Baby boomers. They’re the generation born between 1946 and 1964. They came of age in the early 70s and early 80s. They’re the generation that made changes and waves, worked harder and longer, put off marriage and children, did things differently than previous generations.

Whether because of financial necessity or because they have something to offer, baby boomers are staying in the workforce longer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and projections indicate that by 2010 there should be 18.5 million boomers ages 45 to 49 in the labor force, as compared to 14.7 in 1995, and 16.8 million versus 10.6 million in the 50- to 54-years-old range.

They’re still making changes. They’re retiring later, or not at all. If not downsized or laid off, boomers often continue to work. When they don’t choose to continue in the same career, it doesn’t mean they’re ready to stop contributing, and sometimes they’re making transitions to new careers.

“On average there are three to five career changes in a person’s lifetime and that’s pretty common,” says Kevin Gaw, Director of Career Development, University of Nevada, Reno. “It’s pretty common that a layoff ends up being a great opportunity for someone to find something that’s more suited to them, too.”

But it can be challenging to a baby boomer to be suddenly confronted with a career change. They were raised in a world where you got your education, then got your job, and while you may not have stayed with the job until you retired, you would probably stay in the same profession. “It can be jarring to realize you have to transfer your skill set to another area,” says Gaw.

In 2004, Gaw’s office worked with 208 alumni. Nearly 7.5 percent were going through a career change, three percent because of a forced situation such as layoff or company closure or relocation. The rest of them just wanted to do something different. When you’re faced with an important career shift, there are things you can to do make it easier on yourself and achieve a more enjoyable, productive career change.

• Look at your skills. Determine which are transferable to other jobs.

• Find your passion. What do you love to do? “It’s not about the money,” Gaw says. “The money isn’t what makes us happy. What makes us happy is doing something that’s meaningful to us.”

• Look at reality. If you want to be an astronaut but can’t do math, Gaw says, the reality is it’s unlikely. People need to work through that disappointment and maybe change that passion to a hobby rather than a vocation.

• Determine whether you want to make a radical career change? say from legal secretary to Web designer? or stay within the same profession.

• If you like the company you’re with but feel the need for change, see if they can retain and retrain you. If it comes down to a complete career change, there are also some things you can do to help create a whole new career for yourself.

• Promote yourself rather than your age. Once you get into a position and can show off your skills, you’ll be known for those skills rather than your years. • Start slow. Before investing heavily in education, determine if it’s the right career path for you.

• Network. Many non-entry level positions are found by references. Join professional organizations in the field you want to enter.

• Consider working for yourself. A job market survey conducted in 2005 by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., quoted on thematuremarket.com, indicated that of 3000 job seekers, 13 percent chose to work for themselves, and 86.6 percent of them were over 40. From Small Business Administration chapters based on most university campuses to SCORE? Service Corps of Retired Engineers? there are programs that can help you start up.

Another option is to leverage your experience and teach or train. Moving into training? coaching people just entering the profession you’re leaving? is a fairly informal move. Teaching requires state licensing, and there are programs helping place retiring workers into teaching positions. The University of Nevada Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning takes executives through a first-time licensing program and puts them in the schools in just a couple semesters, often teaching in high-needs areas like math, science and languages.

Likewise, IBM unveiled their Transition to Teaching program in September, reimbursing them for tuition and providing stipends while they student teach. Many of their executives are highly trained in math and computer sciences.

Whether making a career change to a new profession or a new position, Gaw says such changes are a normal life pattern. “It’s a good thing to be open to change. The challenge is recognizing skill sets and knowing how to capitalize on them and present them to the new opportunities.”



By: Kelli Smith

About the Author:

Derwin

Ultimately I **** writing about mistakes because I always feel like I am the bearer of bad news. I don’t like things that insult people or that make them feel bad for doing things that they were sincere about but just went about in the wrong way.

But, the truth is…

We make some really crazy mistakes, especially when it comes to our careers, and for some reason, career changers are the worst offenders.

Maybe it is because they have that anxious, almost desperate quality about them (I can say that because I have been one!). When you make the decision to switch careers, it is a big deal. (1) You are in a hurry to get out of your current situation. You feel frustrated or fet up or just tired of whatever it is you have been doing. (2) You’ve finally figured out what’s next for you in life. Maybe you chose your first career to make your parents happy or because it seemed like the most lucrative option when you were 20. And now you have outgrown it. Or maybe you’ve been extremely successful and are just looking for a new challenge. Either way, now that you have figured it out, you can’t wait to get started! (3) You’re getting older, still have bills to pay, and a certain lifestyle to uphold, so you are just anxious to get this thing resolved.

All that excitement and nervous energy is a good thing, but if you aren’t careful, it can lead to some costly mistakes. Here are some of the worst ones I have come across when working with career changers:

? Giving Up Too Early. We live in a society that simply cannot wait for anything. We’ve made up our mind, and it has to happen now! All job seekers want the job search process to go as quickly as possible. It is a painful process at times, and that is definitely an understandable reaction. However, when it comes to career changers, in particular, we need to learn how to wait. A job search for a career changer can take twice as long as one for someone looking in their field. But, again, we don’t like to wait. And as soon as things don’t seem to go our way as quickly we would like, we quit. I understand, you have mouths to feed, right? Well, that should have been taken into consideration in the first place. There is a cost to pay for going after your dreams. That doesn’t mean you don’t pursue them, but you must do so understanding the market you are in and the sacrifices it might require.

? Wasting Time with Recruiters. Here is a concept that seems to elude most job seekers. Recruiters are looking for the best, ideal candidate to present to their employers (because that is how the recruiter gets paid). If you are a career changer, that is NOT you. You are just getting your feet wet. You aren’t going to have the years of insider experience and the top credentials.

? Submitting a Functional Resume. Without going into too much detail about the functional resume, let me just say that unless you are right out of college, the functional resume is not the tool for you. I could tear my hair out at all the bad advice out there that has many seekers stuck on using a functional resume. They seem to think they can hide things from potential employers this way. The problem, of course, is that potential employers are not stupid. And they like what they like. And they like chronological resumes! Employers want to see what you have been doing, where, in what context, and what achievements you have had. Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare a profile section at the top of the resume that highlights some of your transferable skills, but at the end of the day, you need to line up your accomplishments with your work experience. And you know what, that’s OK. Be proud of your past career and use it to show how it leads to where you are today. That is your best selling feature. Let’s face it…a career change is an uphill battle, but it is better to deal with it head on than to hide from it.

By now I think we have pretty much covered the fact that a career changer’s job search is likely going to be longer and slower than most candidates’ searches. But it is certainly not an impossible task, and it can be extremely rewarding at the end of the day. So don’t be afraid to make that change. Just make it with your eyes wide open.



By: Stephen Van Vreede

About the Author:

Hamlin

It is now accepted that people will have several career changes in their working lifetime. As individuals develop and grow, their aspirations and goals change, and they need new challenges. This may be a new career, or a change in direction for a small business, but the process of change is essentially the same.

1.    Find out what you really want to do. What are your priorities for the change? Do you want more time with family, different working conditions or more money? Do you want to change the direction of your business, or change your role in it? What do you love doing and how could you incorporate that into a new direction? Spend time asking yourself these questions and identify a clear goal.

  

2.    Plan. Sketch out the steps you need to get to your goal so you can visualise the path. It could be a few lines to show your commitment or a multi-page business plan, but you need something concrete that lays out what you will do and when. This will help to keep you focussed in a general direction, although you may change your mind about the specifics along the way. Career change can often take longer than you expect and you may also need to work out a budget.

3.    Research. Before you make any bold moves, find out about your chosen path. Talk to people who have already taken the steps you have. Find a mentor, or pay for professional advice if necessary. Research job or business opportunities in this area and make sure you understand the practicalities of what it will be like in the future state.

4.    Retrain and develop new skills. You may need to do some training or development to get to your new career. This can be an exciting and challenging time as you learn new skills and formulate the details of your plan. This step often takes time and money, but will give you the boost you need to make the change.

5.    Try it out. Find an opportunity to try out your new career in a low risk way. This may be as voluntary work, or working from home on your business while still in the day job. It may be changing your role in your own business for a short period of time, while people adjust to the new way. Testing the water in this way will give you the confidence to continue, and also to make any changes to your plan at this stage. Remember you always have the choice to change your mind!

6.    Commitment and persistence. These underpin the whole process, as often significant career change can take some time and it is easy to just stick with what you have. Remember why it is important to you to achieve the change. How will you feel  if you don’t make it this time?  

7.  Break Out! Make the change, even if the timing is not perfect. Celebrate how far you have come!



By: Joanna Penn

About the Author:

Harlan