoring young workers, talking to
customers, carpooling, surfing the Internet, or just
chatting at the water cooler. All of these hold clues to
your core passions. You may notice one or two aspects that
appear repeatedly in various forms.
Reviewing Your Greatest Hits
When reviewing your career, look for moments of greatness
-- when you knew you had hit your stride and felt as if you
were, as they say in sports, in the zone. Identify what made
these times so wonderful. If you were part of a team, what
role did you play? What skills and personality traits came
alive during these endeavors? Did you take risks, master a
skill that had previously intimidated you, or demonstrate
courage or persistence? Think of these peak moments as the
greatest hits of your work life.
Now repeat the exercise for how you've spent your leisure
hours. Think about what motivated your interests or what
activities gave you the most pleasure. What kind of people
have you most enjoyed spending time with? Your choices in
the first 50 years of life can inform and inspire your
blueprint for what comes next.
Then, recall your childhood. If you can, hunt through
some of your old report cards, letters to and from friends,
or diary entries. What did you dream about doing with your
life? Remembering those first hopes and goals can provide
invaluable insight, especially if you feel that your dreams
have been obscured by the struggle to survive and raise a
family.
Stating Your Vision
Envisioning what you want to do is the critical first
step toward realizing your dreams. It can be helpful to
write down a vision statement. This should be one paragraph
summarizing what you're good at, where your core passions
lie, and how you plan to fuse the two in the years ahead.
Here are some sample vision statements:
-
I'm a terrific salesperson, and
I love selling people things that
will make their lives better. I
intend to find a small to midsize
real estate or insurance company
where I can have a blast by turning
on all of my selling engines and
making a good living in the process.
However, because I also enjoy
playing golf and fishing, I will
only work three days each week!
-
I'm an accomplished executive
who gets great satisfaction from
fixing problems and helping
employees achieve great things. It
doesn't matter if it's with a
Fortune 500 company, my church, or
the Red Cross. I intend to find a
series of organizations that will
let me jump in as needed.
-
I'm a caring and successful manager
who is well-organized and enjoys working
with people from varied backgrounds. I
get frustrated by bureaucratic
organizations. So I intend to help
entrepreneurs in my community develop
and manage viable businesses. And
because I'm a woman who grew up poor and
have discovered that I'm most
appreciated by women with humble
beginnings, I will focus on highly
motivated young women from the inner
city.
-
Throughout my life, I have worked in
an office, but during my free time I
have always enjoyed the outdoors. I'm
going to find a way to get a job -- even
for less pay -- where I can spend all of
my time outside, surrounded by nature.
Maybe I will volunteer at the local
campgrounds or state park.
-
Although I have been a bookkeeper my
whole life, what I really like to do is
take care of other people -- especially
older adults. So I will seek a job where
I can help others as an elder-care
provider at a local senior center or
assisted-living facility.
There's one more step in this search for what makes you
tick. As much as you can, you should reach out to those
family members and friends who have insights into what you
do best and love most. Explain to your loved ones that
you're trying to rediscover your core passions and fashion a
new career or later-life pursuit that will keep you
fulfilled. Ask them to share the moments when they believed
you were the most excited or happy. Then sit back and
listen. From these insights, craft a plan of action. Your new career can be
about much more than just earning a living -- it's an
opportunity to shed your old life and become exactly who you
want to be by working at what you enjoy.
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