Retired and Consulting

Question
I retired August 1, 2006. I have been taking it easy except for one consultation job with the VA (Veterans Administration) in Menlo Park, CA.

Recently I was asked to provide a resume to a U.S. Senator to be a consultant to the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. My objective is part-time consulting.

How should I cover being a recent retiree (August 2006) in a resume? Would I cover being a retiree under experience or in a separate category?

Answer
by Susan Ireland
I suggest you use a chronological resume. The first entry under Professional Experience should be listed like this:

Consultant, Veterans Administration, Menlo Park, CA, Oct. – Nov. 2006 (or whatever the months were)

After writing a few bullet statements about your work as a Consultant to the VA, list the job that you retired from in August. There’s no need to say that you retired; simply state the beginning and final year of your time with that employer. For example:

Manager, ABC Organization, San Francisco, CA, 1990 – 2006

Leave the conversation about retirement to the interview. If you’ve been asked to submit your resume, the Senator probably already knows that you’re retired and so there should be no problem with your discussing it in person.

Best of luck in your after-retirement consulting gig!

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