Pam Rainey

When Mary decided to retire after 30 years as a registered nurse, she looked back at her career of helping people with no regrets. As a 60-year-old widow with grown children, she looked forward to finally having time to clean her home from top to bottom, enjoy yard work, take vacations and sip tea on cold mornings by a cozy fire. An avid reader, Mary had enough books on hand to keep her enthralled as long as she wasn’t interrupted. Or, so she thought.

A few months thereafter, Mary sat alone in her clean home while looking at her most recent vacation photos. She had read most of the books she cared to read. The cookie jar only a few short steps from her sofa must have been too tempting because she had begun to notice that most of her clothes were growing quite snug.

Bob planned his retirement for 10 years. He was confident that he and his wife would finally have financial security after retirement, and he looked forward to no longer having hectic schedules where they had hot lunches and cold leftovers for dinner. With three children, work, school, church and civic activities, it was time for life to slow down. But, after only a few months of retirement, the stock market took a tumble, and the investment portfolio he had counted on to produce income the rest of his life dwindled, along with his dream of full retirement.

Both Mary and Bob decided to return to the workforce for different reasons. They had never considered that, after being loyal employees for many years, they would have a desire or need to sharpen their skills in order to be an attractive prospective employee.

They have lots of company.

Many older Americans are returning to work, and not as Wal-Mart greeters. Some are returning because of necessity; others are returning because of boredom. Not all of them want to go back into the field they left.

I’ve hired older employees and I’ve hired young employees. In my opinion, older employees bring treasures to the workplace. They are rich in work ethic, the ability to get along with others and they often mentor younger employees.

So, if you need to sharpen your skills to interview for a new job after you’ve retired or if you just want to learn something new, you may consider the following:

* Many organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Hearts for Homes, Friends of the Family and Family Resource Center need volunteers and are willing to train recruits in various fields of technology or even areas in which volunteers have never worked. When I worked for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, many volunteers became part-time employees when urgent needs surfaced.

* It is never too late to learn. Check out the senior center for classes that appeal to you. Even if you are learning a new skill, you may be surprised to find that you can learn more than the lesson at hand. Also, check out local colleges and trade schools.

* Getting out will be good for your health. You will not be as tempted to lead a sedentary lifestyle if you’re employed.

* Be sure to check with Social Security to learn how much you can earn while drawing social security. There are limits until you reach full retirement age.

Now it is time to get ready to interview for a job. You may need not only to sharpen your skills, but your confidence. Interviewing may be challenging if you haven’t done it in a while. The library and bookstore will help. Here are some books to consider: Successful Interview Skills: How to Present Yourself with Confidence by Rebecca Cornfield, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions by Vicky Oliver and 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions by Matthew DeLuca.

I would enjoy hearing your employment success stories so I can report them in another column.

Your words could encourage others who are thinking of sharpening their skills to re-enter the workforce.

PAM RAINEY writes a monthly column about issues concerning senior citizens. You can contact her by e-mailing rpmrny@cs.com.