‘There just aren’t enough hours in the day’….it’s a familiar refrain for professionals who get to a certain stage of life when they’re suffering from the squeeze of middle age, faced with the challenges of raising children and caring for ageing parents, a hefty mortgage still to clear, and the seemingly all-absorbing pressures of a responsible corporate job, complete with a team to manage. Nagging away at the back of the mind is the thought ‘did I really sign up for this?’ Welcome to the Midlife Career Crunch. Pulled in so many directions, it’s pretty difficult to give any time to contemplate starting another career.
I know, since I’ve been there.
But sometimes opportunity knocks, and you get a chance to re-evaluate. In my case, it was the offer of voluntary redundancy and a chance to re-evaluate what other options could provide motivation and satisfaction in my working life. As part of my redundancy package, I was placed on an outplacement programme which, through a network of career coaches and other specialists, helped me with re-evaluating my job needs, rebuilding my confidence and giving me ideas for organisational and network support in starting a new business.
The key takeaway from that process was that motivations are constantly changing according to circumstances. The exciting world of journalism and production was great in my 20s, but by my 30s I wanted my weekends and evenings back, to settle down and start a family. Corporate life was then important in providing stability with relationships, house moves and a solid income. But then came the midlife career crunch. I’d plateaued in my role and the next rung up the management ladder seemed out of reach. There were other growth opportunities via a management degree but I still couldn’t translate that into a direct promotion.
However, the learning pathway opened a new perspective on growth, or rather, growth mindset – the idea that new opportunities can be sought through experimentation and learning from mistakes. It helped me establish some personal goals that I hadn’t yet achieved around mastery and influence, as well as the importance of autonomy and setting my own agenda. I remembered I was a people person, not a process person, and as I headed towards the corporate exit door, I started looking at a new portfolio career that could meet these emerging needs.
And now, with the help of these experiences, I’m helping others with their career decisions, looking at their priorities and job needs. I help them reconnect with their strengths, to build confidence, and to help remove some artificial barriers that have been preventing progress. I’m also reminded of the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which means ‘a reason for being’ with the intersection of four key elements – what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. I think if you can combine those four elements then you’ve probably got the next 10-20 years sewn up.
I think I’m finding my own version of Ikigai, and learning is definitely part of that discovery. There’s a distinct mindset involved too, where with increased confidence, knowledge and experience, we can take more steps in the direction of a chosen new career. And that’s when we can harness the upsides of being middle-aged. We’re old enough to know what we want and when we want it and not to give a stuff about what other people think. Some of us just haven’t realised it yet.
If you want to talk through your next career steps or are contemplating a complete change, then book in for a call here.