With my exit from formal employment beginning of July I started a different chapter of my life – the chapter of retirement. It does not mean that there may be opportunities for some activities in the future that might count as paid-for work, but I am truly not looking to start a new formal career. One of the steps that follow that decision is to update one’s status in social media accounts. Practically speaking I only have one – namely LinkedIn. Even on LinkedIn I wondered – is the network of professionals still a place to participate after retirement? I answered that question with yes – also because I am aware of other people – former colleagues – that have stopped working and are still active on LinkedIn. So, what profession or title does one give oneself? Some guidance is provided by the system – among the choices I picked self-employed – which is correct I thought. We are managing our own finances to provide for our living expenses while we are out there pursuing our hobbies. It seemed not fitting to attempt casting this financial management position of our own finances into a business/occupation. Instead, I chose to reflect on how I am intending to spend my time – exploring new places, learning new things and volunteering in organizations that do good for our community. This leads to the following description: Explorer, Learner, Volunteer.
Here is where something surprising happened. Ever since I posted this update in my LinkedIn profile I am getting emails with job offers for positions that have “Explorer” or “exploring” in the job description. I get links to postings that are describing job trends and pointing me to postings supposedly of interest to me. I am learning that the number of job offerings are 16% down – but suitable openings according to my current occupation include positions for a technician in a Guitar Center, various teaching positions from K1 to community college – the latter with an offer to teach automotive technology and interestingly for a Japanese bilingual Network coordinator. Now I could see myself teaching some subjects but not automotive technology and unfortunately, I don’t play the guitar neither do I speak Japanese – as much as I wish I could. It is not obvious if an algorithm is matching words in the job description or if this is rather random to create some level of engagement with the site – perhaps for the posting parties to get their view-counts up.
For me this is indeed a funny experience and perhaps it reminds us how difficult it is to use algorithms or perhaps even artificial intelligence to manage a relationship.