Retirement is something that faces everyone as we get towards the end of a long working career.
I am well aware that many in the workforce who are younger or at entry level the mention of retirement is a joke.
There are mountains to be climbed many, many things to be done, but retirement is not on the list. But believe me it creeps up faster than you will ever believe.
Once upon a time retirement meant just that, hang up your boots with a “Gone Fishing” sign hanging on your door.
That was then, but this is now and with the advent of specialisations in so many areas of business, there are many people nearing retirement with a tremendous bank of knowledge that can be of enormous value to employers all over the place.
Especially if your career has brought you face to face with customers, building good relations and trust.
No matter what area of endeavour you have been in, having long experience and being regarded as a good “door opener” to business contacts is something that younger people can only achieve or deliver after years of working at it.
Remember your most important asset is your ability to work and so long as you believe in yourself along with the drive and determination, there is no reason to believe your working life or earning capacity is over.
Your contacts in business, a list that you have accumulated over a lifetime could well be worth a small fortune to the right company.
In a similar fashion, technical expertise along with an inside and intimate knowledge of negotiating your way through complex business structures such as Government or large corporate structures is also of great value.
So don’t ever underestimate your worth or sell yourself cheap.
Opportunities will present themselves provided you are active, energetic and most of all, do not present as being tired or worn-out.
With so many opportunities now available through so many sources creating job alerts with IrishJobs.ie can often yield results.
At retirement age, you may not want or need fulltime employment, but contract work, part time work and/or consultancy work, is positively on the cards provided you make it known that you are available. You must let as many people as possible and also ensure that potential employers can find you.
To secure consultancy or part time work the procedure is much the same as anyone looking for full time employment. This means you need to pursue all avenues through which jobs are secured.
It’s important to include your personal contacts, let as many people as possible know you are in the market. Having worked a lifetime in business, your personal contacts will be of enormous help. By talking with colleagues or people you have done business with, ask them for advice (which compliments them) you can be assured that when an opportunity presents itself they will refer it on to you.
They will fully appreciate what you are doing as most likely they will be in the same boat as you in another few short years.
Colm Cavey has over 24 years’ experience in helping people change careers and find the kind of job they want. Colm can review your CV, help you organise your job hunt and provide one to one interview and presentation coaching or all of those elements together in a full Career Change programme. To find out more about Colm you can contact him directly on 086-3017207 or via his company Professional Career Consulting