New Adventures with LinkedIn: A Retiree's Journey

Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago, LinkedIn member Howard Silvers reached out to our CEO Jeff Weiner via an inMail to share his LinkedIn story. Our team was so inspired, we asked Howard to tell his story here. If you have a LinkedIn success story to share with us, we’d love to hear it!

When my 40-year career in the photo retail industry ended last December, my dignity and confidence were shattered. At 65 years old, I was disheartened and thought that I’d never be able to face my family and friends again. LinkedIn has been my miracle for a life recovery, giving me a new path that has helped me embark on a greater adventure than I could ever have imagined.

Over the past 8 months, I’ve been happily busy keeping up with over 800 connections I’ve made on LinkedIn and participating actively in dozens of LinkedIn groups mostly related to photography. The first LinkedIn member who reached out to me was Bob Greenberg, Founder of Photographers.com. He saw through LinkedIn that I was unemployed and offered to feature my photographs on his professional photography website.

The most important moment for me was when I updated my LinkedIn profile from “Retired/Unemployed” to “Volunteer for Vanishing Cultures: An American Portrait”, a photography project to capture our vanishing cultures and history throughout the United States. I was born with cerebral palsy so I never had the opportunity to serve my country in the armed services. LinkedIn has helped me fulfill my duty.

Through this experience, I discovered that just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I can’t pursue my passion for photography and continue to make a valuable contribution to the world. Now, I face my friends and family with pride as I’m able to share my work with them and, of course, point them to my LinkedIn profile.