Second Chance

A certified career counselor provides practical tips and strategies to help midlife career changers identify the best career-change options, update their resumes, interview with confidence, and successfully find jobs.

As the definition of work and retirement continues to evolve, those at midlife have more opportunity than ever to design the jobs they have always wanted. Second Chance: How Career Changers Can Find a Great Job shows how it's done. Starting with an overview of midlife, retirement trends, and the benefits of older employees, the book details both the issues involved in making a career change and the career options available to career changers.

Expert career counselor Mary E. Ghilani helps readers analyze why they want to change their career, develop a change plan, and explore the best career options for their particular circumstances. Readers will discover how to find a new job using the latest technology, how to effectively market oneself to potential employers, how to upgrade a resume, and how to improve interviewing skills. Self-reflective exercises; tips on finding a job in a tight economy; and helpful career, educational, and employment resources round out this comprehensive guide.

• 19 self-reflective career exercises and worksheets
• 13 vignettes of successful career changers
• Examples of work skills, job descriptions, and self-marketing scripts
• Samples of resumes, cover letters, a follow-up call script, an acceptance letter, and an offer-decline letter
• Summaries of studies and surveys from the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Bankrate, Inc, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, human resources, civic ventures, and Amy Wrzesniewski
• A resource guide to 78 career, job-search, and educational websites