Lets say you have 10 years experience in a certain field. but you want to quit, but you also want to be able to go back into the field should you need to for financial reasons. How do you keep your resume up to date?
Do you join organizations? Like if you are a pharmacist, do you join the American Pharmacists Association and start doing a small amount of work for them?
Can you just do some kind of ‘continuing education’ in your spare time, keeping abreast of new info?
Can you get ‘re-certified’ when you choose to go back into that field to prove you are still competent?
It seems to me that if someone quit a field for 12 years or so, then came back they would be really rusty. The industry could’ve changed dramatically and they may have forgotten everything they learned in school and on the job in those 12 years.
They certainly would be rusty. I suppose if you’re retiring completely from work, the best bet would be to hire yourself out as a consultant from time to time which would keep you in the loop of new developments and provide examples to put on your resume (if nothing other than the helpfully vague, “2004-2014 Indepenent Consultant to large clients like X, Y, Z, keeping them abreast of new technologies.” Of course, the problem is that you’ve likely only worked for a couple of months in each of those capacities, but I know companies in my field and at the size that mine’s at routinely use retired consultants to supplement their needs which works out great, because you’ve got guys who have lots of experience that can see things that the newer guys can’t and that when they are completely off-base, it’s easy enough to leave that advice alone).
Of course, that would pretty much violate the “retirement” thing and you run the risk of someone finding out that your consulting work ended eight years ago…But keeping a steady stream of work probably isn’t that difficult, especially if you’re “on retainer” like a lawyer, working on several client projects at once/as needed.
What you are asking for is a Functional Resume - apparently very popular and very practical for someone getting back into a field, someone changing careers, a retiree reentering the work force etc…etc…
This is a constant issue for women who decide to stay at home while the kids are young, but intend to go back to work once the kids go to school.
A lot depends on how “retired” you are and what profession you are in. For instance, doing five or ten hours a week volunteer, consulting or part time work will keep your fingers in a career and your contacts up to date - but that isn’t possible in all professions and difficult to do when you are the stay at home mom of three kids under three.
Staying involved in professional organizations and meeting your professions continuing education requirements are good things to do, if applicable.
Some people choose to go back to school after retirement - it seems to be a prime time for some women returning to the work force to pick up an MBA, for instance. That may end up with a slight change in career focus.
Some professions are easier to hop in and out of. The pace of technological change in IT may make it difficult to return after a decade. I wouldn’t want to go to a surgeon who had just returned from ten years “retirement.” It may be easy to do it if your job is sales. Some tenured college professors have regular sabbaticals built in to their schedules. People who are “personalities” (actors, artists, writers, etc) can often move in and out of their profession - though few can’t expect to stay at the top of their profession unless they actively work. (i.e. if Stephen King doesn’t write a book for five years, when he finally publishes, the book will sell. If Barbra Streisand retires, she will sell out any concert she chooses to do subsequently. However, if Orlando Bloom retires next year, and comes back in ten, chances are pretty good that he won’t get the type of opportunities he has now.)
It probably is important to realize that for most people and most professions, it isn’t going to be realistic to expect to jump back into your profession at the level you left with the same pay and responsibilities after a period of time off.
I’ll second the consulting and volunteering suggestions. You could also consider doing some work pro bono, if your field allows it. That way you would be not only volunteering, but keeping current by doing the work. And working pro bono is a great idea to meet people who might want you to work for them (this time for money) in the future. Joining some associations or taking some classes (particularly taking classes) is a good idea, too.