The mid-life career change can be an utterly frightening proposition because all that is at risk. There are people who are depending on you and serious financial considerations. For this reason, I wrote this post from a deep place of empathy. Despite this fear, the age 40 and 50 turning points are common times when career changes are considered. The choice that too many people make is to ignore the inner stirring and to double down on things to dull the growing sense of discontentment.
How can I make a successful career change at 40 or older? The short answer is to change the question. The better question is how can I recalibrate my career at 40 years or older and find greater contentment? Why does asking the right question matter so much? Research shows that most people can find career fulfillment by employing a 5 to 10% career recalibration. Career contentment comes from utilizing more of your natural abilities and strengths today, and then you did yesterday. As with most lasting and impactful changes, real career change is about making small moves towards more utilization of strengths and moves way from your areas of opportunity.
Assessments like Standout and Strengths Finder are good starts, but they won’t answer the burning question that people have at key turning points.
What am I really here to do?
What are my natural abilities?
How can I put these strengths to use in my current organization?
To answer these questions, you will need to invest time and money into yourself. To get you started, I have outlined the essential tips for navigating this career recalibration process. What I can assure you based on hundreds of people who have utilized this whole person approach to career recalibration that any time or money spent on yourself will be worth it.
Tip One
Spend time determining your strengths, abilities, skills, interest and values. There are some excellent resources available. Don’t Waste Your Talent, Career Distinction and Go Put Your Strengths to Work three books I would recommend. The most comprehensive and the gold standard of ability test is the Highlands Ability Battery which is based on Johnson O’ Connors work on abilities (cite). [link to another block or white paper for highlands ].
Tip Two
Find support. Yes, there are those who can push through and do this type of introspective work alone. Congratulations if you are that type of person. Most people will benefit from finding friend or a coach who support your through this journey. The right person will have the combination of a supportive personality combined with the ability to kick your butt and hold your accountability. Probably the most important consideration is finding someone who can commit the time and meet with you regularly to monitor your progress.
Tip Three
Communicate and express your personal brand. Let me give you an example. My brand position is the safest place of earth for self-discovery and my mission to help people like you to experience true joy in their work by exercising their natural abilities and expressing their brand. I serve my clients through career coaching that combines best in class scientific research and great coaching. No matter whether you are self-employed or work in an organization, you must consistently stay on message and on brand. What this means is keep letting those who can benefit from your work inside or outside organizations know what you do. I remember years ago when I wanted to utilize my training skills volunteering to teach anything that the HR Manager at my company didn’t want to teach. She took my up on that had me teach a short workshop on ergonomics. This small act communicated and expressed my brand and gave me the confidence to apply for a role in training.
Tip Four
Seek additional credentials and training to hone your natural abilities. Yes, I am completely biased. I have been in the training and personal development space for 20 years. I am a big believer in the power of good education and training as a way to accelerate your development. If you are a person has a natural spatial visual talent, take a class on interior or CAD design to strengthen this ability. If you have high pitch discrimination and strong tonal memory, take a music or foreign language class to sharpen this ability. The real key to finding greater joy and contentment at 40 and beyond is to rediscover some of fire and passion you had earlier in your career. Learning is a great way to rekindle that passion. Don’t limit yourself to formal learning either. For the extrovert who loves to learn by talking, invite someone who possesses the skill you want to develop and buy them lunch. It is a cheap and creativity to sharpen your abilities.
Tip Five
Continue to repeat steps two, three and four until you wake up realizing that you are much happier with your work than you had been. The real secret is that career recalibration is a gradual process. I know this is not the sexy answer, especially for those of you are completely mismatched in your role. It may require more radical solutions like going back to school to get an additional degree or a certification or to take a pay cut to start in a new line of work. Before you take the radical path, fully explore the easier road by seeing how you can utilize more of your skills and abilities in your current organization.
Lastly, I want to assure you that you are not alone. Most people will find themselves in need of career recalibration every seven to ten years. Why? People continue to grow and evolve at a much faster rate than the formal roles in which they inhabit, especially in larger organizations. Don’t doubt yourself or ignore the discontentment, just book mark this post and work the steps.
Leave a Reply