Age No Bar
Are you planning on re-starting your career after age 50 or post-retirement? Though it might take a longer time and a concentrated effort, there has never been a better time for the baby boomer generation to think about reentering the workforce.
Many baby boomer generation men and women are learning new technology, going back to college, hiring life and career coaches and seeking direction from their children in improving their careers or re-entering the job market.
From being actively involved in volunteer activities to starting their own websites to founding their own companies, the experience and inspiration is all around.
Does reentering the workforce appears intimidating to you? What are your anxieties and questions as you step up towards contributing to the workforce with the generation X and the Millennials?
Positive Affirmation and Self-Confidence
These are real-life statements expressed a couple of 50 plus reentrants to the workforce.
“I am above 50 years old; re-entry in the corporate world would be much more difficult for me.”
“There are so many talented young men and women in the workforce; their working style shows a clear generation gap on how I have worked some years back. Would I fit in?”
What do you infer from these statements? What is the message that this person is sending out to herself and others? She has already made up her mind with a statement (note that she is not even questioning her belief in the first statement) that re-entry would be much more difficult for her at this age. With such a statement she has already done the first harm by de-motivating herself.
Now let us rephrase her statement to:
“I am in my fifties right now, what can I do to make my re-entry in the corporate world easier?”
When we frame a statement positively we are already on our way to finding the solution to the issue.
“Stop asking if the glass is half full or half empty. instead, ask “What’s in it? How did it get there? What can I do with it?”
— David Kaufman
Now let’s review the second statement.
Of course, generations will have different work style and preference, the question is whether or not you would fit in a new working environment. Focus on your strengths and see how you could contribute to the new work culture. Your maturity would be deeply appreciated by your younger generation co-workers who are at loss of much needed knowledge right now. The Millennials are joining the workforce as fast as the baby boomer generation prepares for retirement. The shortage of labor is a reality in the coming years and your expertise and knowledge would be regarded in all sectors.
How about rephrasing that sentence now to:
“How can I incorporate my maturity in understanding the business in the present work culture?”
As before, you are now on a way to make a list of solutions on how and where you can use your acquired skills to help the current workforce.
When you add value to your work and yourself, others will see you portray in that very frame. Your attitude can take you wherever you want to go and perhaps beyond what you dreamed of, having a positive outlook and persistence are the main keys to a successful outcome.
But since confidence also comes from the means you are equipped with, you must also aim to have your skill sets honed to the new job/career requirements. Your skills are your tools to creating your new career path. In this world of information overload and divergent choices, choose wisely and appropriately that best suits your needs. Just getting certifications in multifarious applications and languages might not be the right choice in the current global working environment.
You have to be more self-promotional than ever before. If you believe that you what you have done in the past has made you a better person, others will too. But you have to take the first step, to have complete confidence in yourself. Now follows the step of marketing yourself or letting others see how you can best present yourself to their requirements.
“I can’t do it” never yet accomplished anything. “I will try” has accomplished wonders.
— George P. Burnham