{"id":7215,"date":"2018-12-30T08:03:56","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T12:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7215"},"modified":"2018-12-30T08:03:56","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T12:03:56","slug":"the-best-way-to-boomerang-back-to-your-old-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7215","title":{"rendered":"The Best Way to Boomerang Back to Your Old Job"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>With a tight labor market and an unemployment rate floating around 3.7 percent, there are signs that some employers facing worker shortages are more willing to rehire their retirees or other former employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Executive-level retirees have always been sought after to boomerang back to former employers as troubleshooters. What\u2019s different today is that there are shortages of workers in many sectors, such as health care, finance and insurance. That\u2019s sparking an uptick in employers appealing to retirees to step back in on a contract or part-time basis to fill the gaps. And in seasons of high demand, say, holiday hiring, employers like UPS or big retailers like Target are increasingly reaching out to retirees to lend a hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies are in a war for talent, as skills shortages threaten to keep companies from operating at maximum capacity,\u201d said Andrew Challenger, vice president of the global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. \u201cThis year, in particular, we are seeing companies in dire need of workers. It really is a job seeker\u2019s market.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Employers also are well aware that many of their former workers are eager to be on the job, which can be a win-win situation all around. A\u00a0recent\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0from the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies shows that 74 percent of the 1,825 employers surveyed agreed that \u201cmany employees at my company plan to continue working either full-time or part-time after they retire.\u201d That\u2019s in step with what the 6,372 workers canvassed said as well. Fifty-six percent of workers plan to continue working in retirement, including 14 percent who plan to work full time and 42 percent who plan to work part time.<\/p>\n

Read on AARP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

So how do you land a new gig with that employer you walked away from before?\u00a0Here are nine steps to get rehired\u00a0after\u00a0<\/i>you\u2019ve retired.<\/p>\n

Make your old job\u00a0want\u00a0<\/i>you back.<\/strong>Maybe your desire to return to work at an old employer is financially driven because the income can provide a safety net. Or you might simply want to stay engaged, feel relevant and bring more meaning to your life \u2014 particularly if you loved the mission of your former firm. Whatever your motivations may be personally, stay focused not only on your purpose for seeking a position but also why\u00a0you\u00a0<\/i>are the one to solve the company\u2019s problems. Make sure you are able to articulate those reasons to a hiring manager. It\u2019s always about the employer\u2019s\u00a0needs, not yours.<\/p>\n

Know your selling points.\u00a0<\/strong>You bring your decades of experience and knowledge. You have the ability to mentor and help train younger workers to the job. It\u2019s critical that you play up your ability to do so. Plus, you know the culture and can hit the ground running.<\/p>\n

Update your skills and r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/strong>If you feel your\u00a0skills\u00a0<\/a>are a little rusty\u00a0or need a refresh, do so before you reach out to ask about opportunities. Update your\u00a0r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0to include any new courses, certificates and applicable skill-based volunteer work you have added to your quiver since you left your previous position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Start your job search with the\u00a0AARP Job Board<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Call your old boss.\u00a0<\/strong>You can\u2019t beat the human touch. If you know of an opening or an upcoming project, pick up the phone. A face-to-face meeting, of course, over coffee or lunch is an even better way to make your case. The notion of having you back on the team part time might be appealing, especially if they\u2019re short-staffed. The biggest risk you face is they will turn you down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.<\/p>\n

If they don\u2019t have anything that might work for you right now, ask whether they know of anything on the horizon or a project currently open in another department where your skills might be a good fit.<\/p>\n

Check to see if rehires are made via a third party.<\/strong>Some firms outsource the job of rehiring some of their retirees or former employees. The independent consulting firm\u00a0YourEncore<\/a>, for example, now acts as a go-between for more than 70 corporations that are looking for skilled workers and experts to drop in for part-time income. YourEncore has more than 10,000 experts in its network, and it also works with companies to develop their\u00a0alumni<\/a>\u00a0community.\u00a0PatinaSolutions.com\u00a0<\/a>is an executive staffing firm for those with at least 25 years of operational experience who might be willing to work for a previous employer.<\/p>\n

Tap into your former employer\u2019s alumni group<\/strong>.<\/b>\u00a0If your company has its own online network of retirees, do some investigating to find out if you know anyone in that group who has returned to the company. Getting advice from a former colleague who recently boomeranged can be invaluable. It\u2019s a great way to find out about potential opportunities, learn tips and get the word out that you\u2019re open to returning on an as-needed basis for specific projects or assignments.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn and Facebook are other avenues to reach out to your former colleagues to see what jobs might be open. One way to see your connections who are still on board is to go to your ex-employer\u2019s LinkedIn page. A referral from a current employee can typically get you back in the door for an interview in short order.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to official job postings.<\/strong>\u00a0Keep an eye on your former employer\u2019s website and LinkedIn page for new job postings. Follow the firm on Twitter and Facebook to sleuth for openings. If there\u2019s a position that catches your eye, even if it is not in your previous department, don\u2019t be bashful about reaching out to a current employee, even if it\u2019s someone who knows someone you know, to express your interest.<\/p>\n

Broaden your search.<\/strong>\u00a0Browse online job boards where a posting from your old employer might pop up. On the\u00a0AARP Job Board<\/a>,\u00a0you can search for jobs by company name and by location.\u00a0Upwork<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0RetirementJobs.com\u00a0<\/a>are also good sources for finding part-time and full-time positions where your old firm may list openings.<\/p>\n

Peruse professional industry association sites for any job boards they might have. Each industry has its own niche job board where you can search by company. Some niche boards:\u00a0CrunchBoard<\/a>\u00a0is one of the more popular job boards for internet and technology jobs.\u00a0Dice<\/a>\u00a0is another site for tech job seekers.\u00a0Engineering Daily<\/a>\u00a0features a large engineering-exclusive job board. HealthJobsNationwide.com lists jobs from about 1,700 employers.\u00a0Mediabistro\u00a0<\/a>provides access to job postings in the media.<\/p>\n

There are also job sites like Flexjobs.com, Remote.co and\u00a0Work At Home Vintage Experts<\/a>, a site for professionals 50-plus who work from home for insurance and accounting firms.<\/p>\n

One caveat: Job boards are great for conducting research, but you should be aware that online job postings aren\u2019t always removed in a timely fashion. The job opening may no longer exist by the time you discover it.<\/p>\n

Retune your expectations.<\/strong>Don\u2019t get stuck trying to replicate your former job. You may need to adjust your salary demands, accept fewer benefits (if any) if you\u2019re part time, be comfortable reporting to a new boss decades younger than you are, or be happy with a job title that\u2019s not as senior as your previous one. If this will be an ego issue for you, pause, and take the time to adjust your attitude. Being a boomerang can be liberating and lucrative, but you have to be\u00a0all in<\/i>\u00a0for it to be a successful reunion.<\/p>\n

by Kerry Hannon<\/a>,\u00a0AARP<\/span><\/p>\n

Kerry Hannon, AARP jobs expert, is the author of\u00a0Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy \u2026 and Pays the Bills<\/a>,\u00a0Getting the Job You Want After 50 for Dummies<\/a>,\u00a0Love Your Job,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0What\u2019s Next? Finding Your Passion and Your Dream Job in Your Forties, Fifties, and Beyond<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@kerryhannon.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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