Over forty and out of a job? Mid -life career changing can be an opportunity to re-align yourself with work that is more fulfilling and a right fit for the second half of your career.
Many professionals in their forties and fifties have found themselves unemployed due to downsizing, right-sizing or re-organizations. After the initial anger and frustration subsided, a good number of these people have found themselves to actually be relieved that they were no longer doing what they had been doing for all those years. .
Beyond getting out of the pressure-cooker environment, a transitional status provides the opportunity to think about new options. This time to think frequently reveals that what you were doing previously is not something that you want to do for the rest of your working days.
If you are in your mid-forties, for instance, you might be looking at another twenty years or more before retirement. When posed the question: “Do I want to do what I’ve been doing for the next twenty years?” You may find yourself answering with a resounding “NO!”
The dilemma and self talk that ensues, however, might go something like this: “But what else could I do?”…. “But the (insurance/electronics/manufacturing.etc.) business is all I know.” …..Or, “I’m too old to start over.” Or, “Who am I kidding – this is real life. Just get a job.”
Where does this limited thinking and self-doubt come from? Old programming. A generation ago, the concept of “job satisfaction” was almost unheard of. Baby boomers and some Gen Xer’s were raised by parents who transferred their parent’s fears and struggles from the Great Depression, where working meant survival and the necessity to put food on the table.
Today’s reality is that middle aged workers in 2010 are not living in the same world that their parents and grandparents did. We have shifted from an industrial age to a knowledge age. The rapid growth of technology has changed the way we live and the way we work. And this middle aged generation can expect to live and work longer, according to predicted trends.
This new reality, coupled with the creation of more flexible work options, offers greater opportunity to choose to do what you would love to do – pursue your passion; pursue your dream! Empty nests and paid mortgages offer new freedom to relocate or change careers toward something more satisfying and rewarding.
Some people, given the chance, know exactly what they want to do. For others, it’s not so easy. Spending some introspective time, or reading a career classic such as “What Color Is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles can be a good place to start. In addition to traditional employment, self-employment might be something to consider now.
If you are faced with the prospect of finding new employment after many years of doing the same thing, don’t be intimidated. Giving yourself permission to consider something new is both freeing and frightening.
The opportunity is there if you will only allow yourself to consider it and have the courage to pursue it. A year or two from now, this unexpected mid-career job loss just might turn out to be the proverbial “blessing in disguise.”
