You’re now in your 50s, a golden milestone. You finally know what you want to do for the rest of your life—unfortunately, it’s not the career that you’ve spent the last few decades building.
There are many good reasons why you may want to work beyond retirement age. Perhaps you’re not ready to retire even though you’re financially ready to do so. Maybe you haven’t achieved your target financial stability goals yet. And most importantly, you can’t imagine staying at your current job without ending up unhappy until you finally retire.
Because of this, you might be thinking of switching careers to make sure you’ll be working in a fulfilling career for the next 10, 15, or 20 years and longer.
So, you’ve already made the decision, but how exactly do you start changing career lanes when you’re aged 50 or older? First, let’s look at a few challenges you may face during the process.
Changing Careers at 50: Common Challenges
Changing your career path is overwhelming at any age, but even more so if you’re 50 or older. Some common challenges are:
- Age discrimination
- Self-doubt despite achieving career success in the past
- Decreased learning agility
- Lower energy levels
- Lack of support from friends and family
- Financial responsibilities
Now, just because there are obstacles in the way doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream of changing careers. The key is to be proactive and be as prepared as possible. That means being aware of the challenges you may face, which will make it easier to transition and get a new position.
Want a New Career Path at 50? Tips to Get Started
1. Clarify Your Goals
If you’re serious about making a career change, doing an honest self-assessment is crucial. One, it will help you make sure that a career change is the right move—or if the truth is that you’re actually looking for another kind of major life change.
Ask yourself the following questions, and take time to answer them thoughtfully:
- Why do you want to change your career?
- What are your new career goals?
- What will be your new life goals after making the change?
- How can your life and career goals align?
- Are you ready to invest the patience, effort, and time to get up to speed in a new industry or position?
Next, outline your specific goals:
- What does your dream career look like?
- What work duties and job titles are you after?
- What industry would you like to get into?
Once you’ve determined that a career change is the right move, it’s time to identify your transferable skills.
2. Enumerate Your Transferable Skills
This is another vital part of your self-assessment. Now that you know your target role, you have to identify what you bring to the table, such as transferrable skills and relevant experience. This includes:
- Soft skills
Softs skills allow you to work effectively with others. Like hard skills, they are valued highly by employers. Better yet, they’re transferrable between most job roles. Examples are adaptability, conflict resolution, problem-solving, leadership, effective communication skills, and teamwork.
- Hard Skills
These are the technical abilities and skills the job requires. Examples are certifications, training, management skills, computer skills, marketing skills, analytical skills, and more.
In some cases, you might even find that you won’t have to drastically switch directions to change careers. For instance, if marketing makes you happier, but you’ve been stuck making sales, you already have marketing experience since it’s also an integral part of sales.
3. Remember to Fill in the Gaps
Don’t forget that you’re in the driver’s seat when considering a career change. Part of the process is identifying the gaps between where you are career-wise right now and where you want to go. Then, the next step is to close that gap.
Lacking in technical skills for the role you want? Study and practice with the help of an online course and classes. Volunteer, seek an apprenticeship, or take on a side project. Make sure to explore your network for opportunities as well.
4. Hire a Career Specialist
Again, changing your career after 50 is absolutely possible. But it does require courage, patience, focus, and clarity. Consider hiring a professional career expert to support you throughout this journey. They can help you move through challenges, from considering a career change to landing your dream job.
Career specialists can help you make sure you’re on the right track. This includes recruiting specialists, career counselors, career coaches, and human resource representatives. They can also help you develop your personal brand, support you through the interview and job application process, and provide essential moral support.
5. Update Your Resume
Surprised to see this step so far down the process? A massive mistake that over-50 individuals make is not thinking about where they want to be before spending money and time updating their resumes and job search marketing materials.
You’re finally ready to update your resume or create a new one once you’ve clarified the positions you’re going to target. Use these as a guide:
- Tailor your resume to match the industry and job positions you want to get
- Incorporate your transferable soft and hard skills
- Use action verbs when highlighting your previous career accomplishments
- Take keywords from the job description and incorporate it into your resume
- Use a modern template for your resume
- Ditch antiquated skills like paper filing
6. Tap into Your Network
From the moment you start thinking about changing careers, begin reaching out and sharing your current goals with your network. Ask them to keep an eye out for openings that fit your new path. Maybe they know someone they can introduce you to. Not necessarily for a job, but for experience, mentoring, and more.
Your Journey to a New Career Can Start at Any Age
It can take as long as a few months to a year to prepare for changing your career after 50. Once you’re ready, expect to spend another half to a whole year or longer to identify a fit and land a job. This is true, no matter your age. But the beauty of starting an entirely new career at 50 is that you already have more wisdom than most. Take advantage of that, be kind to yourself, and remember that it’s absolutely possible for you to find success on your new career path!
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