Are you ready to re-enter the workplace after several years away? Thinking of reducing your work hours and responsibilities as a lead-in to full retirement? Eager to change horses and take on new challenges or a more fulfilling career?

How to Find a Job After 50 is your best first move. Betsy Cummings paints an optimistic picture for older workers who, for the reasons mentioned above and a variety of others, are facing the prospect of resumés and interviews, and who probably quake at the thought of it.

Not so long ago, the older worker wasn’t even considered by employers looking to fill positions. Experience and maturity failed to compensate for the belief that seniors were interested only in short-term work, were lacking in technology skills, and suffered from an alarming number of health problems that made them high-risk employees. Some employers may still believe these myths, so Cummings advises readers to be prepared to counter them during the job interview, and she even offers suggestions about how to do that subtly and politely.

Most employers, however, have already learned that older workers are a gold mine of knowledge and reliability, with a strong and spirited work ethic. (Employers take note: one chapter of this book explains the reasons why this is true, and why you’d be wise to make your company attractive to the older worker.)

Added to the inherent value of mature workers is the sheer force of numbers. According to Jeff Taylor, founder of the highly popular online job site Monster.com, seventy million baby boomers are going to retire by the year 2015, and only thirty million younger workers will enter the work force in that time. This leaves a tremendous number of slots to be filled, and gives the older worker a wide range of employment opportunities.

Cummings’ book is more than just inspiration, although a multitude of personal stories certainly are that. How to Find a Job After 50 provides the information you need to get started on your third-age journey. To begin, she offers alternatives to cold-turkey retirement you may not have considered for achieving the change you want: starting your own business or picking up a franchise, for instance, or simply altering the duties or hours of the job you already have instead of drastically changing your work and your life.

This book also contains helpful advice on renewing or building networks, and how to use those contacts effectively; identifying companies that recognize and utilize the older worker; refreshing or creating a resumé that showcases your skills; gaining new skills through volunteer or intern positions; and using online job search websites, several of which are aimed specifically at the seasoned worker.

Even though I love my job and haven’t considered retirement beyond a hazy vision of margaritas on an anonymous beach, reading about the plethora of options available and fortified with Cummings’ infectious enthusiasm, I’m plotting a strategy for my golden years. How to Find a Job After 50 covers just about any question you have about making the transition, and provides plenty of resources to carry you forward. Quite frankly, if this book doesn’t give you ideas for achieving the job you want, you really are ready for full retirement.