Sometime back, I had a client who was in his 50s, and laid off from his company, where, in his own words ‘he was planning to retire in a few years.’
With this unexpected change in his life, he was unsure what to do next.
“Most of my professional life has been in retail banking and a couple of years in wealth management. But, if given a choice, wealth management is what I would want to do for the rest of my life. Here is where my heart lies.” He had told me towards the end of our career clarity session, with a tinge of self-doubt in his voice.
After that call, we started with ‘consolidation of resources’, which included revamping his resume aligned to his new career preferences. Following this step, we optimized his LinkedIn profile with suitable keywords curated to his target role/s.
Thereafter, sessions were focussed on how to network more effectively with his online/offline circle of contacts, how to expand his visibility and brand in his target audience and to attract the attention of prospective employers.
Within a couple of months, he landed his desired role at a startup and these were his exact words “I am enjoying this new-found flexibility in the role, creating everything from the scratch, and enjoying this new learning!”
So, this is how you see the whole career transition process works – even though it sounds simple, but, trust me, it involves a lot of effort in terms of bringing in that career clarity and building trust and confidence in the client to work in line with the strategies discussed.
And again, quite honestly, in today’s highly volatile and competitive job market, you need to be on your toes curating best practices and strategies that will work effectively.
In summary, if you are in your 40s and/or above, and seeking to transition to a new career, you need to be aware of the changing job market scenario and how to brace up to it. And, how you do it and what channels you leverage to do it is all that makes you stand out!
