More and more employers are becoming age-friendly when it comes to considering those of retirement age for a job.
In today’s workplace, there are many more options than existed 20 years ago.
In the US in 2011 there were over 6.6 million Americans over the age of 65 who were in work.
Revisiting the stats in 2016 saw an increase of 35% with 8.9 million in work.
The trend is towards more flexibility with more part-time, seasonal, short -term, and freelance positions available.
If you are a retiree considering work, it is not just about the job itself, as let’s face it you have already spent a considerable part of your lifetime working.
If you are considering getting back into work, try to keep an open mind and think about what you could do rather than what your past experiences in working life have been.
You might also consider what jobs would fit well with your interests, personality, and lifestyle.
The other issue might be your health.
Are you in good all round health that you could consider any job or are there some jobs you couldn’t do because of specific ailments you have?
I think one of the first things you need to consider is why you want to work in the first place.
Is it for money because your pension is not quite as much as you would like it to be?
Is it for companionship, you enjoy having interactions with work colleagues?
Maybe you want to stretch yourself or learn a new skill and earn some money while you are doing so.
Your Skill Set
Another way of approaching it is to consider your existing skill set.
All through your working life, you have gained a certain amount of what is termed transferable skills.
Think about the skills you have and the ones you really like using and focus on those areas when looking for a job opening.
The other skill is to believe in yourself and your abilities.
Many people proffer that age can be a barrier, however, age also brings with it a plethora of experience and skills that you can apply.
Don’t let your inner demons talk you out of applying for a job that you think either you don’t have the experience or the skills for.
You might find that you fit the bill perfectly.
If you are using a CV to help secure a job, you may need to tweak it to suit the situations your applying for.
You need to focus on what you think the recruiter is looking for and what key information are they looking for in a candidate to make them read on and consider you.
List your skills and only go back 15 years in regards to your work history.
Don’t worry about dates for education and focus on any recent training or any higher qualifications you might have.
Most employers these days will also check you out on Linkedin, so make sure your profile is up to date and reads well.
So let’s get down to the jobs you might consider as a retiree.
Freelancer
One job that is growing in appeal for retirees is that of a freelancer or consultant.
Freelancing is a type of self-employment where work is carried out on a flexible basis.
You can end up working on projects big or small and short term or long term.
One of the advantages of these types of jobs is that they give you the freedom to pick and choose when and where you work.
There are freelancer jobs for just about anything out there with a variety of options to suit your skills and abilities.
There are quite a few online agencies that you can register with such as Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.
Driver
If you like driving and know your way around your local neighborhood then becoming a driver might appeal.
There are many different types of driver jobs, and most will give you some degree of flexibility.
The options might be a taxi driver, limo driver, school bus driver, delivery driver… there are quite a few.
As a driver, you can look to make on average $12 an hour driving a limo or taxi or $21 an hour as a truck driver.
Hotel Concierge
If you live in a town or city with a range of hotels, why not think about a concierge job?
A concierge offers a variety of services to hotel guests, which might be information about local attractions, good restaurants or other services.
You need to be an excellent communicator to be a concierge as there will be plenty of interaction.
Your demeanor and friendliness will also be essential and you should be extremely welcoming.
You should also be well organized, professional and have a piece of useful local knowledge to help out hotel guests.
If you are looking for a job with regular interaction with others, then this job might be worth considering.
Pet or House Sitter
Here is another area of the job market that is growing and can also be great for retired folk.
As a house sitter, this can also be a great way to travel to other parts of the country or world without the expenses of a usual break.
You can also go as a couple.
Similar to house sitting is pet sitting.
If you like animals, pet sitting is something you can do in a number of ways.
You could start your own pet sitting business; the other similar service is that of dog walking.
Retail Assistant
There is usually quite a selection of retail jobs that you might want to consider.
You might also have the option of holiday season retail jobs.
Shops and stores usually recruit more in their busy seasons like holiday time such as Christmas.
Some of the more popular stores that opt for seniors are traditionally homeware, home improvement stores, and garden centers.
As a retail assistant, you will typically help with day to day issues, shelf stacking, and acting as a cashier.
Teaching Assistant
As a teaching assistant, you would work alongside the teaching professionals helping students with day to day activities in the classroom.
You can sometimes find positions of varying hours from a few hours to a few days a week, depending on the school.
The task of a teaching assistant is to help struggling students, managing student behavior, and act as another pair of hands and eyes for the teacher.
You will probably need to have an associate degree to get a teaching assistant job you might also have to take some exams.
It can be a very rewarding job, though and can give you a real feeling of giving something back.
Gardener
If you have green fingers, then gardening might be a job for you.
If you grow your own plants, you could also sell those alongside keeping other peoples gardens under control.
Gardening is quite a physical job, so you need to ensure that you are pretty fit to work and lift.
You would probably need to have your own machineries such as lawn mower, rotovator, and hedge trimmers.
The sorts of jobs you could do as a gardener are raising seedlings, plant and weed flowerbeds and borders, prune shrubs and ensure lawns are well kept.
Bookkeeper
If you are good with numbers then bookkeeping is a great part-time job.
In a business, a bookkeeper would take responsibility for a full range of financial records for the company.
You might also take the lead on purchasing items for the business and processing payroll.
Other duties would be tracking accounts receivable and account payable and producing financial reports for the business.
The pay would average around $18 an hour so quite competitive.
You might need an accountancy qualification to get hired but if you have the considerable experience that would count also.
Virtual Assistant
Dipping back into the freelance world, you could market yourself as a virtual assistant.
If you have had experience as an administrative assistant and you are comfortable in the online world, you might suit the virtual assistant world.
You will require solid organizational skills and also be skilled at using Microsoft applications such as word and excel.
Your role as a virtual assistant can cover a multitude of tasks, just make sure you are comfortable with what you are being asked to do.
Blogger
The world of blogging has opened up many a new career for people.
You do not need any educational qualifications you just need to be a good writer and have an in-depth knowledge of something that others will find interesting.
You will just need to learn content management systems such as WordPress etc.
There is no doubt that more and more seniors are turning to part-time work for a variety of reasons – there are many opportunities out there go and grab one.