Tag Archives: Career & Jobs

Should You Make a Mid Life Career Change? Pros and Cons of a Midlife Career Change

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Making a career change is difficult at any time, but making a mid life career change can be particularly challenging. The thought of going out into the workplace and starting all over again can be frightening. Yet many people decide that they do want to make a career change mid life and in some ways it is the ideal time for a career move. So what are the pros and cons of mid life career change?

Pros

1. You have more life experience than you did in your teens and twenties.
This means that you will have gathered a great many new skills, developed existing ones and had experience of the world of work.

2. You have more time now to think about what you want. If you have been looking after children full time, or working part time while the kids were growing up, mid life can be a good time to consider a change. Once your children are old enough to look after themselves or have left home for college, you’ll have a lot more time on your hands. This can be the perfect opportunity to choose a new direction, by following a long held dream or setting up a small business.

3. You may have fewer financial pressures than when you were first starting out, especially if the mortgage has been paid and the kids’ college funds secured.

4. As a result of having worked for some time, you’ll be a lot clearer about what you are good at and what you enjoy doing.

Cons

1. You may need to retrain and this can be time consuming and costly. Although you may be more financially secure, you may not have enough spare cash for a lengthy course.

2. It may be so long since you last studied that you are afraid you won’t be able to keep up with younger students or get your IT skills up to scratch.

3. You might not get support from friends, your partner and other family members.

4. If you haven’t had to find a job for a long time, you might not be up to date with jobsearch techniques.

5. Some employers, despite legislation, still prefer to employ younger workers.

Career change is a big decision and one that you have to make for yourself. So it is a question of balancing the pros and cons and working out what is best for you. You might be able to find your way around some of the obstacles, for example by training or studying part time or online, or gaining some extra skills in your present job and saving towards any courses you will need to do in future.

It is important to follow your heart. If you are happy, those around you will be happier too, even if they have initial misgivings.

Career Change – What You Need to Know

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Career change is something else. This is where you actually do something different, usually for a different employer.

Most people seek career advice when considering a significant career change. If you have been doing a job for a while and realise that it isn’t meeting all your needs then it makes sense to look at something new.

Let’s face it you have spent years figuring out what you don’t want but that doesn’t necessarily mean you know what you should be doing. You also want to ensure that this move is a career development. It is possible to make a change for the worse.

The “trial and error” approach to job hunting is not efficient. You need something more reliable which is why you need career advice. Sure you may work it out after a few years but why waste all that time. Surely you would prefer to be in your dream job next week, not in ten years time.

Be clear that the secret to you finding your ideal job lies in your personality, not your history.

Most people end up doing a variation of their previous job. This rarely works out in the long term. Instead of looking to the past, you need to look to your personality to discover what job is right for you. try one of the free career personality tests.

Another reason to seek good career advice is to help you navigate the job hunting landscape. It has changed a lot over the last three years so you need an expert guide; a specialist who can advice you how to navigate it. The difference between career development and job hunting Most people move from one crisis to another. They react to circumstances forced upon them.

Those who think about their career development are always planning their next move, even when they are in a good secure job. These are the people who force the change and drive the agenda. They are not simply reacting to circumstances.

It is important you understand the difference. It is important you move over to career development and away from job hunting.

Upon receiving a new job do you think, “OK, where next?” or do you say “What a relief. I’ll not need to think about job hunting for a while”?

Summary about changing careers

1) You want to ensure that you make a career change for the better so seek career advice as to what job is right for you.
2) Look to your personality for guidance as to what career is most suitable for you. Do not repeat past mistakes.
3) Make the shift from job hunting to career development. You want to build and move forward year on year, not simply start again year on year.

Despite the economy there have never been more opportunities. Employers are still struggling to find the right people. You could be just what they are looking for.