Today, 22 May 2018, we fully launch Next-Up to fill a gap for ‘unretired’ people – and those set to face ‘unretirement’ in a few years. So what are the issues, where is the gap and how can we help?
After years in the corporate or professional world, it can be difficult to think about and plan ‘what next?’ Most of those leaving an executive career talk about not having had the headspace to think about what they will do, even though they feel they should have.
This business, Next-Up, started with a lot of directors coming to us for help in writing their LinkedIn profiles – and often their CVs too.
Retirees care more about feeling relevant than golf or grandchildren, according to new research.
In our opinion, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to the question of what to do in unretirement. For some time now, we’ve been helping people to find purpose in, and enjoy, their ‘unretirement’ which usually involves using their skills in a new way such as becoming a consultant, starting a business, becoming a trustee or mentoring others.
Imagine you meet someone in a completely new professional field who doesn’t know you. You have a good conversation, email each other, send your CV. What is the first thing this other person will do? Do a Google search. What would you like them to find?
Having moved from a CEO role to semi-retirement, it has made me much more aware of the impact that such a change brings on. After 35 years of working and managing mental health services I’m also very conscious of the existence of depression in retirement. In my role as a coach to senior leaders, I come across the worry, distress and sense of loss that the end of working life can bring on.
