Midlife Career Change

MIDLIFE CAREER CHANGE: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR OLDER WORKERS IS COMPELLING

Many workers leaving jobs before state pension age have little option about the timing of retirement. Those in professional and managerial jobs tend to enjoy greater choice and control over how and when they leave the workforce than those in less privileged occupations.

This may be a fact but, midlife career change is a real possibility for most people. Some even view it actively as a considered career option when they wish to downshift for instance.

But with so many work at home opportunities how do you know which ones are legitimate? Here are some to consider.

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Ageism is now so rife in the British workplace that CIPD recently announced that people have only five years in their entire working lives between the ages of 35 and 40 during which they are not thought to be either too old or too young for a job.

And while age prejudice affects both junior and senior workers, it is the oldest who are typically hardest hit. According to Age Concern, many employers automatically assume that older workers lack dynamism and are unable to be retrained, which is why a third of workers over the age of 50 currently find themselves outside of full-time employment seeking new ways to midlife career change.

However the truth of the matter is this: younger people in their 20s are up to three times as likely to take a day off through sickness as their colleagues who are aged 50-plus, according to research undertaken by superstore Asda.

42 per cent of those people surveyed explained that they "pulled a sickie" as a result of unhappiness rather than hangovers. People splitting up with boyfriend / girlfriend; pet death and servicing the were also cited as reasons to phone in 'sick'.

In a further blow to ageist attitudes, one of the key strengths of older workers is that they also proved less likely to take time off with a cold or flu.

Workers aged 60-plus were least likely to take a day off sick. Presented in the right way, you can be an asset.

Anti Age Discrimination Laws

Last year, in October 2006, a new European Union law will secure basic working rights for older workers. Until then, however, employers will remain legally entitled to make people redundant for being too old, or to otherwise discriminate purely on the grounds of age. It is a sad fact that ageism and age discrimination will continue, albeit wrapped up as some other (spurious) reason for the discrimination, so older workers will have to be on the lookout. But far from becoming defensive about your age, look on it as an accumulation of experience and wisdom.

High on the list of your key strengths and accumulated wisdom is likely to be the ability to deal with adversity and deal with difficult people.

In other words don't let the b******s grind you down!

Critics argue that any legislation is long overdue and that employers need to ditch any prejudice over age sooner rather than later. Increased life expectancy coupled with poor fund performance or mismanagement and the recent fall in the value of equities means the UK is already facing a pensions shortfall of almost �30 billion. This shortage of funds means many of todays over 50s let alone their younger counterparts are going to have to remain in work for longer than planned in order to fund their retirement.

So what does all this mean for midlife career change? Over the next decade and beyond, not only will older workers be in growing demand, they will increasingly be in need of the work. And this is going to require a major shift in attitudes from employers and employees alike. One of the major challenges facing more mature workers is that after years of discrimination and negative conditioning their confidence and self-belief can suffer. You must take control of your own attitude and reverse this conditioning.

Midlife career change , then can be an option for most people, but means you will have to work at it more than younger up-and-coming applicants. You must make more of your network of contacts, along with their contacts. People who know you directly or from a recommendation are more likely to consider your abilities and competence, than simply your age.

Although your skills and experience may be much greater than the person who interviews you, you will be perceived as more of an asset than a threat if you acknowledge their superior position; show how you will support them and help them to further their career. In other words by being the strong underpinning to their career growth, their own self-interest is served.

Have confidence in yourself but don't oversell or continually talk about how you used to do things; ask how your new firm approaches it's tasks, then show that you are keen to contribute and support, NOT takeover and lead. Not yet anyway!

You can learn everything you need to know in order to make a successful midlife career change by referring to the material on this site. Find out how to describe your key strengths, to write covering letters and prepare Your CV; and how to prepare for interview questions.

Other useful sources of information to help your midlife career change are:

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