Are You Experiencing A Mid-life Career Crisis?
It wasn't all that long ago that many Americans spent their entire work-lives in the employment of just one company. While no one promised a "job-for-life," employees understood that working hard and meeting goals almost always meant pay raises, promotions and job security.
But in today's world of globalization, increased technology, corporate downsizing, and seemingly endless mergers and acquisitions, it's much more difficult to feel secure in any job, regardless of past performance. A variety of factors beyond any individual worker's control can directly affect the job you're doing, or even whether that job will exist tomorrow.
While such factors can certainly bring about a mid-life career crisis, there are also internal forces, such as feeling bored, unchallenged and unmotivated, that may have you considering the need to change careers. It's not an uncommon occurrence today.
Richard Bolles, through his groundbreaking book, What Color Is Your Parachute?, is sometimes called the father of the career change movement. His book has helped many see that changing careers is acceptable and that self-exploration is an essential part of the process.
Bolles' book helped adults who experienced job dissatisfaction, career indecision, and general vocational malaise to be seen not as indecisive, confused lost souls, but instead as passing through a natural progression in their career life. Rather than feeling shame and self-doubt for looking toward a new career, many individuals gained a sense of empowerment and control over their careers.
Whether you're considering a career change due to outside factors, or simply your own feelings with your current work, a good starting point is to ask yourself some questions that will help you understand whether it's time to look to a new career field:
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Do you find yourself dreading going to work in the morning?
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Do you suffer from the Sunday afternoon blahs (because Monday is approaching and it's back to work time)?
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Does your work provide a sense of contentment or accomplishment?
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Are the values of the organization and your work in line with your personal values?
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Are you using your abilities to their full capacity in your current job?
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Do you find your field of work interesting?
If you answered yes to three or more of the above, you may be ready for a mid-life career change. However, it's not an easy process. Making an effective mid-life career change requires a thorough process of self-examination and soul searching if you really want to be fulfilled with your new career.
While there are many career change books that can help, often a better solution is seeking the help and guidance of a professional career counselor who can direct you through the process of self-assessment. A career counselor has access to resources such as interest and personality tests that can help narrow down your focus and develop a plan of action.
Working with either career change books or a career counselor, your goals should be to identify your interests, abilities, and values. You also want to examine your career history, the meaning of the role of work in your life and issues such as work/family life, dual-career couples and retirement planning. A professional counselor can provide access to a variety of standardized interest, personality and values tests and inventories that can help clarify these issues for you.
Once the process of self-assessment is completed and a specific career path has been decided, you are ready to start a job hunt. Many mid-life career changers are surprised to find that today's employers are much more receptive to hiring individuals who have a sense of their work needs and the strengths that they bring to the organization. This sense of taking personal responsibility for the direction of your career, rather than relying on the organization to do it for you is valued in today's marketplace.
A mid-life career change can certainly seem frightening and daunting at first, but many individuals find it to be an exhilarating and empowering experience. Done correctly, a career change can bring you a sense of control over your life and excitement about the opportunities that lie ahead – a new lease on life.
