Tips For A Successful Mid Life Career Change
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As we know, a large portion of our life is spent working, so it’s important to make sure that what you do is meaningful and satisfying for you. From time to time, most of us wonder whether what we’re doing is what we want to be doing and ponder the possibilities of another career path.
Many of us reach a mid-life point where we think about a career change more seriously. Well, all people who make a career change in mid life have one thing in common - they were people who were willing to take a risk. Acknowledging this risk and then taking conscious steps to deal with it are one of the keys to a successful mid life career change.
Steps you can take to help you with a mid life career change include:
- Make a conscious decision not to worry about where your next paycheck is coming from.
- Be willing to cut costs wherever you can
- Use unemployment benefits or savings to supplement your income
- Be willing to try something new.
If you’re thinking about giving up your day job to start a new career or business, look for ways you can make extra money to supplement your income during a transition period.
Examples are you could work a second job, do freelance or part-time work, and cut your expenses. Look for savings from your normal, daily routines. Simple savings such as a morning cup of coffee you buy on autopilot or going out to dinner can add up fast. We suggest that you work out a budget that seems feasible and then see if you can manage to stick to it for a few weeks.
For sure it is not easy to walk away from job security and a stable paycheck. This is why often it requires a push, such as a layoff, to help you move in the right direction. This change although often painful, can give you the impetus to try a new career and ultimately create a new life for yourself.
On the other hand, many people, especially those with family responsibilities are not in a position to simply up and leave their job to start over. In this situation, look for ways to do work that interests you and build your skills and resume, whilst maintaining your current position. For example:
- Use vacation time to explore other industries and career options
- Take vocational or college to expand your knowledge and skills
- Volunteer for roles in areas that interest you
- Get a part-time job in a field that interests you
- Pick up a freelance job - there are many opportunities on the internet
In many cases experience gained from a part-time job or a volunteer role can help you spot a new, full-time career opportunity and transition to it successfully.
Job Interview Skills
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A job interview is your chance to sell yourself, but you won’t have much time, so don’t waste it.
Interviews can be one on one or before a panel. You may be interviewed at a crowded job fair or even over the phone. Whatever the situation, you can be sure that there will be plenty of other candidates for the job and many of them will have a resume that reads very much like yours does.
Don’t waste time by telling the interviewer something they already know. Your resume will tell them about your employment history and you don’t need to repeat it for them. What is important is to focus on the skills you learned from each of your jobs and why you think those skills are useful for the job you’re being interviewed for.
Here’s an example. My daughter worked at our local pizza restaurant after school. She took orders, answered the phone, waited on tables and served the best gelato in the suburb. She enjoyed the work and was popular with the regular patrons, who tipped generously. When she left to go overseas, her employer had no hesitation in giving her a wonderful reference.
The owner of the restaurant has been in hospitality for many years and this is what she told me. The skills you learn in hospitality are highly regarded by any employer. You learn the obvious things, like being comfortable dealing with many different kinds of people and providing a high level of customer service. But you also learn how to make decisions and think on your feet.
She said you’re being asked questions all the time, by people who want an answer on the spot - “Can I have that without cheese?”, “Can you get it to me in less than twenty minutes?” You may not always make the right decision, but you learn to do it and deal with the consequences.
She also said that decision making is a skill that many people never learn. I could relate to that! In our house, the simplest purchase requires a cost benefit analysis, days of research and often involves a spreadsheet. Trips to the supermarket involve much soul searching, “It’s on special - that’s good, and it’s organic - that’s good, but it’s imported - that’s bad.”
But to come back to your job interview.
- Never underestimate the value of your previous jobs. You have learned something from every one of them.
- Identify the skills you have learned, e.g. decision making, thinking on your feet.
- Say why you think those skills are of use in the job you’re interviewing for.
Good luck and you can read more at http://www.healthywealthyandhappy.com/careerchange
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