As America’s celebrated “Boomer” generation nears retirement age in the aftermath of a historic economic downturn, the process of shifting into an unfamiliar, post-career stage of life is certain to become a subject of heightened interest and no small measure of national concern.
In homage to this phenomenon, Nancy Collamer has recently published Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit from Your Passions during Semi-Retirement, a thoughtful, thorough primer on the rich landscape of opportunities that await Boomers in post-retirement — and strategies they can use to ease the transition by making the most of their pre-retirement careers.
Ms. Collamer spoke recently with creative.reconstruction about researching the book and some of the truths she uncovered in the process.
CREATIVE.RECONSTRUCTION: What was it that initially inspired you to write a book about semi-retirement careers?
NANCY COLLAMER: There were two major factors: personal and professional. On a personal level, after losing my mother and settling her estate, my husband and I decided to meet with a financial planner. This was not long after the ‘08 financial crisis, and our savings portfolio had been severely impacted. Despite the fact that we’d always done what the experts had advised — living below our means, maximizing our 401k contributions, etc. — we learned that under certain circumstances, we could conceivably run out of money in our later years. That got me to wondering about the circumstances of average Americans. I did a bit of research and was pretty shocked to discover just how many people will need to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65. I realized then that the need for a book like this one was very strong.
On a professional level, I’d been a career-coach for over 15 years and my specialty was the area of flexible work — i.e., generating income by using your skills and talents on a part-time or flexible basis. When I took a look at what was being generally recommended for Boomers, I was seeing one or two lines of thinking: Either the “go buy a vineyard and live off the land” type of dream – not realistic for most folks; or the “be an usher at a movie theater/greeter at WalMart” type advice . I thought to myself that there are so many other things that people could be doing to generate additional income during retirement, and the book was born.
What were some of the more persistent individual anxieties and insecurities that you encountered in your research for the book?
Probably the most overriding feeling I encountered was fear. Fear is just part of change; it’s commonplace for people going through some type of transition to feel anxiety or fear. But as a therapist once explained, fear is oftentimes just an acronym for “false evidence appearing real.” What I discovered in the more successful “second-act”-ers was that, even though they felt as much fear as the next person, that they didn’t let the fear stop them from moving forward. They overcame their fear by taking small steps — gaining skills and knowledge. As they gained competency in their new worlds that gave them confidence that helped them overcome their fears.
Another anxiety I heard expressed was rooted in the reluctance people tend to have of letting go of their old roles and identities — to go from being a VP with certain level of prestige to, for example, starting your own business from scratch takes a bit of an ego-adjustment for most people.
Are there any patterns or traits — behavioral, mental — that you’ve detected among the more successful “second-act”ers?
The first would be that willingness to move past old roles. They were the ones who’d achieved some measure of success in the first-act and were more willing to explore long-held interests with less concern about whether the new course was as prestigious as the old course. Another would be a willingness to ask for help. One of the challenges in getting into a second-act career is that you sometimes have to take a step backwards. People that succeeded at transitioning saw that as an opportunity to learn; they embraced that new challenge. These people recognized that risk is part of transition, and failure is oftentimes part of the process. And with these people, there were failures. But these failures were learning experiences and they moved on from that.
To what extent might those tendencies be intrinsic? Are you confident that that the bulk of them can be learned — even later in life?
Certain people are more inclined to think positively than others. An optimistic outlook on life is partly determined by one’s genetics. It’s also clear that there are things that all of us can do to help improve our attitudes: exercising, getting outdoors to enjoy the sunshine — and this next one’s really key — limiting one’s daily intake of negative news and media. Try to focus on the positive news and stories that are out there — in the book I outline a number of resources one can turn to — read stories about people who have successfully created their second-acts. These stories help to create a feeling of possibility and probability that you, too, can be successful at this. So people can, with just small behavioral changes, really increase the odds of creating a positive attitude which in turn helps increase the odds of having a favorable outcome.
The book is filled with actionable suggestions for individuals who might want to consider specific second-act careers. Broadly speaking, which would you identify as the three suggestions most vital to a successful, late-stage career transition?
Invest in your success. Recognize that the process is going to take time and money, but keep in mind that the second-act could easily last for 20 years. Think about what you spent on your children’s education or on your last vacation and just put a tiny portion of that into your own personal-investment fund.
Surround yourself with support. It’s an effective way to learn about ideas and opportunities. There’s no bigger dream-killer than isolation.
Focus less on finding a job and more on filling a need. Many of the opportunities aren’t necessarily things you’ll find in a job listing; they’re things you’ll create on your own, project work you do for others. The latest statistics show that about a third of Americans are working in something other than a full-time job; they’re working part-time, consulting, freelance, running their own business, etc. It’s very clear that over time those numbers are going to increase.
Of all the subjects you interviewed and personal stories you recounted for the book, are there any that struck you as being particularly instructional or inspiring?
I had to pick one, it would be the story about Joe Adamson — the man from Oklahoma who became the power-seller on eBay and now teaches other people how to earn a living on eBay. He was an executive and became disabled literally overnight. He spent months doing nothing because he was paralyzed with fear and didn’t know what to do next. Eventually he said “I’ve got to pull it together.” And he did it by analyzing his skills and focusing on what he could do as opposed to his limitations. Once he started selling via eBay he become more involved in the eBay community — taking online courses, joining forums, attending conferences, etc. He’s someone who’s successfully used online and in-person methods to build a community and grow his business. I also love the fact that he now dedicates some of his practice to helping others in difficult situations to get back on their feet through sharing his knowledge, expertise and resources.
At what point in a person’s “first-act” career trajectory — be it chronological, financial or psychological — would you say is the ideal time to begin contemplating and exploring second-act career possibilities?
Ideally, I’d say three to five years before you’re getting ready to retire is a great time to begin this process. That might seem like an over-long time-frame, but the reality is that the more time you allow, the more flexibility you’ll have to explore, research, test-out and refine your plan. It’s also important to keep in mind that it may be a while until you can generate meaningful income via a new career. The more time you allow yourself to save money, the more time and flexibility you’ll have to retool and retrain. Also, if you start thinking about the process and decide what it is you want to do while you’re still employed, you might be able to take advantage of employee-sponsored training programs, workshops and conferences, and that can be of great benefit in helping you get that new career off the ground.
In reading the book, I found myself thinking that much of your advice was transferable to anyone seeking a career-change, regardless of their life stage. Would you agree?
I agree. I think that the five-step career-reinvention process that I outline in the second-half of the book is as applicable to someone in their 20s as it is to someone in their 50s. That said, I don’t want to be misleading: ideas for generating part-time or supplemental income aren’t likely to be feasible for younger people. But certainly the reinvention process itself is absolutely applicable.
In your research, have you found any specific industries or sectors to be more receptive to semi-retired/retired persons?
I think any of the sectors where the characteristics of being someone older — experience, maturity, strong work-ethic — can play in your favor will be more receptive. The healthcare industry would qualify, as would sectors that seek tour directors — many of the tour-goers will be older people. I’ve devoted a full chapter of the book to identifying various service industries where age can play into one’s favor. Education, to some degree, is another. A teacher who brings 20–25 years of life-experience to the table can be helpful. But the main thing is to remember that there are many different types of jobs and businesses where your maturity, contacts, accomplishments, and range of experiences will be attractive to a lot of clients.
What parting words of advice or encouragement do you have for readers?
Thing big, but act small. Start by creating a big picture of what you want your life to look like in semi-retirement, and then take small actions on a regular basis — signing up for a workshop, taking a class, brainstorming with friends, volunteering — to begin to build that dream. Regular, consistent, small actions over time add-up to big change. As you begin to take those actions and put yourself out there, you’ll see reinvention magic really will happen.
An edited version of this article was originally published on Learnvest.com and FoxBusiness.com in March 2013.
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