Careers Now: Helping retirees go back to work

Q: At 63, I find it necessary to go back to work although I retired last year. I don't need a super-duper job, just one that helps pay the mortgage. Where do I start and what do I say in interviews?

A: Say you miss the opportunity to feel like you've accomplished something and done well each day on the job. Then smile and add, "And my budget could use a bit more substance these days."

Be prepared to answer questions about yourself that aren't asked but that virtually every interviewer is thinking about. Give examples for each of the following points:

• How is your health? Eyesight? How is your energy level holding up?

• Are you a cheerful, enthusiastic person?

• How up to date are your skills, especially Internet skills, and industry knowledge?

• How will you react (agitate, quit, go along to stay along) to a development that, in comparison to your earlier working days, is unappealing and underpaying?

• How will you react to being supervised by a person young enough to have been your student in school?

As for where to start, your former employers (or their competitors) may be glad to have you back on a part-time basis - just ask: Are you receptive to bringing back your former employees who retired? Next, check out advertised jobs in newspapers and online job sites; employers don't run ads unless the need to hire is immediate.

Among niche Web sites to cruise for more thoughts and leads: AARP.org, RetirementJobs.com, RetiredBrains.com, RetireeWorkForce.com, Seniors4Hire.org, WorkForce50.com.

Q: I took early retirement three years ago, but now I think I need to get out of the pasture and find some kind of a job. What do I say on my resume about my three-year absence from the working world?

A: Part-time and volunteer work is an ideal gap-filler. Speak of studies you pursued, either in class, online or self-study. Traveling counts as broadening your knowledge of people and cultures. Try to equate your learning with a growth of your ability to do the job under discussion. If all else fails, just say you were waiting for the perfect job to come along and this is it.

Another tip to tune up your resume: Clean house. Toss really old stuff such as your inclusion on the dean's list in college, organizations to which you once belonged (unless you were president) and most hobbies, especially reading, which is low-energy.

Q: I haven't looked for a job in 22 years, but that's what I will be doing now. Do you recommend using one of those templates one can find on the Internet to compose a cover letter to accompany a resume?

A: The term "cover letter" is becoming a misnomer. "Sales letter" is a better description because the correspondence should do a hard sell on valuing you as a candidate worth interviewing. Cover letter templates available on the Internet for free often come out looking like form letters. They don't set you apart from competitors as dramatically as, say, a single red tulip in a field of yellow tulips.

So the answer is no, I'm not a big fan of online cover letter templates. For boatloads of sample cover letters, browse professional writer Susan Ireland's Web site, susanireland.com.

Q: After a series of downsizings several years ago, I switched careers and got into IT (information technology) as a contractor. Problem: Recruiters who send me for full-time (permanent) jobs report interviewers' concerns about my longevity and conversion from contractor to regular-status employee. Any ideas?

A: Try this: "I needed a spectrum of experiences to build a solid base of knowledge fairly quickly. Working as a contractor gave me that opportunity. As someone said, you can work at a job five years and acquire one year's experience five times. Or, by leaving your personal comfort zone and working in changing environments and constantly meeting new challenges, you can work six months at each job and five years later you'll have the equivalent of 10 years' state-of-the-art experience. I've done my tour and recognize a superior company when I see it, and now I'm salivating at the possibility of regular-status employment at your workplace. I think the totality of my background brings valuable skills to your table. Do you agree?"

© 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.