Coming out of retirement at 62
Name: Robert Bertrand
Age: 62
Home:Alpharetta, Ga.
Profession: Senior project manager
Salary at last job: $150,000
Special skills: 0.8 handicap golfer
Personal: Married with three grown children, a teenage stepson, four grandkids
When Bob Bertrand retired in early 2006 at age 58 to live out his dream of playing on the Senior Professional Golf Tour, he thought he had the money part covered.
Throughout his career he’d saved the max in his company retirement plans; as a result, he had $425,000 socked away, plus another $500,000 or so in stock options.
Meanwhile, his wife, Susan, now 50, earned $140,000 a year as a mortgage company executive. Bertrand calculated that even if he never won any prize money, he’d still never have to work again.
Then the housing market blew up, taking Bertrand’s retirement plan with it. The stock options became worthless when their issuer - Home-Banc Mortgage Corp., where Bertrand had been vice president of strategic planning before retiring - went bankrupt in 2007. The bankruptcy also cost Susan her position.
Though neither has found a lasting job since, they’ve essentially maintained the same lifestyle. As a result, the Bertrands have burned through most of their savings; virtually all that’s left is an annuity worth $170,000.
Bertrand, now 62, needs a job immediately. But the search has become so frustrating that he admits he sneaks out to the links more than he should. "The golf course is my escape," he says. "It’s the place here I feel really good about myself."
The job hunt
Career coach Roy Cohen and executive recruiter John Ferneborg recommend:
Target smaller companies. It’s tough for sixtysomething professionals to get hired even in the best of times. And Bertrand faces the added stigma of having been out of the workforce for three years. Ferneborg says he’s making things even harder by focusing on large companies that tend to fill openings from a deep bench of ambitious younger execs.
The solution? Target manufacturing and consulting firms with revenue under $75 million. These firms are more likely to value a seasoned executive with experience at a big corporation. (Bertrand spent 21 years at Allied Chemical.) "Smaller companies often prefer someone who’s been around the track," says Ferneborg.
Demonstrate vitality. Bertrand doesn’t mention golf on his r
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