Retirement – it seems like a million years from now, but for many baby boomers, it is now suddenly looming in the rear-view mirror closer than ever.

Consider the following example:

Last week, I was providing résumé reviews at an industry conference, and a woman sat down in my booth.

She sighed heavily, and said that she has been doing the same job for years, has been very good at it, and used to have a great deal of commitment and invested energy in her career.

Now, however, she has reached the point where she will likely retire in the next 5 years, and while she will continue her career with the highest level of integrity, her heart is simply not in it any more.

She is seeing the finish line come into sight, but with her remaining time in the workforce, she simply didn’t want to keep doing the same thing.

And that’s exactly what every baby boomer needs to start thinking about when it comes down to winding down a career.

Notice: I did not say “end working.” Many people don’t want to (or can’t) stop working altogether.

That’s where encore careers can come in.

Part of a strong retirement plan is to ease away from one’s lifelong career and leverage the skills / experience / subject matter expertise with an organization where it can make a difference.

That means finding something that has a purpose… and matches your values. It’s basically an opportunity to take your background and repurpose it into something you believe in.

Baby boomers are increasingly turning towards encore careers as their “final career project” as a capstone to their working life; it’s great to go out on a high note!

And, finding these opportunities isn’t too difficult.

First, determine what your interests are including what organizations could benefit from them. This might require doing some kind of skills assessment or working with a career coach.

Then, using your network, start making inroads in those target organizations.

Chances are, they will leap at the opportunity to snag someone with your background as a new asset for their mission and work.

The end result can mean that you ease out of a heavy-duty career, transfer your knowledge to someone else, then step off the merry-go-round into well-deserved retirement!