Retirement Answer Man

October 2020
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Wed, 28 October 2020

Unexpected Retirement: How Do I Find Work to Fill the Gap?

What do you do if you lose your job but you’re still not ready to retire? Whether it’s personally, professionally, or financially, if you’re not ready to retire then you’ll have to take action to find new employment. How do you fill that gap between this job loss and retirement? On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, we’ll brainstorm some ways that you can take action to find your next job.

What happens to you when you lose your job?

Losing your job sucks. It never feels good to get pushed in a direction that you aren’t ready to take. It can zap your confidence even if the job loss had nothing to do with your performance.

There are several things that happen when you lose your job. You lose your connections. You lose the rhythm of your life. You lose the intellectual challenge. And of course, you lose your income.

Losing your job can make it feel like all your dreams have been zapped away.

What next?

While it’s okay to have feelings of anger, sadness, and remorse, you don’t want to wallow in them. One outlet you can take is to journal. When I’m faced with a difficult situation, I like to get all my feelings out on paper. I essentially yell into the page. This form of release can even help me figure out what my next step will be.

If you find yourself floundering and you don’t know what to do next, be sure to listen to episode 346 to discover some first steps to take when you lose your job. It’s important to start to get that forward momentum going so you don’t just sit there shellshocked.

Ways to fill the income gap quickly

What if you are really strapped for cash and you need income right away? If you don’t have the cash reserves to wait out a lengthy job search there are several ways that you can start earning income quickly.

File for unemployment
Register at temp agencies like Manpower.
Declutter your house and sell things on OfferUp or eBay.
Deliver groceries or food with UberEats or drive for Uber.
Consider a job at Starbucks if you need health benefits.
Tutor online or teach English remotely

None of these are perfect solutions, but they can help you be proactive and gain forward momentum.

How do you move forward in your job search?

The first step to take in your job search is to update your resume. It may have been a while since you have done so. Here are some tips for resume writing from an experienced HR professional:

Look for keywords in the jobs that you want. Listen in to hear why your resume often won’t make it past the screening stage without these keywords.
Have a base resume then tweak it to the specific job. Gone are the days when you only have one resume.
Review resume examples for the job you want.
Make your resume simple and easy to read.
Focus on measurable accomplishments.
Put the most important information first and only use the last 10 years of your work history in your resume.
Use these action verbs to help your resume stand out.

Listen in to hear what you should do after you update your resume to help you take action and find your next job. Stick around until the end to hear the Coaches Corner segment with BW to learn about your changing relationships in retirement.