When being suddenly unemployed, whether through mandatory retirement or a company being acquired by what seems at first to be a friendly force, applying to a new company for the same job is not always possible. The paradox on job hunting states that one is given a good offer, when he’s not even looking for one. If you’re happy where you are, you become as an object of poaching.
If a career turns out badly, it’s time to look for a new one.
With early retirement, say before age 50, thoughts turn to alternative occupations. Career counselors urge their clients to “reinvent themselves” without needing surgery or a new name. If former business associates or competitors don’t pick up calls on job openings, there is a need to look for a different set of strangers.
A second career entails a shift in goal setting and office hours, and maybe even working out of a low-rent office, like the unused den of the house. A totally different occupation, though possibly related in terms of skills set, needs to generate income of some sort, not coming from a family member or the sale of a property.
Hobbies and sidelines are always good places to look for alternative careers. The mantra of following your passion, when not referring to unwelcome advances on unwilling objects, seems the best place to start. Many a successful catering business started off from serving good food at parties. Sometimes, however, collection is a problem.
Do you like karaoke singing, especially with beer and raucous company? Okay, that particular bee in the bonnet may be left buzzing. Sure you like to belt out “Bridge over Troubled Waters,” but is there a market for ear-splitting wails, and going one octave lower for the chorus?
Executives who exit from high-paying jobs try looking for another one in a related field and find themselves brushed off as “over-qualified,” a code phrase for too old or difficult to place in a box. High-flying stars in entertainment that lose their jobs due to low ratings are game for auditioning for even minor roles. The Hollywood maxim from “Sunset Boulevard” about an aging star is often rechanneled — there are no minor roles, just minor talents. And true enough, the minor talents get the small roles at smaller fees.
The prospect of a second career stumps the executive used to a semi-monthly paycheck and a company car with free parking. His initial ideas are unimaginative. Going into his own business after all his life working for a company that has a department dealing with business permits and fire inspectors can be unsettling. There is no one to delegate anything to.
Obvious second careers which require no investment like teaching (pays too little) and consulting (no clients willing to pay more than lunch for free advice) are temporary.
Second careers are expected to pay less than the first ones. They also involve lower stress levels, flexible hours, and more socials. Commute time is shorter, sometimes requiring only a staircase from the bedroom to the home office. Office attire can also double as pajamas. Many of the adjustments involved in a second career are psychological. They revolve around having less money and status, but more enjoyment and free time. When asked by well-meaning (or gloating friends) “what keeps you occupied”, it’s best to be vague and give a short answer — venture capital.
The phenomenon of doctors re-training for second careers as nurses is special. This is change required by a desire to read a different set of newspapers in another country. Still, this shift entails a second career with lower status but possibly greater employment opportunities.
Second careers can have the makings of fantasy — what one has always wanted to be as a child but never got around to becoming. This wish list is now referred to as things to do before kicking the bucket.
There need not be the desperate search for something else to do for money. There’s always the option of simply ending the first career and leaving it at that. Retirement is not bad. It’s a chance to dip into the savings and stock portfolio, restart the engine… and drive to the beach.
A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.
