Is age a barrier to career pivot!

Is age a barrier to career pivot!

I considered switching my career in my 60s to a completely other arena than the one I had been practicing for almost four decades. People are the sole bond. At the age of 62, I became a certified coach. Now, I am delighted to connect with people of all ages and make a major difference in their lives.

As a matter of fact, "the concept of being 'too old' for a career reset is increasingly outdated," Patrice Lindo, CEO of the consultancy business Career Nomad,

The prospect of trying something new might be scary, especially after earning a college degree and working for years — even decades — in one sector. After your forties, societal pressures to have it all together can add to the stress, but they should not prevent you from taking charge of your work.

This is especially true in today's post-pandemic society, where many professionals have experimented with new ways of working in the last three years, ranging from passive income sources to remote positions. According to a recent Zippia research, nearly 22% of workers across the country have contemplated changing occupations since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

Of course, navigating the change can come with challenges, according to an October report from Generation, an employment nonprofit, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Michelangelo was a highly regarded sculptor who had yet to produce any paintings when the Vatican commissioned the Sistine Chapel. Fortunately for the Vatican — and for Michelangelo — the investment paid off: his first commissioned picture became one of history's most majestic works, viewed by 6 million people each year.

Many people have followed in the footsteps of Michelangelo. Indeed, history is littered with examples of legendary career pivots that resulted in incredible stories of individual triumph. Consider Oprah Winfrey's evolution from TV anchor to superstar talk show host, film actress, producer, and media mogul. Or Vera Wang's transformation from competitive figure skater to world-renowned designer. Or, for that matter, Andrea Bocelli's move from the courtroom to the music arena.

Indeed, career pivots are significantly more common today than they were previously. Gone are the days of choosing what to study based on a specific profession or career path. The ideal plan, it appears, is to have no plan at all — or to keep your choices open.

For decades, academic researchers have studied career pivots with the goal of understanding not just their benefits and drawbacks, but also the best techniques and situations that enable their success. Contrary to popular belief, career pivots are significantly more dependent on organizational, psychological, and contextual factors than on age. In other words, there is no "ideal age" for a shift; rather, other considerations should be addressed.

Key Motivators for a Career Change

External market influences, such as the economy or the talent landscape; organizational changes, such as restructuring; and emergent opportunities, which are typically viewed as "pull" factors.

Personal (internal) drivers: internal factors include "skills, talents, preferences, past experiences, developmental stage, and self-conceptions that individuals bring to their work role and career," personal networks and "triggers," and opportunities that mobilize people to pursue new paths.

How Do We Define and Align Our Professional and Personal Lives?

The concept of "professional identity," particularly as it relates to an individual's self-image, is particularly important here. In essence, our identity is shaped not only by our past work experiences but also by those we anticipate. When we believe we are moving in a direction that is inconsistent with our self-concept, so that our perceived "actual self" is out of sync with our "ideal self," we are compelled to act and change.

Career pivots are psychological attempts to reconcile our occupational choices with our self-concept and identity. This viewpoint is also congruent with William Kahn's initial idea of employee engagement, which he suggested in 1990. According to him, the degree to which individuals identify with their work persona is a significant factor in determining the varying levels of motivation, passion, and energy among employees — particularly those who are part of the same team or company. Others who regard it as a symbol of their self or identity are more likely to be engaged, whereas others who do not will simply clock in and out, feel alienated, and try to find significance in other activities.

Fifty years ago, we could have just taken our neighbor's or aunt's advice and devoted our future professional careers to one certain vocation, never giving much thought to our options. Today, we are inundated with proposals and have access to a massive database of information, prospects, and market projections. This leads to excessive complexity and what behavioral economists call the "choice paradox": the more options we have, the more difficult it is to be content with or confident in our decisions. In that sense, leveraging the correct networks and listening to selected mentors, advocates, and colleagues who can grasp our potential and help us find a better place for it should assist us in defining our action plan.

Some universals drive the success of professional pivots, which serve as a valuable checklist for self-assessment if you want to examine your potential for pivoting. Most approaches, such as the "5C" model of control, curiosity, commitment, confidence, and concern, place an emphasis on individual-level variables. This model, as the labels suggest, contends that individuals are more likely to succeed in their pivots when they have more control over their jobs and careers, when they are more curious to explore outside options (including unusual paths) when they commit to their changes, and when they demonstrate a healthy mix of confidence in their abilities and concern that improvement is required. As a result, if any of these factors is missing, pivoting will be more difficult.

In addition, you may want to explore these basic questions for an initial self-assessment to help you get started with evaluating your needs.

Questions to Ask Yourself as You Consider a Career Change:

• What aspects of my current/past job(s) do I enjoy the most?
• What are the jobs or careers of people whose professions or careers I find fascinating, interesting, or successful?
• What distinguishing qualities do people notice in me, and what specific indicator(s) cause them to notice them (credentials, habits, experience, etc.)?
• What are the most eye-catching aspects of my resume? (Pay attention to exceptional and difficult efforts.)
• What abilities would I like to have in three to five years?
• What aspects of my current/past job(s) do I detest the most?
• What are people's vocations or careers that I find boring and uninteresting?
• What fresh jobs or vocations are available that match my skills and interests?
• What corporate cultures appeal to me because they reflect my beliefs, style, and preferences? 
• Which three occupations would I choose if I could have three different ones between now and retirement (assuming there were no obstacles or constraints, and I was a good fit)?

Keep these questions in mind as you weigh your options. Share your responses with trusted friends, experts, and coworkers. Cross-check, investigate and discover with generative AI. Even better, have others who know you well answer these questions for you from their point of view. Others frequently have a better idea of who we are than we have of ourselves.

Career pivots are a bet, and as with any bet, the outcome will be determined in the future. Make sure that your mistakes are smart failures in the sense of increasing your employability and job success in the future. After all, advancement is not a straight line.

Resource: HBR, August,2023