Retired but updating my resume so I can be semi retired

[ksdaddy]

I retired last August but in January I went back to my old work as a volunteer, researching old land information for outside customers and organizing many many farm files.  I only go in a half a day a week, just enough so I can say I'm getting something done but not going crazy with the volunteer thing. I have mixed feelings about retirement. I screamed and cried or it for 8 years, and once I got it... it's fine, it's nice to call the shots every day... but I fear it's not what I need if I intend to be around a long time. If I sit on the couch, then all I want to DO is sit on the couch. I'm sleepy all the time and I feel pretty useless. i have some projects and honey-do stuff, which helps.  My old boss has pushed for me to come back as a part time employee, either one or two days a week, at a rate close to what I was making as a full time employee. It's finally getting into place, but today I found out I have to submit a resume. Ugh. I have my old resume from 2002 or 2003 and I'm trying to update it. I'm agonizing over what to put for my last position, which was 20 years. I did a lot of things! The job roles changed with the times and also with my supervisors. I'm tempted to just go on the national website and steal the job duties list for this position and paraphrase heck out of it.

I don't "need" the money but I've threatened to buy a new truck for a long time. I have the cash but won't spend it. This job would allow me to make double payments on one. My S-10 Blazer is a 1988 and my Impala is 12 years old.....

What do I do with this stupid resume...

And TRAINING.... cripes, in my 20-21 years there, they sent me away for training on a regular basis, and I was required to do annual updates on many things (computer security, defensive driving, crap like that). I could fill a couple pages with that stuff and the resume wouldn't look a bit better.

I want a cigarette about three feet long.

[mihcmac]

After you retire getting something that will put a smile on your face for a long time is very important. Mine was not very practical, but its still doing its job and I don’t have to worry about parking it at work.

[rct]

I remember work.

rct

[Twang Gang]

Sounds to me like you don't really want this part-time job all that much if completing a resume for it is too much of a hassle.  Also sounds like they are trying to suck you back in with the generous pay and if you go back "one or two days a week" pretty soon it will be three days, and then we really need you all of next week for this special project etc. etc.

Play more guitar, take up golf or fishing.  You've worked probably all your life so stop and enjoy retirement already.  By the way the adjustment after retirement can be trying.  It must have taken me 3 or 4 hours to get used it once I quit working.

[rct]

16 minutes ago, Twang Gang said:

Sounds to me like you don't really want this part-time job all that much if completing a resume for it is too much of a hassle.  Also sounds like they are trying to suck you back in with the generous pay and if you go back "one or two days a week" pretty soon it will be three days, and then we really need you all of next week for this special project etc. etc.

Play more guitar, take up golf or fishing.  You've worked probably all your life so stop and enjoy retirement already.  By the way the adjustment after retirement can be trying.  It must have taken me 3 or 4 hours to get used it once I quit working.

LOL OUT LOUD!

I was going to reply that I was almost home that day before I got used to it.

rct

[merciful-evans]

Its a common thing. A workmate of mine was fired up about retirement and vowed he he would not be one of those who returned after a couple of months either to work nor even to 'catch up'. He was going to be GONE. However, yes he came back. 

A friend who worked in my dept had the advantage of many 'transitional' workshops to attend. These were advice about approaching retirement. It included advice about challenging yourself and creating an active lifestyle. I retired a couple of months after he did, but I never got that option. I had next to no time to prepare. I was just told 'get an independent financial advisor'. 

I was a bit bewildered for quite a long time. I kept active but I didn't establish any routine for a couple of years. I remembered my Grandfathers advice; 'once you sit in that chair, you allow it to claim you'. For him it was a disaster. He lost his fitness and ability to do much of anything. It didn't seem to take long. This resonated with me strongly because when I was a boy, he was as fit as a flea and had incredible physical endurance well into old age. 

I'm retired 6 years now. Most days I manage to walk a couple of hours. 12,000 steps is sustainable. I can do much more, but that's less sustainable. I still do karate kata 1st thing in the morning, though only manage one class a week ATM. There are a couple more activities too, which presently are proving hard to manage. The overall driving maxim though is always 'keep going'. 

 

['Scales]

I read and listened to quite a lot on this topic in the couple of years before I retired at 52 (now 9 months ago) cos I was concerned about how I'd adjust. A wise man once said "in almost every case we use up our lives making money when we should be using our money to gain time" - holy cr@p that resonated for me, and my view is that ALL we have is time, so all I ever wanted to do was retire and get off that leash.  I can only speak from my experience but in the time since I have virtuually never thought about work, closed the book on that chapter of my life and the people in it (much as I quite liked many) and am now focused on happiness.

Since retiring I have taken up painting and look forward to writing and performing new songs - modern polemic poetry is on the agenda too (thanks Bukowski!). I read great literature,  watch great films, study philosophy, work on my fitness, do a bit of volunteering,  and enjoy being there for my loved ones.  I lie on my deck and watch clouds and the wind in the trees. I notice colours and shapes and sounds and stop and ponder things. Life aint always great, but my stress levels are so much better (no panic about incoming emails, phone calls). We are too easily lead as to what is "valuable' in life - says who? (then question their motives!)

Sh!t I hate using the shift-i buttons so much in a post but my advice is measure twice and cut once - think deeply about what is the real problem - and wishing the best to you for the future!

Edited April 13, 2023 by 'Scales

[sparquelito]

I'm only a few months into this retirement thing, but I am LIKING IT.

Learning to relax, and enjoying slowly painting and fixing up the house.
I'm definitely writing more songs since I quit the rat race.

I solved a carburetor vacuum problem with my motorcycle, and I enjoyed making a run to Lowe's on that bike yesterday (and it running like a top).
Later on this morning, all my six week old seedlings will end up in the raised garden beds out back.
Tomatoes, peppers, and squash galore.

Most importantly perhaps, I did the fine-pencil math on my finances, and everything is working out just fine.
(I had a niggling worry that I would retire and within a year go, "Oh man,  I planned poorly, now I'm going broke, and I need to go back to work to make ends meet now.")
So all is well, even after replacing all the major appliances this past coupla months.

If I DO get a part time gig some day, it'll be something rewarding and very close to the house.
I live in a boom-town, and traffic gets worse by the day around here.
Close to home will be the key factor in any part-time job.

I'm gonna shut up now.

😗

 

[Murph]

I retired Feb., 2022.

Spent most of last year working on the house, built another deck, cedar closet for the wife, tin ceiling in the living room.

Sat on my butt and played guitar all winter.

Wife and daughter ganged up on me and bought an old, distressed house a few weeks ago (for the daughter) so now I'm re-modeling / re doing everything. Wasn't really a plan, one thing just leads to another. I'm getting too old for that stuff, but handymen are impossible to find, and if you can do it, it's a value.

A very wise man once said (often and on the radio) 

'If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your like."

I think you can find joy in many tasks. A lot of it is simply attitude. 

I try to be like my dog, he is always game for anything.

[Big Bill]

I can tell that you guys are retired, every one of your posts in this thread are long winded! You got all the time in the world. Damn, I can't wait until I retire.

[Murph]

29 minutes ago, Big Bill said:

I can tell that you guys are retired, every one of your posts in this thread are long winded! You got all the time in the world. 

And the wisdom...

[ksdaddy]

When I was working full time and had honey-do stuff to do or projects, I had windows of time to do them in. A funny thing happens over the years though. When I was in my 20s, I would think nothing of dropping a transmission out of a car after supper and working on it until midnight. That was the norm. As I got older, that window got smaller. I didn't feel like doing much after supper an I planned to be in bed before 10. Which made me look forward to retirement all the more. I figured I'd have the time to do what I want during the day. All true! But as Merciful-Evans pointed out, once you get into the chair, it's hard to get out. I found myself doing that. The couch felt great, as did the numerous cat naps in between snacks. It has gotten to the point where I look back on each day and try to justify my oxygen use by having done SOMETHING. 

Yes, I have hobbies. But my days are too 'open ended' to make them work. If I have a job to go to, even one or two days a week (which sounds pretty good to me), then I might have a tendency to use my free time to get things done on the hobbies.... if that makes sense. Long winded way of saying a part time job will give me some level of structure that I clearly am not willing to give myself at this time. I can compare it to being on summer vacation from school. The first week or two, the days were crammed with activity, but after a while I took the free time for granted and became lazy. I think that's where I am now. I need to find a balance.

As to my job, the good thing is, I can pretty much pick and choose what I do. I'm known as a historian and have a good command of the archives at work. Tracts of land get split, joined, split again, and change hands over and over. Sometimes I have to step in when someone insists a piece of land doesn't have a certain determination or there's no record of it and it needs to be done! I am the one to sorta do a title search and provide copies of the Magna Carta (or whatever) to the people involved. A can of touch up paint for the Sistine Chapel perhaps. It was in a box under the stairs and I'm the only one who knows where to look, apparently. In addition, they always need someone to go out and do GPS and photo documentation of structural practices such as waterways, diversions,  irrigation systems and pipelines. Easy stuff, gets me outside, makes me walk. What I will NOT be doing is all the computer work that went with my old job, all the red tape.... all.... the... red... tape... I will have none of it. I'm basically going back and eating the dessert of every meal I've ever eaten without having to eat the liver.

And to further drive it home, I've sat here typing for 20 minutes when I should be out washing the Impala. I think it's black.

[fortyearspickn]

I have been retired for over 10 years now.  My job was high-pressure and I had to ease into doing nothing.  Not worrying about 'customers' ambushing me in committee meetings,  telling my bosses tall tales in the halls.    Like RCT said -  I was almost home with my cardboard box  when I got over it.  

Did some stuff to wind down - volunteered at the zoo for a year.  But, it soon became too 'work like'.   "We're not paying you but you have to act and function like we are.'   Also volunteered at a Horse Rescue Ranch - much more laid back. Stayed for 4 years - but it was a 50 mile round trip with dirt roads involved, with me supplying the 20lbs of carrots every week, so I 'quit'.

Former employer hinted at hiring me as a 'contractor'.  I said I'd be interested - at 'contractor rates'.   Crickets.

Never looked back.  Never bored.    I just remind myself of the thousands of times I hummed that tune "Take this job and ..."  at work...

 

[Grog]

Never being laid off or unemployed during my working years, I was concerned about how I would adapt to retirement. It was the most natural thing I ever did! It’s been over six years now & no regrets. Plenty of projects to do. Maintaining a pile of guitars and amps is a part time job in itself……..

[Larsongs]

Being retired is easy… I get to do all the things I never had time to do when I worked 12-14 hours a day, or more, plus most Holidays for most of my adult life.

I’m busy most of the time doing nothing all day! Like the song says.. Playing with Guitars & Cars take up most of my time.. Getting back to Traveling more like we did before Covid will take up a lot of our time too….

Edited April 13, 2023 by Larsongs

[Karloff]

3 hours ago, sparquelito said:

I'm only a few months into this retirement thing, but I am LIKING IT.

Learning to relax, and enjoying slowly painting and fixing up the house.
I'm definitely writing more songs since I quit the rat race.

I solved a carburetor vacuum problem with my motorcycle, and I enjoyed making a run to Lowe's on that bike yesterday (and it running like a top).
Later on this morning, all my six week old seedlings will end up in the raised garden beds out back.
Tomatoes, peppers, and squash galore.

Most importantly perhaps, I did the fine-pencil math on my finances, and everything is working out just fine.
(I had a niggling worry that I would retire and within a year go, "Oh man,  I planned poorly, now I'm going broke, and I need to go back to work to make ends meet now.")
So all is well, even after replacing all the major appliances this past coupla months.

If I DO get a part time gig some day, it'll be something rewarding and very close to the house.
I live in a boom-town, and traffic gets worse by the day around here.
Close to home will be the key factor in any part-time job.

I'm gonna shut up now.

😗

 

what kind of bike do you have ?

[Karloff]

2 hours ago, Big Bill said:

I can tell that you guys are retired, every one of your posts in this thread are long winded! You got all the time in the world. Damn, I can't wait until I retire.

haha, I was planning on trying to hang in till 67 but I turn 63 next month & now 65 is looking really nice ... 

[DanvillRob]

Now retirement is something I can discuss!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVED my job.... I worked in the same industry for 53 years.... same company for 39 years and the same job for over 30 years.   I held an executive position, running 2 departments, plus all the accident work and court appearances (expert witness).

I worked up until a month before my 71st birthday....and loved every minute.

I always thought I'd like to keep busy doing some work for my old company....but I have learned that I want NO obligations!

I'm going with my old boss (President and CEO) to visit a guy I worked with for the entire 53 years, (we've been friends since 1967), because he just had back surgery.  He was a VP at the company until he retired a few years before me.

I see no reason to 'retire' just to go back to work....but that's me.   The last year of my work, I was working from home (COVID), and there was no let up in stress... so working from home  isn't an option.

[Whitefang]

3 hours ago, Murph said:

I try to be like my dog, he is always game for anything.

All my dogs ever did was eat sleep and poop.

And I manage that just fine.     

Whitefang

[duane v]

I was ready to retire in December 2021 (30th year).... I turned in all my paper work and was ready to go on a 6 week vacation to empty out my vacation hours, and low and behold two days before going on vacation I get an email from the CEO and my direct report to get on a plane to Kenosha WI (General Headquarters). 

I was totally ambushed and they made me an offer my wife wouldn't let me refuse. I thought for sure I was getting a cool going away present..... Anywhoo I made a gentlemen's agreement I would stick around another 5 years.

[Tman]

Many people I knew retired and then died within a year, including my father. I think I'll semi retire when I'm 70 and take my chances in not fulfilling what could be a prophecy.

I hope you end up doing what makes you happy as you only go around once.

[sparquelito]

4 hours ago, Karloff said:

what kind of bike do you have ?

Small street trail.
Suzuki 200.

Very nimble, and not very fast.
(Both of which help to keep me alive.)
🙂

[mihcmac]

I'm not sure what happened, I don't seem to have any free time, so many projects.

[Twang Gang]

I think a lot of how you feel after retiring has to do with how well you liked your job.  I started working part time when I was about 14 (summers, vacations etc.) and retired when I was 62, so that's 48 years of working.  I had probably around 15 different jobs in that time mostly as a commissioned salesperson.  I never really had a job that I looked forward to getting up and going to in the morning.  I only forced myself to do it to earn enough to live and pay the bills.  

As has been mentioned if you love what you do then you never really work a day in your life.  I didn't love it, and I think that's what made retirement so easy for me.

[jdgm]

On 4/13/2023 at 9:55 PM, Farnsbarns said:

I hope to retire not long after 50. I'm 46 and while there's a plan to get me there, it'll take some doing. 

Go for the money ffs.  More money is always better.  

I was made redundant in 2015 with a decent pay-off.   I managed to survive until....

I qualified for UK State Pension in 2019/2020, paid my outstanding contributions so I get the max amount, and got through Covid.   So far.

It's what you make of it.  Try and do at least ONE positive thing a day; proper positive so you apply yourself, know you've made your day worthwhile and got out of the comfort zone.  

Exercise for God's sake.  I'm ill so far this year (strained ribs, sciatica) and am really missing my daily swim.   And playing live in a band.  

OTOH I'm so happy no-one tells me what to do  every day for income now, and I feel privileged. 

But physically...aaaahh....I'm 69 at end of June and beginning to feel like Henry Fonda in 'On Golden Pond'.  

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by jdgm