6 Tips on Planning a Second Career

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6 tips for seniors seeking employment
1. Register with temp firms in your local area as they don't care about age but are more interested in your skills and experience. Also if you get work through a temp firm it helps build your resume for future work assignments.
2. Try to get an interview with an employer you are not interested in working for to practice your interviewing skills. You don't want to go to your first interview in a long time with the employer you are really interested in working for and make easily correctable mistakes. .
3. Consider having your resume re-written or updated by an expert as the resume you used years ago is no longer appropriate.
4, Put your resume up on those job boards that connect older workers with employers seeking to hire them. The largest and most effective are www.RetiredBrains.com, www.retirmentjobs.com and www.seniors4hire.org
5. Look for temporary or project assignments as they are much more available than full-time jobs.
6. When applying for a job tell the employer you are willing to work on a project or temporary basis. This often gives you a leg up on younger workers or are often unable to accept this kind of employment.
Temporary employment can often lead to full-time work.
Jobs most often filled by seniors
Executives & managers (project assignments)
Consultants
Pharmacists (part-time & temporary)
Nurses & health care professionals (part-time & temporary)
Accountants (for tax season)
Chemists
Researchers
Call center & help desk
Customer service
Inside sales/telemarketing
Cashiers
Retail sales clerks (during the holidays)
Hotel/hospitality jobs like front desk & concierge
Bookkeepers
School bus drivers
Guards/security
Fast food and restaurant help

Art Koff of IL 4:30PM January 01, 2009

the career path website makes you fill out personal information before it will give you the test results. Wouldn't have wasted my time if they had told me up front!

of NC 10:36PM December 17, 2008

We have found the most successful way to move into a 2nd career is to start working part-time or in a temporary/project based job associated with the new career path you have chosen.
In some cases you will get excellent experience while earning some moneys. In others, you may find this is not the direction you want to go. Temp agencies can often place you or you can apply directly to employers in that field asking for part-time or fill-in work and accepting a wage that is likely to be less that you could command on the open market. Of course you are not likely to receive benefits either, but you will get some invaluable experience.
Many have visited our site www.RetiredBrains.com and either searched for these kinds of jobs or found valuable information that helped them move forward in 2nd careers. Many have also determined, after either research or job related experience, that they would be better to return to the area where they have expertise and perhaps to work on a project basis.
Lastly a huge number of retirees try their hand at consulting. Unfortunately only a few are able to earn the kind of dollars they had hoped for. This does not mean you should not try consulting; it just means have realistic expectations.

Art Koff of IL 4:42PM September 04, 2008

According to a recent survey titled the Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study, here are the top ten retirement jobs that baby boomers look forward to having:
Top-10 Retirement Jobs and Retirement Businesses
1.Consultant (27 percent)
2 .Teacher or Professor (20 percent)
3. Customer Greeter (15 percent)
4. Tour Guide (13 percent)
5. Retail Sales Clerk (13 percent)
6. Bookkeeper or Auditing Clerk (10 percent)
7. Home Handyman (10 percent)
8. Bed and Breakfast Owner or Manager (9 percent)
9. Security Screener (8 percent)
10. Real Estate Agent (7 percent)
Of course, some or all of the above retirement jobs may not appeal to many people given that there are more exotic retirement jobs to pursue. Based on my research on what the creative and bold retirees are doing, here are some of the best jobs during retirement:
Cool Retirement Jobs — Numbers One to Five
1 Wedding planner
2.Owning a boutique hotel and catering to the elite so that you can experience a touch of the high life yourself.
3. Engage your musical abilities by joining a band that plays on a cruise ship.
4. Work as a house sitter, looking after haciendas in Mexico.
5. Take an interior design program at a college and then use your talents to buy, fix up, and resell small older homes.
For more cool retirement jobs see:
http://www.real-success.ca/retirement_jobs.html
Ernie Zelinski
Author of "How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free"
(Over 95,000 copies sold and published in 7 foreign languages)

Ernie Zelinski 7:31PM August 20, 2008

Vocation Vacations is an excellent choice to test drive your dream job!
I own a bed and breakfast here in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Many of our guests mention this is something they would enjoy doing once retiring or even early retirement. I encourage them to visit the Vocation Vacations website. There is no better way than to "test drive your dream job" and see if it is something you really want to pursue.
Our B&B is there if you want a place within 4 hrs of DC (Claiborne House B&B in Rocky Mount VA) See our website and blog for information on the area, low tax rates, abundance of recreation and excellent weather!

Innkeeper at Claiborne House B&B of VA 1:39PM August 20, 2008

The MOST IMPORTANT aspect is knowing where your personal health insurance is going to come from.
If we had national sense, we'd get a national health plan so you can actually HAVE a small-time entrepreneurial option.
This ain't no "small" matter. It's THE issue for most people whether they know it or not. Elect Democrats. Republicans will not help you on this. They fix things for corporations, not for you.

of 12:25PM August 20, 2008