Make the most of your skillset with the right ‘unretirement’ advice
21 May 2018 By Victoria Tomlinson
After years in the corporate or professional world, it can be difficult to think about and plan ‘what next?’ Most of those leaving an executive career talk about not having had the headspace to think about what they will do, even though they feel they should have.
When you start planning for life after retirement – or “unretirement” – you want to think about the skills you have, if you want or need to earn – and how much – and what you get a buzz out of. This is the time to get that work/life balance and make sure you really enjoy what you do.
Becoming a consultant is a good way to use your skills in unretirement without committing to a 9-5 routine or the responsibility of running a large company. There are two typical ways to become a consultant; tap into your existing networks and work on projects that are similar to what you have been doing for the last few year, or identify a topical niche of expertise that you could sell to a wider audience.
Written by Victoria Tomlinson
Victoria Tomlinson is chief executive and founder of Next-Up. Next-Up supports employers with a range of services for directors, partners and employees to help them understand the impact of retirement on mental health and create a plan to use their skills and experience in new ways to ensure wellbeing. A key part of our role is to inspire people with ideas and contacts, beyond traditional expectations. A former director of EY, she is an international speaker on unretirement, personal branding and using LinkedIn strategically as well as on leadership and women on boards. She mentors chief executives and directors, start-up businesses and ex-offenders. Victoria is Honorary Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University and chaired an advisory board for University of Leeds.
