Non-Profit for Older Worker? Can They Make It Pay?

What are the choices for an older worker who is out of a job just as he or she approaches retirement?  Using a vocational (or employability) expert helps to determine that person’s employment capabilities and earning capacity.  The employabilit​​​​​​y expert knows how to evaluate the person’s employment assets and transferable skills against labor market demand.  The expert considers the worker’s age and relationships (also known as networking).  All of these factors impact the person’s likelihood  to be hired into jobs that achieve his or her earning capacity. The expert can also suggest alternative jobs or different careers for an aging worker.

Baby boomers closing in on traditional retirement are turning to a second career in nonprofit work.  The pay is almost always lower with more modest benefit packages.  It can be a rewarding path, however, and a positive alternative to intermittent part-time consulting jobs or long-term unemployment.  Experienced job seekers find that nonprofit organizations have begun to move into the mainstream with a greater flow of talent between business and non-profit sectors.  This New York Times article

(Nonprofit Work After Retirement? Maybe You Can Make It Pay​) describes this new direction as well as programs that prepare the older worker for this transition.  As the article points out, one of the best ways to get ready to enter the nonprofit field is through volunteer or board service.

Julia Bonem, founder of Career Change for Good, specializes in helping clients position themselves for just such a change. Bonem advises that to be effective, volunteering should be an active engagement that can show impact.  Examples are using skills and experience to find cost savings for an important budget review or working with a literacy group and measuring results to show improved school attendance or reading scores. Sales and marketing skills can be helpful in nonprofit development and fundraising.

Like any other employer, says Bonem, interviewers ask themselves, “If I hire this candidate, what can this person do for me, for my organization, on Day 1?” Demonstrating concrete results as a volunteer can be key to be hired in a rewarding nonprofit position.