Career Doctor Articles

With the kind permission of the Career Doctor, jfo is able to bring you a series of articles to help you in your work situation and longer term career management

Changing Career at Age 50

Somehow you have reached 50 years of age - how did that happen? - and you have a career problem. Perhaps you have been made redundant, and have to find work as you are not financially able to retire for a few years. Or you are still employed but in a job that you know will not see you through to retirement age. Perhaps you have a too high-pressured job and you know that if you do not find a less stressful job soon you will seriously damage your health and / or your family relationships.

As a career consultant I meet people facing these problems every week, and I can really empathise with them. I don’t know how I got to be as old as I am, someone must have got my date of birth wrong, for I feel, think and act young, but I keep getting birthdays. Yet we all know that our society is very ageist, and employers favour young people when it comes to recruitment.

Ageist stereotypes are difficult to eradicate. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is the most prevalent, and whilst that might be true in the canine world, all of us over-50’s will bristle at such nonsense. I have had numerous clients in the 50-60 year age group, and over the years have helped many of them secure new employment. It has been tough for all of them as there is marked buyer-reluctance, and in some industries - IT for example - there is a positive youth culture which freezes out older workers

Maybe one day our political “leaders” will make it illegal to discriminate against age, just as it is illegal to discriminate against a person’s colour or sex. Even if that happens in the next few years, it will take many more years before ageism is rooted out of recruitment, but until that happy day, what can a person in his / her 50’s do about finding new employment?

In this article I will look at realistic alternatives, starting with an upbeat attitude.

THE PLUS SIDE OF 50

For many over-50’s, the financial situation is often a lot rosier than when they were younger. The children have grown-up, and may be earning money themselves, or have left home. The mortgage will either be very small or have been paid off, and all the expensive things, like furniture, car, carpets, etc will have long since been bought, so the family’s financial needs are not so pressing. That’s the theory anyway!

Most over-50’s will also be in good mental and physical health, and feel confident, active, alert, and more than capable of doing a good job. Their employment track record is often very positive, and they will have proved themselves to be an asset to their employers. Moreover, most over-50’s will have a demonstrably high level of commitment, work ethic and time keeping. It’s the way they have been brought up to behave at work.

Now I do appreciate that sweeping generalisations are dangerous and there will always be exceptions, but that does not negate the fact that many over-50’s are still very capable of working very effectively, and therefore could still be attractive insofar as the recruitment process is concerned. So what work could an older person consider doing, if his / her current employment will not last, or can be endured, until retirement?

VIABLE OPTIONS

When I am helping an over-50 client I encourage that person to think outside the box, and to widen his / her horizons. You have to be flexible and adaptable, and be prepared to consider doing things outside your comfort zone - or stay unemployed, or in that lousy job you know you will have to quit soon.

In no particular order of preference, here are some suggestions:

Lower your expectations, and look for a less demanding job. One of my clients was an Editor of a local newspaper. A most highly pressurised job which was causing great stress and affecting his relationship with his wife. Nature’s way of telling him to get out of the rat race, and make time for his wife and to “smell the roses”. Quality of life was his priority, a very frequent requirement. He’d done his stint at the coal-face, time to find something less pressurised, but what?

It’s very easy to make a mistake and grab the first unsuitable job that floats by, and so we spent a lot of time using psychometric tests and using my career counselling experience to identify his best options. So now he is driving a taxi and loving every minute of it. He occasionally takes VIPs and celebrities to their destinations, and with his urbane personality and very broad breadth of general knowledge his passengers have got to enjoy his company and ask for his services again and again. He’s in his element and wishes he’d come to see me earlier!

Part-time work can be all that you need financially, and it will enable you to de-stress and make time for your favourite hobby. Perhaps you could combine that with working for a charity, if killing time is your need. Perhaps you could pass on the skills and experience you have gained during your earlier career, by going into counselling or training, for example.

Commission-only sales can be tough, but also lucrative when you are successful. And because the employer is taking that much less commercial risk (he’s not paying you a fixed wage) he can afford to take a chance on an over-50. So you can sell your upside to him easier.

Temping can be a way of filling in your time and earning some money, but it is also a way of demonstrating to a company just how good you are, despite your age, and could lead to permanent employment eventually. Maybe you have never been a temp before, and think that’s only for secretaries and receptionists, etc. but if we are trying to eliminate stereotypes about age, then stereotypes about temping - or, indeed, any of the suggestions in this article - also need to be tackled. Open your mind.

Portfolio working could be right for some people. That’s holding down several small, differing, part-time jobs so that overall you are working “full time”. For example, you could be an office cleaner in the early mornings, act as a handyman during the day, doing odd jobs for people who reply to your card in the local newsagent’s window, and a barperson in the evenings / weekends. What portfolio of work could you realistically do?

Self-employment / franchising could be a serious alternative, whereby you say that if no-one else will employ you because of your age, then you’ll employ yourself. I have covered self-employment and franchising in previous articles, and have warned about the pitfalls to expect. In my last 13 years as a career consultant I started as a franchisee and have also been self-employed over the whole time, so I can personally vouch for the upside, and the downside of these options.

I have a well-developed method of helping people evaluate self-employment / franchising opportunities and have been instrumental in helping a number of clients make decisions about going down this route. These decisions are very tough, and need considerable thought before arriving at a conclusion.

Back into a mainstream, full-time job may be the only option for you, as these other alternatives may not appeal. We all know that genuine vacancies are scarce, and any advertisement for a half-decent vacancy will attract many applicants. I read about adverts attracting 200 applicants and more, and so competition is fierce. So how will you get an interview when you are over 50?

That is a tough challenge as the odds are probably 40-1 against you getting that invitation. Over the years I, and my consultants, have successfully helped many older clients compete against younger applicants, and win the job offer. We put great effort into supporting our clients who use our proactive self-marketing techniques to increase the chances of getting interview invites. We then coach them in interviewee techniques, to outperform the competition on the day.

Our track record shows that it is possible for an older person to compete in the mainstream job market and get the offer of a new job, despite being over 50. You just need to make your own luck, and that’s where we can help.

So in conclusion, you are not washed up and a failure, just because of your age. You can take affirmative action to find a way of solving your career problems, you just need to be a little bit more adventurous in your thought processes, and a lot more tenacious and determined in your self-marketing techniques.

Good luck!

The Career Doctor is Eric Hearn, Chartered MCIPD and Managing Director of Milverton Career Solutions Ltd, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.

Contact details:
Tel: 01344 624383
Email: milvertoncareers@btconnect.com
Website: www.careerdevelopment.co.uk