Second Careers, How to do it

Easy to say – not so easy to do?

If you’ve tried to keep working, or to try forging a second career, you’ll know that it can take some doing. People may tell you that you’re either over the hill, overqualified, don’t have necessary qualifications (although you’re good at the skills you’re offering)… There’s no end of how not to, and reasons to give up.

Yes, it may not be easy. We know that from experience.

But you can do it. For a start, you might consider supplying what you’re good at to other older people. There’s a huge market for older people helping other older people. Do you already have skills and connections you can use to help others with? A few obvious options are:

Handling health issues, fitness, first aid or self-help
IT and all its benefits
Creativity, leisure, entertainment
Financial and legal issues
Home and garden
Care, mobility
Helping people with teaching whatever you’re good at: plumbing, electrics, woodwork, a language…
That’s just for starters. You may prefer to do something for younger people, or just find the right job with the right conditions, or retrain or qualify or just find a way into something that attracts you.

You have the experience of a lifetime to offer! That’s valuable to us all. If you really want to do something with it, you could start by trying our best resources.

Best Resources

Prime – The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise
www.prime.org.uk

Age UK
www.ageuk.org.uk

The Really Caring 60+ Recruitment Company
www.trcrc.com

Skills Funding Agency
www.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk

The Department of Work and Pensions
www.dwp.gov.uk

Direct Gov – search “older workers”
www.gov.uk

Pro 50 Plus (to become a first aid trainer)
www.pro50plus.co.uk/en/

Your own contacts and networks – including friends, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or other social networks if you use them, and of course Our Place – put possibilities or questions on our Forum and see what happens.

Why not click here and look at our Testimonials page for some inspiration on launching your own second career.