Welcome to the mid-career transitions webpage dedicated to experienced professionals. As a member of this group, you bring unique and varied skills to the nonprofit sector. Whether your background is in the business world, the public sector, or a different part of the nonprofit sector, your expertise, networks, and understanding of preferred practices in other fields are of value to any nonprofit lucky enough to have you. Unfortunately, you are also at the leading edge of organizational change where many nonprofits are still awakening to your value. Even as the boundaries that traditionally delineated nonprofits from government and business continue to dissolve, not all nonprofit leaders fully understand the value of working with someone from a different background.
The resources in the next section will help you discover how best to realistically and successfully get involved in the nonprofit sector. Further down the page, see the sections dedicated to employment websites for experienced professionals and social networking sites geared toward mature people.
Civic Ventures has several programs for experienced professionals looking to do good as part of a new career. Each program’s page contains information on how to get involved in your community. The site also offers a slew of information on the changing nonprofit community, including reports, surveys, and news publications.
Encore.org provides an opportunity for individuals to engage in community development, as well as unique insight into the encore workforce forwarding social change. It functions as a support site (with encore podcasts as well as members telling their own stories in print), an opportunity board, and a news/opinion resource.
The Next Chapter initiative aims to provide resources for community groups across the country working with people in the second half of life. This link goes to their directory of Next Chapter groups across the country.
Bridgespan (Bridging to the Nonprofit Sector) aims to ease the transition of passionate and skilled leaders into and within the nonprofit sector. The site has many great resources for mid- and upper-level management professionals transitioning into the nonprofit world including tools for the job search, self-exploration, defining transferable skills, and writing resumes. For some services you need to become a member, but membership can in some cases be free. The site was relaunched in the fall of 2008 and is now organized around six learning centers: developing strategy, managing performance, funding the mission, advancing philanthropy, building the organization, and recruiting leaders. Within each learning center you can find "articles, case studies, tools and multimedia offerings related to" each topic.
Coming of Age promotes civic engagement in the 50+ year-old population. Although this site caters to folks in the Philadelphia area, Coming of Age is continuing to take on a more national focus. It also provides some self-exploration and job search tools, as well as research and articles spotlighting the nonprofit world. Their free, online interactive course “Capturing Experience” is a great resource for organizations looking to harness the talent and experience of people 50+.
National Council on Aging (NCOA) dedicates some of its website to work and volunteering, including some downloadable training materials as well as a place for users to post their resume. It also has several programs to aid your transition and offer direction:
Senior Environmental Employment Program encourages and supports older workers wanting to work on environmental projects nationwide. While the website offers little in the way of specifics, it does provide an address to send your resume.
MaturityWorks Alliance is an advocacy arm of NCOA focused on public policies, business practices, and reshaping societal attitudes that enable employers, educators, and the public workforce system to recruit, retain, and value mature workers. Older worker service providers, public/private employment services, state and regional planning organization, human resource managers, community training and educational facilities, educators and researchers, and employers who are interested in mature worker issue are all encouraged to join. Job seekers interesting in following current trends, policies, and other news on this topic should also spend some time on the MWA site.
RespectAbility Initiative seeks to help nonprofit organizations make more effective use of older U.S. residents in their community-based efforts.
Bloom Anew looks to redefine retirement and growing longevity with “returnment” (defined as “the act of giving back or returning in some small way what the world has given you”). The website’s owner, Jay Bloom, feels he is part of a very large demographic which has the opportunity to change the social landscape of the future.
ReServe connects New York City's experienced older adults with stipend-paying jobs predominantly in nonprofits and civic institutions. You can find information about potential opportunities, the benefits of social engagement, and an application on its website.
AARP is one of the most well-known membership organizations for 50+ year-old individuals. Their website covers a myriad of topics and issues all geared toward addressing the needs and interests of their members and helping to enhance the quality of life as people age. The “Money” and “Make a Difference” sections of the website will be of particular interest for experienced professionals looking to make a difference in their work lives.
American Bar Association Commission on the Second Season of Service. This site, specific to attorneys, provides information for persons looking to change their work place or law practice. However, it offers no information on transitioning out of practicing law altogether. There is a search engine for volunteer opportunities available to lawyers.
Experience Works is a national, charitable, community-based organization. It is now the nation's leading provider of training, employment, and community service for low-income older people. They provide services for older workers as well as support for organizations interested in employing this audience.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a community service and work-based training program for older workers. It provides subsidized, part-time, community-service-work-based training for low-income persons age 55 or older who have poor employment prospects. Through this program, employment assistance is available through the One-Stop Career Centers of the workforce investment system.
Senior Services America Inc. (SSAI) provides civic engagement and employment opportunities for adults over the age of 55 who wish to re-enter the workforce. Participants are paid minimum wage while gaining marketable skills in a part-time nonprofit or public organization work setting.
Halftime focuses on financially independent business and professional leaders who are looking to move into work with spiritual significance. You can join Halftime for a fee and obtain its services, which are not available on its website. However, the site does provide an overview of their mission, as well as personal stories of success.
Finishers Project looks to encourage baby boomers to serve in short-, medium-, and long-term mission projects both home and abroad. They also work with mission organizations looking for personnel as well as with churches looking to bolster their own congregations' mission work.
Experienced Professionals Job Sites (not only nonprofit-focused)
ExecSearches.com helps nonprofit, education, healthcare, and government organizations recruit mid-level, executive-level, and fundraising professionals. They have a database of over 70,000 members.
Jobs 4.0 is a site for job seekers 40+ where "great companies that value diversity of experience" go to post jobs.
RetirementJobs.com has over 30,000 jobs posted by companies seeking 50+ professionals. They are also the employment search engine for AARP. Job seekers can search for various opportunities including volunteering, board service, self-employment, and consulting.
Workforce50 is the newest version of SeniorJobBank which was one of the first major job boards for the 50+ community. Workforce50 also has "added a career and education section to assist boomers and seniors who are considering a career or job transition."
Retired Brains has a range of resources that not only help older boomers, seniors, and retirees find employment opportunities but also covers a range of lifestyle and financial resources targeted at this audience. Job seekers can search by career channels, access career resources, and use a range of job seeker tools.
Seniors4Hire is another 50+ workplace website that allows users to create a member profile, post resumes, check out the site's featured employers and jobs, receive job notifications, and conduct geographic job searches.
Monster.com features career advice for older workers with a focus on "turning previous experience into current skills."
The Retired Worker is a large Canadian employment website for the 50+ professional.
YourEncore is an employment website that targets older scientists, engineers, and product developers.
Dinosaur Exchange broadens their resources to include North America as well as Europe. The site is in multiple languages and "Dinosaurs" can post their resumes (CVs) as well as create a searchable "sketch" of their employment history which "Dinosaur Hunters" can peruse.
Execunet has been around since 1988 helping to connect chief and senior-level executives (typically those who make over $100,000 annually) with other executives as well as recruiters and companies.
RetireeWorkForce has a job board that focuses on employment opportunities that cater to the retiree's schedule including part-time, flex, seasonal, as well as full-time positions. They also have resources to help job seekers improve their resumes, connect with career counselers, hone interview skills, explore volunteer work, and start their own businesses.
PrimeCB is CareerBuilder's website focused on older workers. You can search for positions by category or employment type (full-time, part-time, or internship). There is also a blog and a list of real-time events for job seekers to attend.
The Phoenix Link offers free re-careering services for executives and technologists looking for interim and full-time management positions.
Employment Network for Retired Government Experts (ENRGE) helps retired government employees (federal, state, and local) with continued employment and makes a very strong case for the value of hiring government employees into a range of professional fields.
National Older Worker Career Center (NOWCC) is a nonprofit organization that places workers age 40 and older in federal agency jobs. NOWCC is also dedicated to research and advocacy in support of the needs of older workers. They currently provide employment to over 600 older workers at the Environmental Protection Agency (including the Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program working in pollution prevention and control), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (including the Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) program working to support conservation efforts), and other government agencies.
Arizona Mature Workers was created as a result of the fact that more than a quarter of the population in several counties in Arizona is older than 60. The site offers listings of paid and unpaid work opportunities in Arizona as well as highlighting businesses deemed "mature-worker friendly." This is also a place to keep track of advocacy in Arizona to change state government retirement policies to allow greater flexibility.
EnCorps Teachers Program is a public-private partnership in California (where the 60+ population will almost double to 8.7 million by 2020) designed to get boomers into the state's teaching workforce. They are specifically interested in recruiting math and science professionals.
Social Networking Sites
There is a growing interest in providing social networking opportunities that are catered to the older web user. Since the functionality of many of these sites is quite similar, it would be a good idea to start your search by seeing who you already know on these sites and then choose a social networking site that both meets your needs and provides you with the largest preexisiting network of friends and family.
Eons is "the online community for BOOMers!" featuring blogs, groups, videos, photos, brain games, and other resources to help boomers connect with their preexisting social networks while also creating new friendships.
ReZoom offers a space for "redefining life for an ageless generation" by providing information and resources around money, health, music, going green, and how to make a better world—all with a boomer focus. You can also become a ReZoom Member where you can reunite with family and friends and share what is going on in your life.
Boomj is interesting in that they make a distinction between leading edge boomers and younger boomers (Generation Jones). This site offers news and resources on a range of topics (health, travel, finances, lifestyle, etc.), expert columns, social networking tools among members, as well as the "BOOMj Store" where members can earn reward points for their purchases.
TeeBeeDee is a social networking site for "grown-ups" founded by Robin Wolaner (who created Parenting magazine in 1987). The name TBD comes from the idea that the future for the 40+ community has yet "to be determined."
Multiply is not necessarily boomer-focused since the functionality of the site is useful for all generations. The goal of Multiply is to allow users to consolidate all their pictures, videos, links, calendars, and blogs in one place. From there, users can share their Multiply page with their community. A free, basic membership is available to get started.
Email us if you would like to suggest additional organizations and resources for this page.
