​Cassie (not the client's real name) has looked forward to retirement for her entire career. She has carefully saved and invested in her retirement account with a financial planner. The target date was set years in advance. And yet, as that date approached, Cassie felt fear and doubt, and even dread, at the thought of retiring. Despite knowing that financially, she had everything in order, there was something much deeper causing Cassie to hesitate. She was confused about her fear. Why would this dread be growing as the magic date approached?

This is what brought Cassie to me. She wanted to retire, but emotionally, knew there was something holding her back. After completing her self-assessment, I met with Cassie to review the findings. Yes, Cassie certainly had everything in order financially, but the assessment identified the areas of concern, and they had nothing to do with finances.

Cassie had two main areas of concern. The first was how to replace the structure that work provided; how to fill the time. The second was harder to discern, and required some digging. What she learned through coaching was that she had always assumed she’d be married when she retired. Here, she found herself single, with a retirement that did not look at all as she had always imagined it.
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We spent time working through these two issues, digging into their deeper causation. Even after the first coaching session, Cassie started to have hope and see things differently in her life. By the end of our engagement, Cassie was once again excited, and more importantly, ready, to retire. She could now wait for that date to arrive with eager anticipation, reaping the rewards of a long and successful career.

Most of us model our ideas of retirement around what our parents did. For baby boomers, that meant a life of ease. Golfing and moving south, travel, or becoming snowbirds. That model doesn’t work for most of us anymore. The average retirement age is dropping, even as our average life span is growing. That means people are seeking meaningful ways to spend this fabulous time of life. Some follow a passion that has long been pushed to the backseat. Others launch a pet business they’ve always had percolating in their minds.  
Most of the ‘retired’ people I know have fully engaged lives. Some have their own business, some consult, many volunteer. But one thing is certain. They are not sitting around on the front porch sipping iced tea. No, those days are gone for this and subsequent generations. “This new definition of retirement encourages us to sparkle as never before, with a new freedom of action and a deepening of the human spirit” says Dr. Richard P. Johnson.
According to Dr. Susan W. Lehmann and Dr. Phillip R. Muskin, “The key to a successful and happy retirement is preparation. Any major change in life, whether it’s getting married, having children, moving, changing careers or dealing with illness or death, causes stress, and stress is a primary risk factor for depression. Retirement is no different.”
Some common roadblocks to retirement people face are:

1. My identity is wrapped up in my work. Who am I if I’m not working this job?
2. I want to retire, but I have aging parents and/or adult children who need my financial support.
3. I don’t have any hobbies. How will I fill my days?
4. I’m concerned about how retirement will impact my health.

All of these are valid questions and concerns, and this is where a retirement coach can help. It begins with you taking an assessment that helps identify focus factors, areas of your life that may be holding you back from retiring. Your certified retirement coach then helps uncover insights about your unique personality, profile and circumstances that affect you as you transition to retirement. Then your coach will keep you on track as you develop a clear definition of your desired retirement lifestyle.
People often ask me when they should start planning for retirement. I ask, “When did you start saving money for retirement?” It’s really never too early or too late to start planning how you will spend all those post-retirement years

I can’t tell you the number of clients who come to me because they’ve applied for job after job online and not received many, if any, calls. This is true even when they believe they are the perfect candidate for a job! It’s true. I, and many, refer to it as the ‘black hole’. You see, with the online application process, you are not only competing against people in your community, but people all over the world who want to move to where you live, or work for your local companies. I read somewhere that, on average, there are 500 applicants for every open position. That makes for slim chances of getting through the ATS (applicant tracking system). In fact, only 2% of applicants ever get to speak to anyone at the desired company.

First, yes. It’s important to have a good resume that is tailored to the position you’re applying for. Whether you rely on ATS or are actually getting your resume in front of the recruiters and/or hiring managers. They need to see the correlation between the job description and your resume. But, please, please, please, get out from behind your computer if you really want to get a new job.
I’ve written ad nauseum about networking. And the simple truth is, networking will make the difference between getting a new job and languishing in front of your computer waiting for that call. This is not an article about networking. For that, see my other articles.
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What I would like to do with this article is simply suggest you try some new things.

1. Be clear on what job you are looking for. Just asking friends, “Help me get a job” is not going to reap results. Your friends don’t know what you do, or what your strengths are, or even what you’re looking for. Help them help you. For more on this, read this article.
2. Do research on sights like Indeed’s Advanced Search to see what jobs come up when you enter particular skills or key words. Maybe you’re keeping your search too narrow. Titles vary company to company.
3. Do research on companies and make a short list of target companies that match your values, your interests, and feel like a good fit. A great job at a toxic company is a lousy job.
4. Get out and do informational interviews. Get known. Companies like to hire people that aren’t a ‘risk’; someone people within the company know, someone who is ‘like us’. A known applicant will supplant an unknown applicant every time.
5. Go to events where you can meet new people. Sure, there are plenty of professional events, but think about MeetUps. Get out and do things you like. You’re likely to meet ‘people like you’ that you can connect with. Where do they work?
6. LinkedIn. Yes, LinkedIn is one of the most valuable tools in your search. Look up open jobs using LinkedIn’s job search feature. It will show you who you know at that company. Or, perhaps who you know who can introduce you to someone at that company. Make that connection, and bingo!, you’ve got an inside connection and can become ‘someone known’.

Or sure, just sit at home on your computer at night submitting application after application. You’ll be waiting, and waiting, and waiting longer.

It’s well documented that 85% of new jobs are secured through networking. We all know this, and we know we should be enlisting the help and support of our network, but what is the best way to do this?
This short list should help you provide clear, concise information to your friends and colleagues to improve their ability to help.

1. DO NOT just send your resume out to everyone. You should customize your resume for each job you apply to so that you are highlighting the skills most relevant for each particular job. Sending out a blanket resume may end up getting the wrong version of your resume in front of a recruiter.
2. Sit down and clearly identify the value you bring to your work. What is your experience? What skills have you mastered? What are the key words people use to identify the work you seek?
3. What job are you seeking? If you just ask your friends for ‘a job’, chances are, nothing will happen because you’ve now asked them to do the work for you. Be specific. “I’m looking for a Technical Program Manager position”. Or “Does your company have an openings for a Software Developer?” This will ensure not only that your friend knows exactly what to look for, but will increase the chances that anything sent your way will be a fit. Help your friends help you.
4. Take the time to identify companies that you would like to work for. Company culture can make or break a career, so do the research ahead of time and create a short list of companies you feel would be a good fit. Nothing is demoralizing than starting a new job only to learn the company culture isn’t a fit for you. You’ll be unhappy and your performance will likely suffer….right along with your reputation.
5. Ask for introductions. Using LinkedIn makes it extremely easy to identify people who may be able to make introductions for you in a desired company. Write a short note to your friend and ask for an introduction. Securing an introduction allows YOU to make the contact and have a conversation, speaking for yourself and not relying on someone else to do that for you. The new contact hears your voice, your energy, your personality and can make a personal connection with you. This GREATLY increases your chances of getting noticed by the potential employer. For more on how to ask for the introduction, read this article.
6. Pay it Forward. Whenever you have the opportunity to help someone else, do so. It helps a friend, it makes you feel good, and it builds good will.
7. Pace yourself. If you’re working fulltime, you don’t have 40 hours a week to spend networking. I recently wrote about how you should divide your time during a job search. Spend your time wisely, know your limitations and schedule to optimize your time.

So, now you know how to reach out for help effectively. Go ahead and try it out. See how well it works, and how quickly you’ll reap the rewards!