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Your Encore Career: Why Your Best Work Hasn't Started Yet
15 Plays4 days ago
Is your best work actually behind you? Not even close.
Over 9 million Americans 50+ have discovered what researchers call an encore career. It is a second career that redirects decades of hard-won experience toward work that genuinely matters. This episode is your roadmap to making that move, whether you were a VP, a coordinator, a project manager, or the person who kept everything running while someone else took the credit.
A career change at 60 or at 55, or 62 isn't a step backward. Science backs this up: purpose-driven work is linked to higher life satisfaction and measurably longer cognitive health. This is medicine with a paycheck.
In this episode:
→ What an encore career actually is (and what it is NOT)
→ Why your experience is a superpower in sectors that need it most
→ 5 encore career paths open to professionals at every organizational level
→ 4 concrete steps to make the transition without financial panic
The 5 Paths:
🔹 Nonprofit Work — operations, admin, communications, leadership
🔹 Education — adjunct teaching, workforce development, tutoring
🔹 Environmental & Sustainability — compliance, coordination, communications
🔹Healthcare Support — patient advocacy, administration, community health
🔹Social Services & Community Work — program management, outreach
4 Steps to Make the Move:
1️⃣ Shadow before you leap — volunteer 60–90 days first
2️⃣ Reposition your LinkedIn toward where you're GOING, not where you've been
3️⃣ Network into the mission, not the job posting
4️⃣ Use platforms built for this: encore.org, idealist.org, AARP's job board
Resources Mentioned:
• Encore.org
• Idealist.org
• AARP Job Board
• LinkedIn Social Impact Job Filter
• Environmental Defense Fund — Climate Corps
• AmeriCorps VISTA (50+ track)
• BCPA — Board Certified Patient Advocate credential
📌 Watch These Next on YouTube:
🔗 LinkedIn Profile Optimization for 50+ Professionals → https://youtu.be/pDityD2M7fM?si=VRzCbQpHz7hJYOxS
🔗 Bridge Work: Building Your Financial Runway → https://youtu.be/0LZrd0F2yLU?si=jtdZCOp7zWqUFPih
🔔 Subscribe for weekly strategies on navigating ageism and rebuilding on your terms: @ageismsurvivalguide
💼 Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ageism-survival-guide
Youth runs fast. But age knows the terrain.
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Transcript
Rethinking Corporate Life
00:00:03
Speaker
Hey, hey, the hop stop, stop, stop. Before you update that resume one more time, before you click apply on that that job, the the one that ah you maybe don't even really want, I want to ask you something.
00:00:21
Speaker
What if going back to corporate, back to the the politics, the performance reviews, the the meetings about meetings, what what if What if that's actually the wrong direction?
00:00:37
Speaker
What if everything that those years taught you, and and and and I mean the skills, and and every hard lesson, every project that you ran, every problem that you that you solved, every person that you helped, what if all of that was meant to be used differently?
Encore Careers: A New Path
00:01:00
Speaker
Here's what I know. There are over 9 million Americans, exactly like you, who figured something out.
00:01:08
Speaker
They're not retired. they're They're not just sitting on the sidelines, and and they're definitely not endlessly refreshing their LinkedIn. and they They found what I would call an encore career. And today,
00:01:21
Speaker
In this episode, that's what we're going to walk through, what it looks like, what it is, who it's for, and how you can make that move.
00:01:33
Speaker
No matter where you are in your career, no matter what level that you held. This is for the VP and the coordinator, the manager and the specialist, the executive and the person who made that executive look good for many years.
00:01:50
Speaker
So, stay with me. This one might actually change everything for you, at least the way you think. Let me start with with something that i know that you already feel.
00:02:06
Speaker
Whether you were a VP, a project coordinator, a senior analyst, an HR generalist, a customer service lead, a department administrator,
00:02:18
Speaker
If you're watching this channel, something happened. The job ended. and And not because you weren't good at it, not because you didn't have value, but because of age, because of bias, because of a system that treats experience as a liability, not what it actually is.
00:02:41
Speaker
a superpower. We've covered that that. That's what this channel is all about. But here's what I want to talk about today. Most people in your situation, they ask the wrong question. They ask, how do I get back in?
00:03:00
Speaker
And I get it. The bills are real. The the pressure is real. the The fear of running out of time is absolutely real. I felt that. But I want you to to sit with a different question, just just for today.
Purpose Over Paychecks
00:03:16
Speaker
what What do I actually want to do with everything that I know.
00:03:24
Speaker
Because here's the thing. This might be the first time in your life, the the literal first time that you have three things all at once.
00:03:36
Speaker
The experience, the wisdom, and maybe for the first time ever, the freedom. The freedom to choose work not because of the salary first, not because of the title first, but because of what it actually means.
00:03:58
Speaker
And that's important deep down. And here's another one of my my irony alerts. I love irony. After decades of climbing someone else's ladder, whether that was in a Fortune 500 or mid-sized company,
00:04:14
Speaker
Many people, they hit 50, 55, 60, 62, and they realize that that they've been optimizing for a version of success that they inherited, not actually for the one that they chose.
00:04:31
Speaker
So this is actually an opening. This might be the the first real moment where you get to ask, what would I do if I designed work from scratch?
00:04:45
Speaker
That question, that's the one that we're going to be answering <unk> today.
00:04:54
Speaker
So let's get specific.
Defining Encore Careers
00:04:55
Speaker
um An encore career, it's a second career that combines continued work, with deep personal meaning.
00:05:05
Speaker
It often looks very different from your first career. The key word, and this is the word that I want you to hold on to for the rest of this episode, is purpose.
00:05:17
Speaker
Now, let me be clear about what an encore career is is not. It is not volunteering. It is not semi-retirement, it is not settling, it is not a consolation prize. This is real work with real impact and often, frankly, with real income.
00:05:40
Speaker
Now, let me be honest with you. It might pay differently than in your peak earning years. It it might, and and probably it does. But here's what research actually actually shows. People who pursue purpose-driven work in their second career, they report higher life satisfaction. And and this is the part that that gets me every single time.
00:06:05
Speaker
They live longer. This is real, real neuroscience here. Purpose-driven work. It protects the brain. this This is not feel-good advice. This is medicine. it's It's medicine that delivers a paycheck.
00:06:22
Speaker
Now, here's the part that trips most people up when they when they think about this sector. They think, oh, but but but I was just a a coordinator. I was an HR admin, not a director. i I was in customer service, not not in the C-suite.
00:06:38
Speaker
I never had a fancy title. What what what do I possibly have to to offer to these places?
Nonprofit Sector Opportunities
00:06:45
Speaker
Everything. You have everything to offer.
00:06:51
Speaker
Think about what you actually know how to do. how to talk to people, how to manage a project, how to navigate a difficult workplace, how to solve a problem with limited resources, how to calm a room when things go sideways, and how to show up every day, even when it's hard.
00:07:16
Speaker
The nonprofit world, healthcare, education, social services, environmental work, These sectors are hungry for people who know how to get things done at every level, not just the executives.
00:07:32
Speaker
The coordinators, the administrators, the data people, the the communicators, the ones who kept everything running while someone else took their credit. That is what's needed there.
00:07:45
Speaker
And that matters. Let me take a super quick pause here and say that if this series is connecting with you, then please hit the subscribe button, turn on the notification bell.
00:07:57
Speaker
We're right now deep into a series on alternatives to working in the corporate world and you don't want to miss any of what comes next. Now let's talk about the the the five most powerful Encore career paths that are available for experienced professionals at every level of the organization.
00:08:19
Speaker
Let's go. Five paths Real roles, real entry points, and I want you to hear this closely. No matter where you sat on the organizational chart in the past, there is a door for you in every one of these roles.
00:08:37
Speaker
Let's walk through them. Path one, nonprofit work. The nonprofit sector is is enormous and and it's starving for people who know how to actually get things done.
00:08:49
Speaker
Now, let me talk about the the full range here because this is not just for executives. If you were ah a VP or a director, there are definitely executive directors, COOs and program director roles that need exactly what you've built over the course of your career.
00:09:10
Speaker
But if you were a a project manager, a nonprofit needs somebody running programs. If you were an administrator or an office manager, every nonprofit has operations function that falls apart without somebody like you. And if you were in HR, they need volunteer coordination. They need staff management and and people operations.
00:09:36
Speaker
This is yours. If you were a writer, a communicator, or a marketer, there's grant writing, donor communications, community outreach. Again, this is yours.
00:09:48
Speaker
if If you were in finance or accounting, there's budget management and financial reporting, fund stewardship. This is yours. And here's another irony alert.
00:10:01
Speaker
The nonprofit world is full of people that are extraordinary at their mission, yet they are completely overwhelmed by the actual operations.
00:10:15
Speaker
That's your lane, whatever your lane was in the past. There's a ah matching lane here somewhere for you. Entry points to know.
00:10:25
Speaker
You have Encore.org, you have Idealist.org, and then there's also LinkedIn's social impact filter that you can use. and And one move that that works at at every level, volunteer first.
00:10:40
Speaker
Even 10 hours a month with an organization in your area, it puts you inside of the network. and And networks is how these jobs actually get filled, get to know the people that are behind the the job application.
Education and Mentoring Roles
00:10:57
Speaker
Path two, education. and And when I... say, education. I'm not just talking about becoming ah a K-12 teacher following a two-year certification program. There are far more entry points than that.
00:11:15
Speaker
Think about what you actually know. You have subject matter expertise that took decades to build. Someone out there needs to learn exactly what you know, right?
00:11:32
Speaker
So here's the the full range. If you have deep expertise in in your field, finance, HR, operations, marketing, IT, compliance, logistics, community colleges, they're always looking to hire adjunct professors in these roles.
00:11:53
Speaker
There's no PhD required, just the expertise and the ability to teach. But if you want something more accessible right now, there are adult literacy programs. There are workforce development centers. There are job readiness coaching centers. There's tutoring in person or online.
00:12:18
Speaker
And then there are mentorship programs that are available through libraries or community centers. and and And here's one that most people probably overlook.
00:12:30
Speaker
If you were in any kind of a people role, manager, supervisor, team lead, HR coordinator, customer service trainer, you were already a teacher.
00:12:43
Speaker
Every time you onboarded a new person, every time you coached someone through a hard situation, every time that you explained the process to someone who was struggling, that instinct of yours,
00:12:59
Speaker
That's not just a personality trait, that's the sign of a teacher. The entry points to this? Well, there is the local community college, there's community continuing education, workforce division, workforce development centers, AmeriCorps has education programs. There are a number of different paths that you can take.
00:13:24
Speaker
Let's go on to path three.
Sustainability Sector Demand
00:13:25
Speaker
environmental and sustainability work. This sector is exploding right now. It's driven by climate urgency, ESG requirements, and a generation of advocates who are passionate, but they drown in their own operational complexity.
00:13:43
Speaker
And once again, This is not just for senior leaders. Think about the the full picture. if If you had compliance or regulatory experience, environmental agencies, green businesses, and conservation organizations, they they need you.
00:14:02
Speaker
If you were in supply chain, logistics, operations, Corporate sustainability teams are are hiring people who understand how operations actually works.
00:14:15
Speaker
If you were a marketer, a communicator, a writer, environmental advocacy organizations, they need voices that can translate their mission into messages for for donors, for policymakers, and for the public.
00:14:30
Speaker
If you were an administrator or a coordinator, land trusts, local and environmental nonprofits, they they run on coordinators and office managers.
00:14:42
Speaker
Here's the thing. A lot of environmental organizations are led by scientists and and advocates who who have never managed a budget or run an office or handle the difficult personnel situation.
00:14:58
Speaker
But you have. that is That is not a small thing. That is your superpower in this world. What are the entry points? There's the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps, the Nature Conservancy, there are local land trusts. You can you can search locally in the county or the state. Many of them hire contractors, not just civil servants. There's idealist.org where you can put in the keyword environment.
00:15:28
Speaker
Then we have path four, health care support.
Healthcare Roles Beyond Clinics
00:15:33
Speaker
and And let me be really clear here. You don't have to have a medical degree for this path.
00:15:41
Speaker
Not even close. The health care system is one of the largest employers in the U.S. and in other countries. And the vast majority of the roles are non-clinical.
00:15:54
Speaker
Think about how this looks at at all levels. If you have an administrative experience, hospital systems, clinics, health networks, they need people who can manage offices, coordinate appointments, communicate clearly with patients and families.
00:16:14
Speaker
If you were a communicator, an educator, or a trainer, patient education, health coaching with certification, and community health outreach are opportunities.
00:16:25
Speaker
And here's one that I find deeply meaningful. Patient advocacy. if If you have ever had to navigate the healthcare system for someone that you love, ah a parent, a spouse, a child, and you fought for them, you you pushed back on the system, you you asked the hard questions, and you won you already know how to do that job.
00:16:56
Speaker
Patient advocates help people navigate a system that's overwhelming and confusing by design. They're fierce, they're they're informed, they're they're exactly what a frightened family needs to have in the room.
00:17:14
Speaker
And that lived experience of of caregiving, of advocating,
00:17:20
Speaker
that is the credential. Where are the entry points for this? The BCPA, the the Board Certified Patient Advocate credential, recognized nationally.
00:17:32
Speaker
You have home health agencies, you have hospice organizations. They're always looking for compassionate support staff. Many of these jobs, they can be found on the usual job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn.
00:17:47
Speaker
Take a look. And lastly, there's there's Path By, social services and community work.
Opportunities in Social Services
00:17:55
Speaker
and and And this one, i want you to sit with this one for just a moment because this is a path that that that surprises people perhaps the most.
00:18:04
Speaker
Social services is is broader than most people can imagine. There's workforce development programs, there is housing advocacy, there are food security organizations, senior services, community organization, youth programs, financial literacy coaching.
00:18:25
Speaker
And what do all of these organizations have in common? They're full of mission and they're chronically short on people who know how to operate.
00:18:39
Speaker
Think about the roles at every level. If you managed people or programs, there are program manager, team lead, case coordination. If you were in HR or training, there's this's workforce coach, job readiness trainer, employment counselor.
00:18:58
Speaker
If you were in in finance or accounting, there's financial literacy educator, budget coordinator. If you were in communications or marketing, there are is community outreach, community communication, fundraising communications.
00:19:14
Speaker
And if you were in any administrative or support role, Every single one of these organizations needs someone who can keep the lights on, process the paperwork, organize the volunteers, answer the calls, handle the logistics that nobody else wants to touch.
00:19:37
Speaker
That's not invisible work. That work is the backbone of the mission. It's our time to rise. That's not a is not a slogan.
00:19:51
Speaker
the The communities that need the help the most nowadays are the ones that need your experience the most. Where are the entry points?
00:20:02
Speaker
There's AmeriCorps VISTA, they they have a specific 50 plus track. United Way, there are community foundations. you You can search within your county or your state. And then there's, of course, local government workforce development officers, which which can point you in the right direction as well.
00:20:20
Speaker
Okay. One of those five paths, maybe maybe more than one, it lit something up inside of you, right? Good, good. Now let's talk about how you actually make the move.
Transitioning to an Encore Career
00:20:35
Speaker
There are four concrete steps in order. Step one, shadow before you leap. Before you commit to to any path, volunteer.
00:20:47
Speaker
Give them 60 or 90 days to to one of the organizations in that space that you're exploring. you know even Even five or ten hours a month. you will know within a very short time whether that environment is for you.
00:21:04
Speaker
And you will, and this is the part that people continuously underestimate, you will be inside of the network. Networks are how these jobs get filled, not job boards. You might find the job there, but networks are how you get in there.
00:21:23
Speaker
Step two, reposition your LinkedIn. Your headline right now probably reflects where you've where you've been, but I want you to change that to reflect where you're going.
00:21:36
Speaker
We have a full episode on LinkedIn strategy. i' I'm putting that link here and down below so that you can find it and get yourself ready. the The principle is is really simple.
00:21:49
Speaker
If you're moving toward nonprofit work, your headline should signal mission alignment, not your old job title. If you're moving toward education, it should reflect your expertise and your teaching intention. You're no longer marketing what you used to do.
00:22:10
Speaker
You're marketing what you're here to do in the future. Step three, network into the mission, not the job posting.
00:22:23
Speaker
Most encore career roles are filled through relationships. They're not filled through applications. Attend to a nonprofit event, show up at a ah community meeting, volunteer for a committee or an advisory board.
00:22:39
Speaker
And when you show up, you're not there questions. for a job. You're there because you actually care about the cause.
00:22:53
Speaker
That's important and people will feel that. Now step four. Use the platforms built for this. Encore.org, Idealist.org, AARP's job board, LinkedIn's social impact filter.
00:23:09
Speaker
These are real pipelines, real jobs posted by real organizations that are specifically looking for people with your background at every level.
00:23:23
Speaker
And one more thing. If the financial pressure is real now, if you if you genuinely can't take the time to make this transition thoughtfully, we've talked about bridge work before.
00:23:37
Speaker
Temporary work relieves that pressure and it gives you additional runway so that you can be intentional. That episode is linked to here as well.
00:23:49
Speaker
Don't let panic push you into the wrong encore. You've worked too long and too hard to rush this decision.
00:24:01
Speaker
I want to close with something because There will be people in your life, maybe people that you love and respect, who see a move like this as a step down.
Reframing Career Transitions
00:24:16
Speaker
Less money, different title, different world. and And they might say out loud or or just with a look, hey, isn't that a step backward?
00:24:28
Speaker
Let me be honest with you. Let them think that.
00:24:34
Speaker
Because they're going to be stuck on that ladder, climbing to the next rung, running on the hamster wheel of something that wasn't theirs to begin with. Meantime, you're going into something that actually matters. Work that changes someone's life. Work that you choose, that you chose. Work that every year of your career prepared you for, even though you weren't thinking about that in the moment.
00:25:04
Speaker
Those years, however many there were, they didn't exhaust your value. They actually they actually built it.
00:25:15
Speaker
Think about what the the younger generation in these sectors actually has. Energy? Yes. Idealism? Yes. But what do they not have that they cannot fake?
00:25:31
Speaker
It's what you have. Decades of knowing how things actually work. How to lead when things fall apart. How to hold a team together under pressure. How to navigate a bureaucracy without losing your mind, maybe once or twice. How to navigate the terrain.
00:25:56
Speaker
Youth runs fast, but age knows the terrain.
00:26:04
Speaker
And this, right now, this is your terrain.
Invitation to Community Engagement
00:26:12
Speaker
It's our time to rise. Here's what I'd like you to do this week.
00:26:18
Speaker
One thing only. Yes, I can never help myself with the homework. Go to Encore.org. Spend a few minutes browsing the roles and in a field that that that spoke to you today.
00:26:29
Speaker
Don't apply yet. Don't overthink it. Just take a peek. Have a look. Open the door and and see what's behind the door. And when you're ready to talk through that transition, we're here in the community, in the comments, and in every episode of this series.
00:26:51
Speaker
If this episode opened up something inside of you, share it with someone who might need to hear it. Because there are people in your circle that I'm sure are still asking the wrong question.
00:27:05
Speaker
This, to- today, is the right one. Youth runs fast, but age knows the terrain. I'll see you next time.