Challenges for Jobseekers in Mid-Life and Beyond
Last week, I was interviewed on the very awesome “Chris and Amy Show” on KMOX-FM in St. Louis. Chris and Amy are a very up-tempo couple so we took a jocular approach to a serious topic: the difficulties of finding a new job after age 40 and whether it’s ever too late to make a career change.
The short answer is yes, it’s more difficult to find a job when you’re 40+, but no, it is never too late to change careers (unless you think it is!).
To be successful in either endeavor, you must have a deep understanding of how the career game works and what you bring to the table that will make you valuable to an employer, regardless of your age or past experience.
At Career Strategies Group, we specialize in job searching and career changes for professionals in mid-life, which I define as age 40 and older. My oldest clients are in their 60s and 70s, and they’re not looking for part-time retirement jobs — they’re seeking real, full-time, intellectually challenging and fulfilling employment.
Re-imaging Your Job Search
Winning a new job in your 40s and beyond means being creative in your job search. You can’t rely on what I call the “Traditional Triad” of job search methods: classifieds, recruiters, and old-fashioned networking. These methods are much less effective for the mid-life jobseeker than they are for their younger colleagues.
Your job search itself has to reflect the value you bring to a new employer. If you see yourself as a creative problem-solver, you need to prove it by conducting a creative job search. Get smart about innovative versus traditional job search methods — it is much different today than it was the last time you looked for a job! (For information, click here: https://www.careerstrategiesgroup.com/job-search-services/tactics/ )
Understanding Your Value
A key to a successful job search is understanding what you’re good at, and that means looking beyond the obvious, your practice area expertise. We had a client in his late 50s who ran a very successful niche practice for 18 years. When his major corporate client moved on, his business started to fail, and he came to me for career coaching.
My client kept insisting he was “just a lawyer,” and given the narrowness of his niche practice, he felt defeated before he even started. It took a lot of work, but I finally helped him realize he was, in fact, a skilled businessman. He had created his firm from nothing and grew it to a respectable size. He handled IT, HR, training, employee relations, client service, advertising, marketing, purchasing, accounts payable/receivable, sales, and more. What made him successful for all those years wasn’t just his legal skills — it was all these other attributes. When he finally understood this, he was able to get a high-paying job in operations management in an entirely different field.
There are lots of examples like this:
• The bankruptcy lawyer who became a documentary film producer.
• The elderly small-firm associate who became a construction project manager.
• The late-middle-aged personal injury attorney who turned his hobby of managing his stock portfolio into a $400k job in wealth management.
The list goes on and on.
Practical Tips for the 40+ Jobseeker
While there is much more to it, here are some practical tips that can help you in your 40+ job search:
• Remove Graduation Dates: If you graduated more than 20 years ago, remove your class years from your resume and LinkedIn profile. There’s no need to advertise your age!
• Show Only Recent Job History: Just show your job history for the last 20 years. You can add earlier positions, but only if they’re relevant, and they should be in an encapsulated format.
• When the Interviewer is Younger than You: If you are being interviewed by someone much younger than you—a very common occurrence for my clients –don’t bore them with your old war stories. You need to understand their current problems, needs, and potential opportunities. Focus your discussion on these areas and how you can help with them. Approach the interview as an informed problem-solver, not a jobseeker.
• Sell Your Future, Not Your Past: Employers are buying your future, not your past. If an employer thinks you can solve their problems, they won’t care how old you are or where you went to school. Know their issues and what specific skills and perspectives you bring that will enable you to deal with those issues successfully.
One parting thought: The average age for a Fortune 500 CEO is 57.7 years. There are CEOs in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. You are not too old to reach new career heights!
To hear my interview with Chris and Amy, click here: https://www.audacy.com/kmox/hosts/the-chris-and-amy-show-on-kmox
If you are an attorney or senior executive and you’ve been thinking about exploring your career options or discovering “what else is out there” for you, or if you are not sure how to even start a job transition process, get in touch with me today for a virtual cup of coffee. You will receive a confidential, no-cost consultation to discuss your situation and goals, and will also get expert advice on how to launch your job campaign.
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