Restless Retiree Resetting Clock for Herself and Fellow Seniors

Peg Heglund, a 67-year-old retired nurse and mother of eight, says she’s grown tired of all the leisure at Leisure World Seal Beach. She wants to come out of retirement and be of service to her senior peers who, she says, complain that they’re as restless as she is.

But how can she help them? Heglund admits that, for the last several months, she’s been unable to answer this question. Though she spent three decades in nursing and ran a consignment shop for four years, she wonders whether her skills can be applied to a new service-oriented vocation. She also worries that her age impedes certain employment opportunities.

For advice and guidance, she spoke to Helen Harkness, executive director of Career Design Associates in Dallas.

Heglund may be unwittingly allowing age stereotypes to influence--and limit--her career options, Harkness said.

Would Heglund be bolder about exploring employment opportunities if she were, say, 47? Heglund conceded this might be so. Therefore, Harkness suggested that Heglund consider “resetting her career clock” by visualizing herself 20 years younger.

“We set a trap for ourselves by thinking we peak in our 40s, and then for the next 40 or 50 years just decline physically until our death,” Harkness said. “This is a sick view of aging that we need to get rid of.”

Harkness encouraged Heglund to guard against such limiting beliefs. Instead, Heglund should inventory her skills and interests to discover how they might be incorporated into a new career.

Heglund has extensive computer skills and is familiar with several software programs such as Adobe Illustrator. During her four years as a consignment shop owner in the early 1990s, she learned small-business management practices, marketing and retail sales techniques. She also has experience in researching, interviewing and consulting.

At Harkness’ suggestion, Heglund began researching career options and conducting informational interviews. Heglund contacted Deborah Russell, senior program coordinator for economic security and work issues for the American Assn. of Retired Persons in Washington. Russell, a specialist in senior career issues, offered Heglund some suggestions about potential vocation routes.

As a result of their conversation, Heglund hit upon a new career that excited her: She plans to launch an employment agency for seniors. She is not sure yet what kind of services she’ll provide--temporary, permanent or a combination of both. She plans to conduct more research about the industry before deciding.

When Heglund revealed her plans to her peers, she said they not only encouraged her to launch the agency, but many asked if they could sign up as her first applicant, and a few inquired about whether she’d consider them for a position at her fledgling firm.

Here is some advice that employment industry experts offered about Heglund’s new venture:

First, Heglund should gain experience in the staffing field. “There are significant risks involved in starting up [an agency],” said Patty DeDominic, chief executive of PDQCareers.com in Los Angeles. “You can’t go into the business with only great hopes and aspirations.”

Heglund can apply for recruiting or interviewing positions at an employment agency, or work for an organization, such as the National Council on Aging or the AARP, that offers career-related services for older workers, DeDominic said.

While in such jobs, she can learn how to attract talented workers; administer spelling, math, and word processing tests; perform job applicant and employer interviews; and calculate “markups”--how much she’ll charge companies above what she pays her workers. She also may be able to gain important knowledge about employment law, workers compensation, payroll administration and insurance and tax requirements.

When Heglund is ready to formally launch her agency, she may wish to consult an accountant for help in estimating the capital she’ll need for the undertaking. Starting up a staffing firm can cost more than $50,000, DeDominic said.

Heglund will need to set aside funds for rent, furniture, phone lines, computer equipment, supplies, testing software and professional liability insurance, among other things.

She’ll also have to keep in abeyance several weeks’ worth of payroll funds, because corporate clients typically take five to seven weeks to pay billings, said Embree Robinson, chief executive and president of TRC Staffing Services in Atlanta. And she’ll have to set aside money for referral bonuses, which can run $50 to $1,000 apiece, depending upon the recruited employee’s skills.

“Undercapitalizing is the biggest mistake of new owners,” Robinson said.

Although unemployment is at a 30-year low, employers still are not tapping seniors to fill their hiring needs, according to a 1998 study sponsored by the National Council on Aging. Employers interviewed in the study said they were unaware of how to access this population.

But other studies reveal a more troubling landscape for seniors. Although the senior work force is growing fast, employers’ interest in the population remains cool.

A recent AARP study noted that employers are increasingly demonstrating preferences for younger workers, whom they view as more adaptable, trainable, cost-effective and technology-oriented.

“The message is consistent,” the study concluded. “Managers generally view older workers as less suitable for the future work environment than other segments of the work force.”

Heglund will have her work cut out for her. She’ll need to educate prospective corporate clients about the benefits of hiring her skilled seniors. She’ll also have to find ways to overcome employers’ stereotypes about seniors, perhaps through workshops, marketing literature, research studies and advertising campaigns.

Meanwhile, she’ll find no lack of senior job hunters. The graying of America’s 78 million baby boomers is radically changing the staffing industry.

An AARP study estimated that, based on responses of 2,000 interviewees, about 80% of baby boomers employed today intend to keep working after their official retirement.

Additionally, recent changes in Social Security law, which allow seniors 65 and older to work without suffering cutbacks in their benefits, offer further incentive for seniors to remain gainfully employed.

Already, Heglund has begun surveying employers about their hiring needs and impressions of senior workers. She also is interviewing seniors about their career goals. To get more information from both seniors and potential employers, she has set up a pro tem Web site, https://www.recareering.com.

“What I’m finding is that there are so many seniors like me who want to get back in the parade, be useful, and make a little money in the process,” Heglund said. “This is so exciting. I’m always at my best when I’m doing what I love, and this is definitely that kind of opportunity.”

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Time for a Change

* Name: Peg Heglund, 67

* Occupation: Retired

* Desired occupation: Employment agency owner

* Quote: “As I get older, I’m realizing that the skills I’ve accumulated all these years shouldn’t be for nothing. They’re useful to others, and I want to share them.”

*

Meet the Coach

Helen Harkness is the founder and executive director of Career Design Associates in Dallas. She also is author of “Don’t Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century” (Davies-Black Publishing, 1999) and “The Career Chase: Taking Creative Control in a Chaotic Age” (Consulting Psychologists Press, 1997).

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