I am of the age now that some of my contemporary colleagues are beginning to retire. Some voluntarily. Some being pushed out. Some wanting to transition from one career to an encore career: nonprofit work, SCORE mentor, other service.
No matter, after 35 to 40 years of experience in your field, you have much to offer others. You have learned many tried-and-true lessons throughout the years, culminating in this digital age. You want to help others at earlier stages in their careers? You have a need to give back? Great!
But how do you
1. find these volunteer positions and
2. where can you express your unique experienced POV?
The answers:
- Sign up to offer to serve as a pro-bono expert with an organization in your area that could benefit from your help. See https://volunteer.linkedin.com.
- Contribute:
a. Via long-form Posts: essays of your observations, perhaps titled “What I learned in…” or “How I helped others…” If the title and the narrative are compelling, readers will share and comment.
b. Also place a line of your opinion above the URL of articles you read and share with your connections.Why is this article meaningful?
c. Do the same when you offer the relevant article to a LinkedIn group and/or answer questions in that group that other pose.
Don’t make retirement the last solitary stop on the career journey. Make it one more station along the way, bringing others with you, enriching them with ideas, experience, and help.
