Reflection
My LinkedIn feed can be a bit depressing these days. As if the layoff announcements aren’t enough, I deal with another sad phenomenon: Folks my age “career flexing” about the same stuff they’ve been posting about since their 30s and 40s.
Careers have seasons. That I have learned. The same things that fueled growth and advancement for your 30 and 40 year old self don’t seem to age well into your 50s and 60s. There’s a strange lack of self-awareness present when a gray-templed 55 year old posts about:
- Their payless promotion: more responsibility, different title, same pay – who talked you into that?
- Starting their own consulting LLC: now you’re doing the same thing you’ve done for 25 years, probably for the same people, only without benefits.
- Obtaining a new certification in your specialty: By the time you’re 50, you could have taught the class, so I doubt you learned anything new.
- Speaking at industry poorly attended events: Unless you’re the well-compensated keynote, I know many of you are just above break-even on speaker’s fees vs. travel expenses and time for preparation (unless your employer is paying your way).
- Celebrating 30 years at MegaCorp: Your employer is quietly hoping you’ll take the hint and make room for an up-and-comer’s promotion.
I know you think you’re flexing, but all you’re really saying is: Hey, I’m still here!
My Solution
- Switching to part-time employment of any kind so that I can spend more time with friends and family
- Quitting corporate to start my own company totally unrelated to my career work (a recent favorite was a former IT guy who started his own pressure washing business!)
- Moving to a farmstead to grown my own food and host guests for farm stays (wink! wink!)
- Learning a skilled trade so I can work with my mind and my hands
- Transitioning to non-profit work I can pour my heart and soul into
- Quitting software to become a part-time investment advisor
- Working as a golf instructor and caddy (yes, this was a real and thrilling update in my feed)
- Setting my own hours as a flight attendant for a major airline (a good friend of mine made this switch and is so much happier than when she was corporate!)
Any of the above, my friends, is a true career flex.
Key Takeaway
Trying to be your 35 year old self in your 5th decade is exhausting. Ongoing corporate career work after 50 can be drudgery of the worst degree. It feels stale. You are bored. It makes you tired. And somewhere deep down, you know that corporate life never was aligned to the authentic “you” in the first place. Corporate life served a purpose (providing a chunky paycheck and comfy benefits) for a couple of decades, but now it’s time to plug into something different.
Making it “over the hill” to age 50 and beyond presents an opportunity to reinvent yourself. It’s a great time to find something fresh that lights a fire in your soul. It’s scary to leave the corporate safety net behind, I know, but you need to create a plan to escape corporate and build a new life if you want to escape corporate America. You can amaze yourself with the energy you have for a new and different line of “work”. Stop denying yourself the thrill of redirecting your focus onto something that nourishes your mind, body and spirit. Map out what you’d really rather be doing, then make a plan to get there.
I can’t wait to see YOUR head-turning LinkedIn post!