The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 In interviews it is vital to con- centrate not on what you did, but on how you can meet the prospec- tive employer’s needs. Due dili- gence is necessary. Recruiters are sophisticated: they may like you and be impressed by your abilities, but if you’re not the right fit for their institutional culture, you won’t get a callback. Job seekers must always be guided by what they really like and where their talents lie. Although it seems obvious, it bears repeating: by this stage in life we should know ourselves well enough to know what will genuinely support our objectives. If you get a well-paying job that’s full of stress and makes you unhappy, what’s the point? Finally, the retirement seminar is helpful not because it necessarily gets you a job, but because it forces retirees to focus on the mechanics of finding a job and adjusting to a new life. Follow Your Instincts In my case, I ventured down a number of new paths that allowed me to write a novel, become a stockbroker, start my own online business, investigate paralegal possi- bilities and more. The novel was finished but remains unpublished; stockbroking proved fascinating, but not for me; my online business as a book dealer is satisfying, but only marginally lucrative; and so on. Although seemingly disparate, these experiences en- abled me to explore aspects of the world and myself that were previously not well known to me. Overall, it was worth the uncertainty. Following your instincts, with some caveats, is not a bad strategy. After a couple of years, through a friend I learned of an opening with the Office of the Inspector General for an inspector and management analyst. This led to several satisfying assignments as a When Actually Employed an- nuitant. Based on that experience, I would encourage all retirees to stay in touch with friends and contacts, and network with new ones all the time. I also worked as a Disaster Assistance Employee — the WAE equivalent at the Federal Emergency Man- agement Administration — on 12 major domestic natu- ral disasters. It was an intense and enriching experience that took me to places in the U.S. I never would have come to know otherwise. My last gig with FEMA was at the Penta- gon following the 9/11 attack. Shortly thereafter, I went to Pakistan for a six-week stint with Refugees International. My es- cort-interpreter, whom I hired off the street, quickly noticed my in- terest in visiting then-off-limits Afghanistan. He offered to put me in a burqa and take me in as his wife, seemingly untroubled that I was 6’3” and more than a foot taller than he. This was when I began to wonder if I was getting too old for these kinds of experiences. Since then, I’ve been working as a WAE in a new of- fice of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Set up after 9/11, mostly with retirees, to provide temporary re- lief for overworked desk officers, it has now taken on a character of its own providing 24/7 liaison with military commands wherever American troops are deployed — whether against terrorists or pirates, or in humanitarian or other emergency missions. How Does It All Add Up? What does this post-retirement jumble add up to? For starters, the most likely places to find a good new job, part- or full-time, are in areas related to what you already know well and can step into without a lot of training. In other words, Foreign Service-related work might end up being the best bet for putting together a satisfying mix of professional pursuits and exploration of new interests as you shift to a more relaxed daily life. The transition can be punctuated with community serv- ice, travel and spending more time with family and friends. I emphasize finding satisfying part-time work be- cause, in my opinion, many Americans retire way too early and feel at a loss when they could still be making a meaningful professional contribution. (Of course, there are retirees who have a seamless transition to just the right job and others who don’t care to work at all. If ei- ther of those options works for them, that’s great.) Part- time professional work was always a part of my ideal “package,” and still is, years later. To say the whole process of retirement is difficult and requires flexibility, re-evaluation and focus doesn’t mean that it is unhappy or overwhelmed with worries. F O C U S Some FSOs think their exciting careers will automatically resonate with prospective employers. Trust me, they won’t.