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Sometimes the hardest part about preparing for an encore career in the nonprofit sector is knowing where to begin.

The second hardest part? Selling yourself.

I hope these resources are just what you need to get over the hump.

Two recent news stories show the upside of encore success stories – and the downside of reinvention myths.

BusinessWeek recently posted a slideshow to its site, showcasing 16 people in new, later-life careers. Eight of the 16 are in true encore careers dedicated to the greater good, and two of these are ones we know well.

Emmy-award-winning journalist Jane Pauley sat down recently with two Purpose Prize fellows, Libba and Gifford Pinchot, to film a segment for NBC’s TODAY show.
Pauley selected the couple for her “Your Life Calling” segment because, in their fifties, the Pinchots founded the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) to train future business leaders to go green.

Looking for work is never easy. Looking for meaningful work when you’re over 50, it’s August, and unemployment is at record levels – well, you need all the tools (and friends) you can get.

So here are five online sources I think you’ll find useful if you’re beginning to look for an encore career – or have a friend who is.

As the job market improves, opportunities are opening up for workers in midlife eager to move into encore careers that matter.

For many, changing careers can be a scary proposition. There is often no clear path, leaving career switchers fending for themselves.

For many Americans, retirement doesn’t mean the end of work.

But it can mean a chance to try something fulfilling, such as an encore career, without having to earn as much.

Registered nurses looking for encores that will keep them in the nursing profession can check out two new online resources about adding to their credentials.

RN to MSN Online has compiled a list of schools that have programs through which registered nurses may earn a Master of Science in Nursing, or MSN. Such a degree can be a gateway to serving as a nurse administrator, nurse educator, nurse practitioner and other such positions.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has gotten the message from his readers: changing the world is not just for young people.

“Seniors, dig out your anti-malaria mosquito netting now,” Kristof wrote in his Sunday column, in which he announced that for his fifth annual “Win-a-Trip Contest” he’ll for the first time take someone over 60 along with a college student.

Ed. Note: Here is feedback from Encore.org member Laura Westenkirchner on her difficulty in finding an encore career. Do you have any advice for her?

I have been through part of your website, and I agree with the premise that people are looking for meaningful employment at retirement or close to it, but I have my doubts about it happening.

If you’re having trouble finding your encore career, consider shifting your focus from filling jobs advertised by others to designing a job tailored to your unique strengths.

Civic Ventures announced Launch Pad today, an online contest to find five people with great ideas for transforming their community.

Check it out.

The rules are simple: Anyone 45 and over can enter. All people have to do is submit their idea online for improving their community by December 20. Civic Ventures will narrow down the list of submissions to 25 semifinalists, then the public will be able to vote for five winners starting in January.

I'm thrilled to be leading an online seminar about encore careers in partnership with The New York Times, the home of my former Shifting Careers column and blog.

The course will be offered online through The New York Times Knowledge Network on Fridays, October 22 and 29, from noon to 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Pacific time. The cost is $95. The deadline for reservations is October 21.

Echoing Green is hiring. The nonprofit organization has two positions available that are ideal jobs for individuals seeking encore careers. Both are full time and are based in New York City.

Echoing Green is a nonprofit that invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs (called Echoing Green Fellows) to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions. It has invested $28 million in seed funding to more than 471 social entrepreneurs and their innovative organizations.

As people age and continue to live active lives, their interest in living well becomes more important than living longer. After all, no one is too excited about longevity if all that it means is a couple of extra decades of decline. Meanwhile, as employers try to keep a lid on health care costs, they look to ways to support employees in remaining healthy and to help those who have chronic disease improve their well-being.

Unlike any other time in history, people from four generations are on the job together. Civic Ventures, with support from MetLife Foundation, commissioned three essays exploring today’s multigenerational workforce.

Fifteen community colleges have been awarded Encore Career Grants to support new or existing programs aimed at retraining boomers for careers in health, education and social services. See which colleges were awarded the grant.

The Community College Encore Career Grants are awarded to innovative colleges that identify social-purpose jobs available in the community – such as adjunct faculty, community health workers and pharmacist technicians – and prepare boomers to fill them.

In a piece posted July 21, 2010, on her Careers Search blog, Lin Schreiber recommends "Eight Key Sites to Inspire Your Encore Career," and Encore.org is at the top of the list.

A couple of AARP sites, BizStarters.com and Experience Corps are among the others on her list.

Click here to read the entire list

Marci Alboher appeared recently on JobTalkAmerica, a new Internet radio show hosted by Ted Canova and Sam Zeff, two veteran journalists who are helping people reinvigorate their job search and find balance in their lives.

Click here to listen to the interview, in which Alboher talks about her own encore career search and provides tips to others.

How do you reinvent yourself in retirement? How do you handle the finances? What extra obstacles do women face? Are younger workers in competition with older workers? Those are some of the topics that three best-selling authors discuss during a June 17 webcast sponsored by Merrill Lynch called "Reinventing Retirement: Second Acts."