Second Act Successes
Whether
it's to maintain mental sharpness, keep healthy social connections, or bulk up
the nest egg, many people are opting not to retire at the traditional age of
65.
Yet not
all are sticking with the corporate grind. Instead, they're making
later-in-life career switches to the entrepreneurial life.
Honoring innovation
Nearly two in three people (64
percent) see the next stage of life as a time to keep working, with nearly
equal numbers saying it’s a time to use their skills and experiences to help
others in paid or volunteer positions (31 percent) versus a time to simply
cover expenses and maintain health insurance (33 percent). That's according to
research (www.encore.org/files/2011ResearchHighlights.pdf)
conducted by Civic Ventures, a San Francisco, Calif.-based think tank focused
on baby boomers, work, and social purpose.
Most
interesting are those who create their own jobs by launching ventures aimed at
solving social problems in their communities and elsewhere. Each year for the
last six years, Civic Ventures has
recognized such entrepreneurs with its Purpose Prize® .
The prize honors those over the age
of 60 who have found a way to marry their passions and interests with social
good. One aim is to illustrate that
innovation isn't the "sole province of the young."
In
November, Civic Ventures named its five 2011 winners. Prize winners gain
recognition and each receives $100,000.
Solutions to pressing social
problems
If you've
been thinking about what to do with the second half of your career life, take
some inspiration from some of those winners. They spotted needs and figured out
how to address them.
Their ventures are extremely varied and include a woman who found
a way to deliver an array of services, such as infant care and preschool programs, to Chinese orphans.
Another helps people
seeking second careers by developing training, mentoring, and internships for
people over the age of 50.
Still another is focused on lowering the
environmental impact of buildings.
Re-tooling
"While Purpose
Prize winners are helping to solve a wide range of pressing social problems,
they have one thing in common,” said Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures' CEO and founder “They – and millions of others
in encore careers – are turning personal passions and decades of experience
into invaluable contributions across sectors, continents and generations, often
through entrepreneurship.”
Freedman also wrote The Big Shift: Navigating
the New Stage Beyond Midlife, a book that discusses encore careers and the vast contributions
that those who are in the second stage of life can make.
Inspired?
The Civic Ventures site, www.Encore.org, offers tremendous
insight for blooming entrepreneurs. For details and guides from Civic Ventures,
along with a host of other career-related advice, see "Resources"
below.
Resources:
Emerging career fields--Civic Ventures identifies the top five encore
career fields (www.encore.org/work/top5),
along with information
on potential jobs in the field, the training needed, and ways to prepare for a
new career. Those top fields are:
- Education
- Health care
- Environment
- Government
- Nonprofit
Job information and sites--If
you're looking for a new job or researching a new career with a social purpose,
see www.commongoodcareers.org, www.idealist.org, and http://retirementrevised.com/retirement-jobs. Also, Encore.org,
http://www.encore.org/work/find features tools to help you plan for the next career
by delivering advice on networking, fine-tuning your resume, and preparing for interviews.
2012 Purpose Prize--Know someone worthy of the
receiving the Purpose Prize? The nomination forms for and information on the
2012 awards are available at www.encore.org/prize/nominate.
The deadline is March 22, 2012.
Don't say this
As you're redesigning your resume and online profiles, LinkedIn
has a word to the wise. The career networking site just released the most used
descriptions among its users.
So if you're looking to distinguish yourself, you may want to
avoid the hackneyed buzzwords and vapid phrases everyone else is using.
The no-nos are:
-Creative
-Organizational
-Effective
-Extensive experience
-Track record
-Motivated
- Innovative
-Problem solving
-Communication skills
-Dynamic
People likely are still weary of the
words from the 2010 list, so it's probably not a bad idea to avoid those too. "Extensive
experience" made it to both the 2010 and 2011 lists.
The other big 2010 buzzwords were:
-Innovative
-Motivated
-Results-oriented
-Dynamic
-Proven track record
- Team player
- Fast-paced
-Problem solver
-Entrepreneurial