Turning 50 makes anyone eligible to join AARP—a benefit not all are wild about since it reminds us that we are getting old and approaching retirement. While we know it’s inevitable, we’d rather not dwell on the topic of aging for many reasons—not the least of which is that some of us cannot imagine our lives without our work. Even with its demands and frustrations, work provides structure, purpose and a sense of identity to our lives.

In spite of concerns that retirement will leave a void filled by a hectic life in the work world, many people, earlier than ever, are having conversations about when to submit their names for the proverbial mantel clock or gold watch.

Perhaps it’s the idea of being in control of our days, accountable to ourselves, and free of other’s rules and policies that allows us to broach the subject at all. Predictably, somewhere in the conversation looms the question: “What will I do after the novelty of ‘my time is my own’ fades?”

With the 60’s now considered to be the “new middle age”, we cannot look to the generation before us for clues on how to structure our retirement. Our golden years will look quite different from our parent's, thanks to our longer life expectancy and higher standards for quality of life. As difficult and confusing as it might be, we must ask ourselves this question until we see glimpses of possibilities.

Here are a few questions that might help guide your conversation about your life in retirement:

1. What three words describe how you'd like your retirement years to be?
2. What do you long to do that you’ve not had the time, resources or courage to do?
3. Is there something that is incomplete in your life that you want or need to finish?
4. List three things that are the highest priorities in your life as you approach retirement. Does your life reflect the importance they hold? If not, what could you do to better align your life with your priorities?
5. If work required fewer hours of your life, what activities would you like to pursue for the first year? Beyond that?
6. What are your fears about retirement? What are your desires? Make sure your attention and energy is focused on your desires.

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"Get Beyond the Midlife Crisis: Understanding Life and Work in the Second Half of LIfe", a presentation by Barbara at the Women’s Health Expo, May 19 at Goodall Hospital, Sanford, Maine.

One space remaining! Women's Retreat in Southern France, led by Barbara for the eighth year, September 23-29.

I was recently asked to review résumés for a position requiring a high level of education and experience. Given the nature of the position, my expectations were high and I imagined résumés and cover letters that were crisp and polished. Instead, I was faced with documents that were too long and too wordy with glaring oversights.

One set of documents included a cumbersome nine-page cover letter accompanied by a four-page résumé. Apparently, this applicant hadn't heard that résumés have only 30 seconds to make an impression. At that rate, this applicant could be dismissed before the reviewer gets beyond page two.

Another résumé was submitted without a cover letter. To makes matters worse, the introduction to the résumé read like a sales pitch and did not include the applicant's name! This person missed a key opportunity in a cover letter to cite specific skills and background information relevant to the job.

Even though reference letters were not requested in this phase of the application process, one person included several letters with her documents. That was not a bad idea, except for the fact that the letters spoke to her appropriateness for a totally different position. One letter was years old and the copy was so poor it was difficult to read.

Saving the worst for last...One applicant tried to make an impression by using four different fonts, three ink colors and a variety of highlighting options on her résumé to get her point across. Instead of favorably impressing the reader, this résumé looked like a mishmash of words with too much going on to allow the reader to pull out relevant information. As if the aesthetics weren't bad enough, the applicant misnamed the organization to which she was applying!

No matter what the position or the level of education or training required, the following six points should be considered as you prepare your application documents:

1. Keep your résumé or CV (curriculum vita used for academic positions) to one or two pages. A CV could have an addendum to include additional pages for publications and professional presentations.
2. Always write a customized cover letter and address it to a specific person. Call the organization to find the name of the appropriate person if it is not included in the job posting. The cover letter should complement, not copy, your résumé. Use it to effectively highlight specific qualifications that match your background and expertise.
3. Note carefully the documents that are requested by the prospective employer. Even if they are not required, reference letters, providing they are current, add to the professional look of your packet and specifically address your ability to fill the position, can be a good addition.
4. Keep to one or two different font styles. Choose only one option such as bold, underline, capital letters or italics, per word or phrase to highlight it.
5. Review all of your documents carefully, especially if you are applying for several positions at the same time. Make sure you are citing the correct job, organization and requirements in each application packet.
6. Don't rush through the process and forget to sign your name!

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One space remaining! Women's retreat in southern France, led by Barbara for the eighth year.

What? A break? Oh, like a couple of days to do a project or two around the house, get caught up on medical appointments or have lunch with a friend before delving into the next job?

If that's your concept of a "break between jobs", perhaps you'll consider a different plan.

Those of you who have read my blogs know that I am a proponent of time off as a way to renew energy, reduce stress and increase productivity. The fact is, Americans work too much. Unlike Europeans, we "live to work", rather than the other way around. Our fevered pace of life and work has us stretched to the max with all of the emotional and physical consequences that accompany a stressful life.

Given our frenetic lifestyles, it's a minor miracle that anyone finds the time in his or her busy life to look for a new job, let alone determine a new career path. To complicate matters, if your job is stressful, or you are among the numbers of Americans experiencing burnout, you have even less energy to devote to a transition.

While some career counselors advise against leaving a job before having another lined up, that is not my view. At times it's not only a good idea, but also essential to a person's wellbeing and ability to envision new options to take time off between jobs—even without another in sight.

Allowing yourself the rest you need and time for activities that renew your spirit can restore your energy and help with clarity and focus in your job search. Conversely, pushing yourself to move forward from a place of weariness or exhaustion is likely to further cloud your thinking and hinder your process.

I realize that taking time off is not an option for everyone. But, if you can find a way to manage it financially, why not consider the idea of time off and create an intentional transition to your next job?

One space remaining! Women's retreat in southern France, led by Barbara for the eighth year. For info, application form and photos go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com.

If you're feeling discouraged about your job search, you might achieve better results with one simple change to your process: diversify your approach. Polls indicate that more than half the people who employed only one strategy to look for jobs lost their momentum and abandoned their search after two months; while those who incorporated several strategies stayed the course until they found an acceptable position.

It may seem like an easy path to your next job to sit at your computer and surf the Internet. But, I'm sorry to say that a computer-based job search is typically not very effective if it's your only course of action. Furthermore, it is an approach that keeps you isolated and out of touch with individuals who could encourage you and keep you motivated in your efforts to find new work.

I suggest spending no more than an hour each day reviewing on line job postings and perhaps another hour with resume submissions and researching prospective employers' websites. Divide the rest of your day into a variety of activities, including ones that could have an indirect impact on your jobs search success by lifting your spirits or helping to relieve stress.

Below is a list of the primary ways people find jobs, with the first four by far the most effective. Select one or two to add to your job search process—doing that just might increase your success rate as well as improve your outlook.

1. Get clear on what you do well and what you enjoy doing. Then identify where in the marketplace those skills are needed. Conduct informational interviews with people who have these jobs to determine if there is a match for you. Ask for names of more people to speak with who are in this field.
2. Make cold calls and/or knock on doors of organizations or companies of interest to you and where you could add value to determine if they have openings.
3. Ask for job leads from family, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances.
4. Attend a group organized for people in the job search where networking is encouraged and practiced.
5. Apply for jobs advertised in the newspaper, trade journals or seen on line.
6. Go to private employment agencies.
7. Send out unsolicited resumes to random employers. (It is estimated that only one job offer results from sending out 1700 resumes.)

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One space remaining! Women's retreat in southern France, led by Barbara for the eighth year. For info, application form and photos go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com.