Encore Careers. Part 1 – What Is An Encore Career?

One day, after my “main” career is over, I intend to work as a cook in a soup kitchen. I love the idea of being happily busy cooking alongside others who love to prepare food, creating yummy meals for people who especially need one. I’d see myself doing this work part time, for about 15 hours each week. I may or may not receive income for this, and if it don’t I’ll likely be okay with this.

What I’ve just described fits the definition of an Encore career, which according to Wikipedia is, “Work in the second half of life that combines continued income, greater personal meaning, and social impact,” and to which I like to add, “…or any combination of these factors.”

In my work as a career counselor for 20+ years, I’ve witnesses several long-time clients transition from full-time, high stress careers into part-time work that meets more of the criteria described above. I’ll share some details about these individuals in this series on Encore careers, as well was tips on how to make that transition more successfully.

And making a successful transition from “regular” work to an Encore career can be rocky. That’s because as humans, we’re geared to enjoy a pretty high level of certainty in our lives. We want to be certain about where our next paycheck is coming from, where we live, and what is expected us of in our different roles in life (worker, partner, parent, etc.).  If things become too uncertain—such as when you shift from one line of work to another without being clear on what it will be like, beyond the ideas we’ve been imagining—it can be pretty unsettling.

So here are some tips to set yourself up for Encore career success:

• Realize that a transition from one line of work to another is a process. I like the model described by author William Bridges in his book, “Transitions”. He outlines three stages we’re likely to experience with any change we go through. The bigger the change, the more we’ll feel these phases:
  • Endings – This is when what you’ve been doing previously is over, either physically leaving a job, or mentally “checking out” when you’ve had enough, but still need to put in your time for a while.
  • Neutral Zone – Most people, when they wrap up something in their lives, are eager to jump right into the New Thing, whatever that might be. But the reality is that for a period of time (longer than most people like), you’re going to experience a feeling of confusion and “spinning your wheels” (like when your car is in neutral but even flooring it gets you no-where). This is normal and extremely valuable, because done right, it can help you get your plans in order for a better success with your next step, which would be…
  • New Beginnings – Ahhh…the joy of starting something new! When your Ending is behind you, and you’ve sorted out the confusion of being in the Neutral Zone, and you’re on a great path to a more rewarding future.

Sounds great, huh? Yes! In my next blog, I’ll break it down just a bit more so that you can more successfully slide through your Neutral Zone into your new beginning.

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