Over 60 – don’t want to retire what can I do?

Over 60 – don’t want to retire what can I do?

Over 60 – don’t want to retire: Back in November I was approached by Woman & Home and asked if I would be one of their experts to work with a reader, helping them with a career decision. I was assigned to Christine who had worked in nursing for all her working life and at 65 was not ready to retire but wanted a new challenge, but what?

I had a couple of sessions with Christine where I found out more about the sort of person she is and options for her to consider. You can read more about my work with Christine on page 72 of the March 2010 edition of Woman & Home.

Over 60 – don’t want to retire
Many of us want to continue working after a typical retirement age but want to try something different. It’s unlikely that you will want to retrain for something new, so it’s often best to look for something that has a link to what you have done before.

If this situation resonates with you, you may like to consider the following:

• Think about why you are thinking about moving to a new company or job, be clear what you no longer want. Then consider talking to your employer to see if you can adjust the job to suit you – perhaps to work 3 days a week, work more from home or step back from a stressful job to one at a lower level.
• Decide if you could do something similar as a consultant, this is often a way of keeping the income high, and if you have suitable skills you could possibly earn as much in 2 days a week as you do in a week of working full time.
• If you really want to do something different, one approach is to look at your skills and abilities and see how you can use them in a different way. Then identify possible career paths. You may be able to do this on your own, but if not working with a career coach would help.

Don’t just think about work, what is it that you want to do in life – from holidays, to hobbies, including relationships and learning. Some people have so many things that they want to do they wonder how they will fit it in to the rest of their life. This is when it will be helpful to make a list you can then prioritise and categorise. If there are places you want to visit, and some of these are quite active, maybe you should schedule your walk up the Sand Dunes of Sossusvlei, Namibia and the trip to Everest Base Camp sooner rather than later!

If you see yourself asOver 60 – don’t want to retire Can I help at all? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Denise is the Chief Inspiration Officer with www.the50pluscoach.co.uk and chartered psychologist and award-winning career coach. She is the author of ‘How to get a job in a recession’, ‘Now you’ve been shortlisted’ and Find Work at 50+