AARP: Job Hunting 2.0: Calling Cards and You

Well, I don't think many of the folks reading this are eligible for the AARP, but even if you're not, advice on how to restart your career path is as useful for Millennials as for Baby Boomers, so let's see what they have to say.

200 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In March of 2013,  AARP Illinois posted this article on the organization's blog.

The author wrote of her father, who suffered a serious accident and had to leave his job and start over at the age of 54.  With limited dexterity and a very specific skillset , he had to figure out a whole new career path at an age when he expected his career would be nearing its end.

AARP has a service called Life Reimagined, and that service includes an activity called Calling Cards (which I will revisit another day).

The author's father went through the cards, which listed skills.  In the first round, he had to separate out cards that described things he enjoys. The next round is to take those cards and narrow them down to skills he is really good at. Finally, he ranked his remaining cards. Once this was done, a profile was provided, complete with some suggested careers.  The author's father spotted one suggested that really resonated, even though it was not something he had ever considered before.

I think this sounds really neat, and if I can do so (I'm under 50 and don't feel like paying for a membership just to try an activity), I will report back next time how well it works for me.

How would you go about finding a whole new path?

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