From left, Erin O'Connor Jones, Mark Noonan and Marci Alboher, who answered questions about encore careers during the Encore Careers Telebriefing.

The Encore Careers Telebriefing held March 3 is available to download for free here.

The 45-minute session offers practical tips on finding an encore career that combines continued income doing work that has personal meaning and social impact. It features Marci Alboher, our in-house encore careers specialist; Erin O’Connor Jones, an expert on transitions to the nonprofit sector with the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group; and Mark Noonan, whose encore career involves working at Elders in Action in Portland, Ore.

During the telebriefing Marci Alboher recommends brushing up technical skills and looking into opportunities in growing fields such as education, health care and the green sector. She noted that community colleges offer fast-track programs to help career switchers become certified for specific jobs.

"This is a time of continued vitality and learning," she says, pointing out that it may well be worth investing in training that prepares you for the next stage of life that could involve working 10 years or longer.

Erin O'Connor Jones stresses the importance of networking to find an encore career and notes, "The best way to convince someone to hire you is to identify skills that are transferrable." Volunteering for a nonprofit is one way to get a foot in the door, Jones says, suggesting, "Propose a short-term project for a potential employer. Say, "I notice you're lacking this, and I would be willing to do this."

It's also wise, Jones advises, to focus on employers that value older employees. You can find them, she says, by going online and looking at photos and biographies of the staff at an organization in which you're interested.

During the telebriefing Mark Noonan tells a powerful story about his transition from the high-tech world to working for a nonprofit. He made the switch after his wife unexpectedly died and doing a lot of soul searching.

Noonan advises spending time figuring out your passion in life and identifying the best potential employers. He earned an associate degree in gerontology from Portland (Ore.) Community College. "I did my entire degree online," he says, noting that studying online was more comfortable for him than sitting at a desk in a classroom.

The two years he spent transitioning was well worth it, says Noonan, because his encore career is "incredibly rewarding."

To listen to the Encore Careers Telebriefing podcast, click here.

Learn answers to 12 common questions about finding an encore career by reading the Get Started Guide on Encore.org.