Coming out of retirement to lend a hand
Seniors who want to stay active are teaching the younger generation about business
MIAMI — When Clarita Perez de Alejo retired four years ago from the corporate world, she travelled extensively and spent time with her grandchildren. Then ...
“I kept thinking, ‘ What else can I do?’ “she said. “I felt I had a lot to contribute. I still wanted to help out.”
Last month Perez de Alejo, 66, found a place where she can use a lifetime’s worth of skills in the beauty industry. Through a staffing organization that pairs older executives and professionals with non- profit, government agencies and public institutions, she began working at a high school helping college adviser Maria Mendoza with the task of preparing more than 750 seniors for the college application season.
Her duties are varied — from answering students’ questions to organizing the college fair — and she loves it. “I already feel like I belong here,” she said.
Mendoza said the feeling is mutual: “[ Perez de Alejo] been such an amazing help. Having her here frees me up to do what I need to do — provide services to the students.”
Though the seniors are figuring their way around new jobs, both students and advisers say these veteran workers provide more than a second set of hands. Their presence gives students a perspective on the real, workaday world.
“A lot of kids want to go into business and now there’s someone here who had her own business,” said Nichole Rodriguez, an 18- year- old senior.
Added Estafania Chavez, also a senior: “She can give us a perspective about what comes after college.”
This first batch of recycled workers range in age from 55 — the minimum age — to 82. Their work experiences are varied. One was a business owner, another a college executive. All share a common denominator: They want to stay active.
“The majority are not satisfied with traditional volunteering,” said Dacia Steiner, Reserve Miami’s program director. “They don’t want to lick envelopes and make cold calls. But they miss the camaraderie of a workplace.”
By placing them in part- time jobs that can use their expertise, Reserve gives them “an opportunity to go out there again and get engaged,” Steiner added.
Unlike other organizations that offer non- paying internships to retirees, Reserve jobs pay $ 15 an hour — not a lot when compared to pre- retirement salaries, but Reservists aren’t in it for the money.
“I was bored silly,” said John Dubey, a retired corporate executive about why he works as a Reservist.
Dubey, 71, attended an information session sponsored by Reserve. “I thought it sounded terrific,” he added. “It was what I was looking for.”
Like Perez de Alejo, Dubey helps out a college adviser — Ana Ros at Jackson high school in Miami. He’s pitched in with the scholarship bulletin, organized the community hours requirement for students and registered seniors and juniors for the ACT college test.
“The way I look at is that I’m here to assist the [ college] adviser in whatever way she needs,” he said. “I’m not a manager but an appendage.”
To which Ros, the adviser, added: “He’s more than an appendage. He’s such a big help to us.”
Reserve was founded in New York in 2005. Since then the group has placed more than 1,900 people into parttime jobs. The program, said Steiner, comes at a critical time in history. The leading edge of the baby boom generation, 81 million strong, began turning 65 this year. And as this demographic grows older, many will retire from their first careers with the hope of finding parttime positions that use their experience.
“We have a surplus of highly qualified, talented retirees and older workers looking to use their skills,” Steiner said.