As we get older, financial burdens, changing skill sets and time constraints often make a career change seem near impossible. While many take the career change plunge by choice, your late career change can also be forced by redundancy or a life changing event.
Whatever your circumstances, a career change after 40 is likely to be accompanied by challenges and obstacles that you didn’t have to consider 20 years ago.
Here’s how to make a career change after 40 work for you.
Use life experience to your advantage
A major concern for mature workers is that regardless of their suitability for a position, employers will ultimately favour younger applicants. In many cases, the opposite is true – use your age and life experience to your advantage.
In your career to date you may have shown loyalty to your employer, excellent organisational skills or strong team-building abilities. In life you may have demonstrated a determination to succeed, an ability to multi-task and superior time management skills. Not everyone could get three kids to sports training and still have dinner on the table before 7!
Highlight your life experience to your employer. Even if you haven’t worked in a certain industry before, you may very well have a wealth of transferable knowledge that sets you apart from other candidates.
Get the skills you need
Transferring industries usually means that you will need to acquire some new skills to have the best change of success. Throw yourself into this pursuit of knowledge whole-heartedly and gain as much experience as you can get.
Volunteer, arrange work experience with a local business, sign up to a TAFE course or study online. Doing something for nothing can feel like a step backwards after so many years of employment. However, it will ultimately pay dividends in the long run.
Network
When facing a career change after 40, networking is one of the main advantages you hold over your fresh-faced competition. In your years of experience you have undoubtedly formed useful connections professionally and personally. Now is the time use them.
If a contact connects you with a prospective employer, their recommendation acts as an implicit endorsement of your abilities, giving you a leg up on the competition. At the very least, networking allows you to learn more about a new field of work and find support from people who have been in your position before.
The best part? Social networking sites like Linked In mean that business networking is now easier than ever. You have no excuse not to give it a go!
Be proactive
Whether you are applying for a job at a bakery or an international advertising firm, all employers want to see enthusiasm. As such, it is vital to keep upbeat, energised and excited about your job hunt. This doesn’t just mean being on the ball during interviews. You also need to be proactive about the application process.
Personalise your resume and thoroughly research the company. Walk into a meeting with questions about the position and thoughts on where you could take the role. Do everything in your power to convince the employer that you will be able to hit the ground running.
Get started today
If you know that you are on the brink of a career change, stop putting off the inevitable. Whatever your circumstances, there are small steps you can start taking today.
Chase up your past employer for a reference. Start looking into your study options. Your resume isn’t going to update itself…
