Is it too late to change careers?
Life's too long and all that ... (wait, what?)
Last week I shared with you that CREATIVITY has become core to my coaching and that I’m currently considering how this is leading to a PIVOT in my business.
That DOESN’T mean that we won’t be talking about career change or careers in general here in the Career Freedom newsletter. No, quite the contrary! Careers and career change remains a steadfast key element of my offering and I’m ALWAYS open to having a conversation if you’re considering a career change! It’s the REST I’m working out over the next few months.
Which is why I did a thing: I asked ChatGPT what the first 10 questions are that career changers ask. The topic of AGE was number ONE.
So, whilst I’m figuring out what this pivot is looking like I’ll be going by what ChatGPT tells me. Unless YOU tell me what YOUR questions are!
Next week: How do I identify my transferable skills?
What questions would YOU like answering in this newsletter?
So, IS it too late to change your career?
I sometimes see them. These posts that ask ‘I'm 28, is it too late to change careers?’
Like a typical middle-aged woman I smile at that. Twenty-eight. Too late. Ha!
Twenty eight, thirty, forty, fifty. Whatever.
Here are my thoughts on why - if you’re THINKING about changing your career - you should most DEFINITELY go out and explore (and potentially DO) that!
Life’s too LONG
Wait, what? Life’s too LONG? Yes, this might sound funny.
But everyone who ever had young kids and had to sit for hours in their bedrooms coaxing them back to sleep will know this.
Everyone who has watched the clock at work absolutely BORED out of their brain knows this.
Everyone who has sat on a long-haul flight to wherever and has watched the plane on the little screen go absolutely NOWHERE knows this (do they still have them? It’s been AGES since I’ve been on a long-haul flight!)
Time is ENDLESS when you’re doing something that isn’t challenging you, isn’t absorbing you, is BORING you. And do you REALLY want to do that for another 10, 15, 20 years? Don’t answer that, I KNOW you don’t!
Time is a funny old thing. Some days it just FLIES by, on other days the time just seems to stand still. ‘Einstein’ time is what Gay Hendricks calls it in his book The Big Leap.
If you’re somewhere where you don’t want to be, doing something you don’t want to be doing (anymore), with people you don’t like, for money you then spend on things you don’t need, then - yes - life’s too LONG to stay where you are.
Way too long.
The sunk cost fallacy
I once spoke to someone who was working in Finance. She didn’t want to work in Finance. She had literally just rolled into it. And stayed. For (I think) eight years plus.
When we talked she wanted to do other things. Creative things. It’s what she studied for, it’s what she craved to do.
So far so brilliant!
But wait, there’s more.
Her boss had offered her the opportunity to do an MBA. So that she could STAY in Finance and further develop her career there.
The last time I spoke to her she had taken up her place, making her invisible and not ready to move ANYWHERE for the next two years, as she completes her MBA.
THIS is what I want to say about all this.
Yes, you may have invested LOTS of time and money and energy in getting you to the place where you are now. That DOESN’T however mean that you have to STAY.
ESPECIALLY if you’re not happy doing what you’re doing.
NONE of the skills you’ve got will disappear. You can take them wherever you’d like to go next.
But staying? Because you INVESTED so much? That’s what we call the ‘sunk cost fallacy’.
Sunk cost fallacy: our tendency to follow through with something that we’ve already invested heavily in (time, money, effort, or emotional energy), even when giving up is clearly a better idea.
What’s more: investing even MORE? Even if - or especially when - you already KNOW that you’re on the wrong path? No. Just no. Right?
(P.S. That woman I spoke to? When I heard that she had taken the MBA route I would have liked to have asked her two questions:
Do you REALLY (really) like the subject of the programme?
Is this programme really required for the job you’ve got or want or the career direction you’d like to travel in?
Because if ANY of these questions lead to a ‘No’ then STOP! Consider what you REALLY want and create the path toward THAT!)
It’s going to get better! (No it isn’t)
You know how often I changed jobs before it dawned on me that I wasn’t happy in my CAREER?
I lost count, but it was a LOT. I changed jobs, changed industries a few times, changed my contractual arrangements, all of it.
Until I realised that the common denominator amongst all of that change was ME.
So, if you’re thinking that it’s going to get better? That things will change?
Well, you’ve already had the spoiler alert. It won’t.
At least, not until you acknowledge the fact that it’s very likely YOU that needs to change first. And that it’s up to you to start taking action to make that happen.
I believe that if YOU change - even if that means staying where you are, for now - that others will notice. And as a result your interactions with others will change too. Making the place you work now ever so slightly more bearable.
And that’s even before you start building the career - and life - you want and REALLY start making changes!
Everyone is ageist
Right, let’s get on to this one. Because a few weeks ago research by Totaljobs showed us that employers believe that if you’re 57 you’re too old.
It showed that it is making the over 50s worried about applying for jobs, whilst 15% of them have actually explicitly been TOLD that they’re too old <shakes head>.
Crucially, the average age of (external) recruiters is 23-27 years old (according to a fact sheet by Cleeve Partnership), with little or no knowledge of the work that you do. The majority of jobs still goes through talent functions in organisations, where in some cases HR departments have experienced pressure to hire younger candidates (!).
So, whilst there are some REAL hurdles to overcome, this doesn’t mean that it should scare you into not doing anything. There are different ways to create the career you love. There are different ways to get a JOB for that matter.
So let’s go there next.
Your career and the joy of discovery
You see, whilst it all may seem scary and impossible now, there’s a flipside to this whole career change thing too.
It’s the joy of discovery and reinvention.
Because how often do we get to do that in our life? How often do we get to a point in which there is no other way than to stop, take stock, do a deep dive into WHO we are and WHAT we want AND then go and make that a reality?
Yes, like me, you will probably have gone through the whole shebang: new jobs, new industry, new career, new country, redundancies or lay-offs, resignations.
But - I’d argue - it’s only at THIS point, this turning point in your life, this adult development point and crossroads in your life, that you get to reinvent yourself completely, starting with:
You - Who YOU are is not as clear as it may sound. Sometimes women come to me and say ‘I don’t even know what I like doing anymore’. Women who find that they are completely out of touch with how they’re feeling and why they’re feeling that way.
THIS is the perfect opportunity to get to know yourself again, to examine the role YOU’ve played in your unhappiness(I never said this thing was going to be easy) and to figure out where you can best deploy your strengths and skills.
Your job - What IS it that you don’t - or no longer - like about your job? Is it the actual WORK or where you’re doing your work. Is it the WHAT or the WHERE? Or is it the WHO you work with or WHO you become when you’re at work? Crucial questions to ask.
Your career - What if what you DO is no longer what you want to do? What if you’re a square peg in a round hole? What if you want to contribute to something that’s important to you? The answers to those questions might scope the magnitude of change required for you.
Your environment - You know what one of the BIGGEST barriers to changing your career is? Your job. That sounds weird, but how many people do you know that hate what they do, but work in a GREAT team, with colleagues that feel like family?
Knowing where you want to work, the environment you do it in, the people that surround you. The journey of discovery includes this too.
Job search strategies
Clear on what you WANT? Now *all* you’ve got to do is make it happen?
We discussed ageism. And yes, it exists, let’s be clear.
But when you’ve got as far as this in your career change journey and have gone through the emotional turmoil of rediscovering and reinventing yourself (because - yes - that’s what you’ve done), then ageism is not going to stop you, is it?
Because by this time you KNOW what you want and - if your path includes finding a job - your job search strategy should include the following strategies:
Recruiters - Independent recruiters or recruitment companies have a share of the jobs available. Especially if you’re working independently recruitment agencies are an unmissable part of your job search strategy.
In-house recruitment - Have you ever done that? Replied to a job on a job board, never to hear from them again? Yeah, don’t do that. If it says the company name, go direct to their website and apply there.
Your LinkedIn profile - Make sure your profile reflects the direction you want to take your career in. Your headline especially should state the job title(s) you want, so that recruiters (in-house or external) can find you.
Networking - OK, so I can dedicate a full newsletter to networking. A number of my clients - if not the majority - have found their jobs through networking. So write down who you already know. Use your LinkedIn subscription to find the right people in the right companies and get networking!
Job boards - Did I mention job boards? Enormously useful to find jobs on. As a gateway for applications? Hmm, you *might* just want to go back to the point I made above.
Conclusion
I started this newsletter with one question: Is it too late to change careers?
This - in case you wondered - is my answer:
Are there hurdles to overcome? Certainly.
Should that stop you? Definitely not.
In other words, are you too old? No, of course not. It’s never to late.
And why would you want to deny yourself that chance to rediscover, redefine, even REINVENT yourself anyway?
It’s a ‘now or never’ moment where you get 100% clear on where you’d like to steer your life and career.
And who would want to miss out on THAT? Whatever your age is right now.
See you next week!
Tineke X
P.S. Do YOU want get clear on WHO you are, and discover ALL the tools and techniques you need to be more creative, more resilient and happier? The next Positive Intelligence GROUP programme starts on Monday 28 October. Hit ‘Reply’ to receive the discount code. See you there?
P.S. 2 Are YOU looking to change careers or make changes IN your career? Let’s talk! I’ve got room for 3 women to start working with me in November. Book YOUR free call now to get started. (Because if not now, then when?)
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Tineke Tammes is a Career & Creativity Coach and supports professional women in making successful transitions to careers of Freedom, Flexibility and Fulfilment! Besides that she is also a lifelong feminist, part-time portrait artist, never-only-read-one-book-at-any-time reader, and obsessive doodler.
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