Questions and Answers
I am a energetic, responsible, friendly and outgoing young retired woman. I worked for a corporation for 33 years. I am looking for a part time job in the Media Delaware County area. I am interested in teachers-aide, adm assist, or most anything that would suite my desire to serve a small business. Any suggestions as to where to look? I've been checking Craigs list along with other job sites.
— Donna Burke
Hi Donna,
Congratulations on being able
to retire after 33 years with one corporation. That is becoming a rare
accomplishment in these days of frequent job changes and corporate layoffs. It
is terrific that you are facing this search with the assets of being energetic,
responsible and outgoing.
Checking job sites like craigslist.org, phillyjobs.com, careerbuilder.com, monster.com and jobs.delcotimes.com can give you a
sense of the positions that might be out there. myparttimepro.com
is a relatively new site that lists part-time professional opportunities.
Searching sites like these is
one way to look for your part time position, but should not be your only job
seeking strategy.
You may notice when you are
looking at these job sites that they often ask what category of work you are
seeking. While you did not share what kind of work you did for 33 years, your
job search may benefit from you doing some self assessment to clarify the
career direction that you are seeking. Check out the Explore Your Future area of this site comingofage.org/transition_tools.
You mentioned teacher’s aide and administrative assistant and that you would
like to serve a small business. Both of these jobs would use your communication
and organizational skills. It might be that after working so many years at the
same workplace that you would like more variety in your work in retirement;
wanting to work a day in a school with children and then two days in an
administrative role in a small business.
CareerLink, at
Delaware
County
Community
College, offers
workshops for job seekers. See dccc.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/wec/calendar.pl.cgi.
Another local resource is GetWorks, a job search
forum serving
Delaware
County. The group
helps members of the community who are looking for work or planning to
make a job change by providing guidance, information and support. Free evening meetings
on the first and third Tuesday of the month include guest speakers and work
sessions; see mediapresbyterian.teamministry.net for more information.
My other suggestion is to
network; talk to everyone that you know about the kind of work you are seeking.
Many part time positions are never advertised; you might find an interested
small business could create a role for you that would be a perfect fit if you
can get an introduction to a hiring manager. Initiating conversations with neighbors,
friends, family, former co-workers, your hairdresser, local shop owners and
your banker may yield surprising results. Visit the Delaware County Chamber of
Commerce site delcochamber.org to
find lists of local businesses.
I hope these suggestions will
help move your search forward. Good luck to you!
Answered by Beth Wilson
