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Third Quarter Tribe? An idea that set me free.
Our story
Happy New Us!
Well it’s never too late to say happy new us! We want to tell you about finding work in your Third Quarter (ie after 50) when the world seems to have written some of us off.
It is a real shock to the system when you are in your 50’s, employed in a job you love, looking towards a future of winding down to retirement when out of the blue and for no reason you can see, it all changes and you are suddenly no longer working.
Redundancy seems to adversely affect the older population as it is not so easy to find another job. Despite legislation we all feel discriminated against. We don't have the right words or look in interviews. We may not have the latest skills. Our years of experience and loyalty simply dismissed by people barely out of school.
That was us in the autumn of 2019. Moving from jobs paying a reasonable wage to nothing. From looking at house improvements and able to go on holidays to wondering whether you could afford the next meal. Retirement was planned for. Until it wasn’t. We lost our jobs.
What do you do? Well the first reaction was to go out and find a job - replace like for like. This turned out not to be that easy, especially when you have been in a senior position and are also battling stress and panicking about the future. Where do you start? Where do you look for work? How do you cope when it seems that the world of employment has changed and left you behind? Besides everything you read seems to say that prospective employers either want trainees or people with very specific skills. I know - without taking time to think I tried to replace my old job with something the same or similar. What I didn't do was take time to think. What was the right thing to do? What other opportunities might be out there? Could I achieve a better work life balance? Who could I talk to about that? Plus I realised I also needed help updating my CV, how to cope with interviews or how I could either find opportunities or promote myself.
I got lucky. I had a friend who had been in a similar situation. I was able to talk to them, share information, and find out what I could do and where I could go. Without it I would have been lost. We wondered if others were in a similar situation and whether this was something that we could help with. That made us stop, take a breath and really think about what we wanted in our work. Also what we wanted in our lives and if there was a way to get a better life-work balance.
Now there is no reason why you shouldn’t replace what you have been doing in a similar way. But why not take a moment, see the positives in your situation and the opportunity to make a change. Do you want to, or need to, work full time? So have you always wanted to be your own boss? What about earning money from your hobby or something that you are passionate about? Could you earn money from more than one source, or choose when you want to work? Can you achieve a better work / life balance if that is what you want? Do you need flexibility around caring for someone?
That is what I did. I looked at my life, assessed what I wanted to do and how I wanted to work? The answer for me was starting a “portfolio career”. This means looking for ways to earn money from different sources and creating something that I am passionate about. In my case this was setting up a company with a partner to help others. We set up Third Quarter Tribe to help others think about their lives until retirement. To help think through options for work and earning an income. To encourage people to do things for themselves and help them in the process. To learn new ways of finding work, meeting people and marketing themselves. To be the friend to help out, talk to, suggest options and work together to achieve a fulfilling third quarter career. Whether that’s you as an individual finding work, starting a business, charity or community group.
So as we start our new venture and we would love to help you start yours. Contact us for a free initial consultation.