So - you’re over 50 and looking for a new career - or at least thinking about it.
Hopefully it’s something you actively want to do; perhaps you’d like to get back into the workplace after a period of non-working or retirement, or feel that it’s time to spread your wings, make a change and go for a more challenging and fulfilling post.
But maybe it’s a situation that you’re being forced into through redundancy or lack of prospects with your current employer.
Whatever the reason, three basic questions will no doubt be occupying your mind:
- What do I want to do?
- What do I believe I can do?
- What do I have to do in order to succeed?
These questions sound deceptively simple, but for many of us in mature years, they provide a tremendous challenge in terms of clarifying our thoughts, achieving focus and maintaining self-belief. These are things which we all know ought to get easier as we get older. But… somehow they just don’t.
Let’s consider each in turn:
1. What do I want to do? Perhaps unsurprisingly, deciding what to do is the most common sticking point for people considering making a change. ‘I know I need to do something, but I just don’t know what I want to do!’ they say. Or, ‘I’ve always been a (whatever has been their career to date). I’d love to change but how do I decide what to do?’
In a word, we’re talking about ambition here and that’s worth bearing in mind because what we often see in mature people re-assessing their working lives is a remarkable lack of it. There tends to be an unfortunate attitude of “I’m too old now / no-one would let me/want me”, or “It’s too late to do those things that I wish I’d done when I was younger.”
The first question to ask yourself then in terms of what you want to do is ‘What do you most want to achieve from work?’ Is it money, status, creative self-fulfilment, a social network, new skills…? No doubt, you will want a combination of things but it’s worth spending some time really thinking this through, writing down what’s important to you and then re-writing that list in order of priority.
2. What do I believe I can do?Draw up a list of things you know you’re good at and things you like to do. Don’t limit yourself just to things that you can immediately relate to in terms of your work, look much more widely. Consider all the skills and aptitudes which you possess, all those things at which you know you excel (even if you’re too modest to admit it generally).
If you’re unsure where your strengths lie, ask other people what they think. Even family members, old friends and colleagues don’t always see us the way we expect, and you’re bound to be surprised by some of the comments you get.
3. Now what do I do? Having reviewed what you want to do and what you believe you can do, the biggest, most important thing you have to do now - and continue doing if you’re going to get the outcome you want - is quite simply to believe in yourself. And you know the reason why. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can anyone else be expected to?
Armed with your new clarity and certainty about who you are and what you want, you’re now ready to launch yourself on the world and go and find that new job. All you have to believe now is: It may not be easy, but if I persevere I will get there in the end.
Click here for more advice about careers from in my prime
