Finding New Career Paths After 40

Marsha was in her 50s and hoping to make a career pivot. "Have I got chance?" she asked me. I'll tell you what I told her: Ageism in the job market is real. But, if you are prepared, you can overcome the obstacles. It had been years since she'd applied or interviewed for a job. We worked together on her resume, LinkedIn, networking, and interviewing to package her for the job she wanted. When she called to say she'd gotten an offer for a great new job in pharma, with a 30% pay increase, I was jumping up & down!! I want to be clear that this was not easy. It took a lot of focus. Here is the multi-pronged approach we worked on together: 🎯 Resume Strategy: ↳ Focus on impact ("Delivered $2M in savings" vs "25 years of experience") ↳ Go back no more than 15 years  ↳ Highlight current technical skills, leave off old ones ↳ Take the graduation year off all degrees ↳ Contact info should include only city, state (no street address) ↳ Ditch the AOL, and hotmail email addresses; they date you 🌐Networking Strategy: ↳ Reconnect with former colleagues & give them an update ↳ Practice talking about your skills and abilities ↳ Speak to others who've successfully overcome the age barrier ↳ Make sure your LinkedIn profile follows best practices ↳ Work toward 500+ connections ↳ Post and comment on LinkedIn weekly 🏢 Employer Strategy: ↳ Target 40-50 companies with age-diverse cultures ↳ Talk to people in similar roles & ask about key skills ↳ Ask HR/recruiters about their hiring process ↳ Follow each employer on social media to learn priorities 💡 Interview Strategy: ↳ Lead with energy and genuine interest ↳ Show you've done your research with deep preparation ↳ Be ready with stories that include cross-generational work ↳ Share examples of your adaptability and growth mindset ↳ Talk about new skills you've built and show you're on top of trends ↳ Communicate your experience working with diverse people 🤵🏼Personal Strategy: ↳ Take additional courses & certifications to keep your skills fresh ↳ Stay current in your field with podcasts and social media ↳ Make reasonable adjustments to your appearance ↳ Clothes should fit well and be current, but not "trendy" ↳ Avoid language that "dates" you (ask a trusted younger friend) Remember: You're not "overqualified" You have battle-tested wisdom. That, along with these strategies, will set you up as a strong candidate! ♻ Repost to help people who are facing ageism in their job search 🔔 Follow Sarah Baker Andrus for more strategic career insights

Career transitions are tough–but they’re more common than ever. Last week, I hosted a webinar about navigating career changes. Here are few of the tips I shared: 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. After a layoff, allow space for recovery and reflection. Then build structure into your days so that you’re balancing the job search with personal pursuits. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿. Identify what energizes you and what’s non-negotiable. Without focus, you risk landing a job you later wish you hadn’t taken. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆. Be open to new possibilities. Think about how your skills and experience can transfer to new roles or industries you hadn't considered before. 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. Refresh your LinkedIn profile, resume, and highlights to align with your current goals. Being generic won’t get you noticed. 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵. Take stock of your experiences and interests and create a short summary of your experiences and interests so people know how you might fit into potential opportunities. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. Learn about others’ roles and industries. Share your story. Don’t ask for a job–ask for insights or advice. 𝗕𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. Consider part-time work, freelancing, or short term projects to build momentum and add to your experience while you figure out your longer-term path. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Follow career coaches for free insights or consider investing in coaching to gain clarity on your strengths, values, and goals, and how to frame your impact. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵-𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀—the people who know your superpowers (and blindspots) can help you see possibilities you may not recognize on your own. 𝗔 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲–𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲–𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. It can build new skills, networks and experiences that catalyze a new career direction. These aren't just general ideas—they're practices that have helped me, too. Over the course of my career, I’ve navigated four major transitions—each driven by different reasons: shifting priorities after starting a family, a desire for broader growth, a layoff, and the pull toward betting on myself. Each time, the same fundamentals made the difference: clarity, connection, and the courage to stay open to new possibilities. Career transitions are an opportunity to reset with more intention and clarity about what truly matters right now. The experience can vary widely depending on where you are in your career, your skills and experiences, your industry–and your mindset. If you’ve navigated a career transition, what’s one piece of advice you’d share?

Most career transition advice is garbage if you're mid-career and don't want to start over as a junior. I'm tired of seeing experienced professionals told to "take a step back" or "pay their dues again." That's not how smart transitions work when you've already built serious expertise. Here's what actually works: 1. Reverse mentoring - Find senior leaders in your target industry who need what you know. Tech adoption, generational insights, emerging markets - you're the expert they need. 2. Build thought leadership first - Start speaking at industry events, writing for trade publications, getting on conference panels. Establish credibility before you make the move. 3. Join advisory boards - Startup or growth company boards give you industry experience and senior-level connections without leaving your current role. 4. Skill arbitrage - What's common knowledge in your industry but rare gold in another? That's your unique value proposition right there. 5. Interim executive roles - Get intensive industry exposure and network building at the C-suite level, not the intern level. 6. Partnership development - Use your expertise to help companies expand into your sector. These often become bridge opportunities. 7. Innovation projects - Cross-functional initiatives expose you to new business models and industry applications. The goal isn't to abandon what you've built, it's to leverage it strategically. You're not starting over; you're expanding your empire. What unconventional transition strategies have you observed or implemented in your career development? Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://vist.ly/3y8qb #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careertransition #midcareer #executivetransition #careerstrategist

Career change does not mean starting over. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are not too late. If you build the right skills — you can pivot into tech. I’ve helped non-technical professionals land data roles at Microsoft, Roku, and Zendesk. Without computer science degrees, bootcamps, or coding backgrounds. Whenever I coach career changers, I teach them this: Your past experience only matters if you know how to make it matter. Here’s the exact 4-step framework I give every student: Build top 10% skills — and have proof through projects, not just words. Translate your past experience to align with your target roles. Emphasize your ability to lead and work independently. Highlight soft skills that actually get noticed by recruiters. Because tech doesn’t reward the most “qualified.” It rewards those who can clearly communicate their value. Were you a teacher? You already know how to break down complex topics. An Uber driver? You understand logistics, service, and decision-making under pressure. A nurse? You lead under stress, collaborate across teams, and handle mission-critical situations. This is not about starting over. It’s about reframing what you’ve already done. And if you follow the right framework, you will stand out. Thinking about making a career switch? Comment “SWITCH” and I’ll send you the roadmap I use with my private students.

7 Steps I Used To Change Careers (From Healthcare To Microsoft) With No Experience: 1. My Pivot Story I started my career in healthcare, working as a medical device sales rep in North Carolina. Two years later, I landed a role in tech sales at Microsoft in New York City. Here are the steps I used to make that career change without any formal tech experience: 2. I Started With Clarity Before I sent out resumes, applied, and networked? I focused on getting crystal clear about the specific types of roles and companies I wanted to work for. Juggling the possibility of multiple job titles and industries is overwhelming and stressful. When you have a single north star, you can invest 100% of your time and energy into it. 3. Then I’d Found People Who’d Done It Before I crafted a list of criteria I wanted for myself: Specific Job Titles Specific Companies Specific Locations Specific Salaries Then I used LinkedIn to find people who met those criteria AND came from a non-traditional background like mine. 4. I Used Those Connections To Craft A Blueprint How do I build the right experience? How do I position my non-traditional background? What mistakes should I avoid? I used the connections I just mentioned to gain clarity on all of those things so I could craft a plan for building the experience I needed to fit the skills and narratives companies would buy into. 5. I Created My Own Experience I wanted to work in advertising technology (think Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc). Rather than hoping someone would give me a chance to get experience? I went and created my own. I took courses, volunteered my skills for local orgs, then used those success stories to freelance. Employers want results, not education from career changers. 6. I Focused All My Energy On Networking Online apps didn’t work. People would take one look at my resume and not see any traditional experience. When I networked with people? I could have a conversation with them. I could tell my story in my own words. And I could prove my value as the relationship built. That generated referrals and advocates. 7. I Used My Background As An Advantage Sounds crazy, right? Most applicants had cookie cutter backgrounds. I told a story of how I had to learn this all myself, from scratch. I’d bring a new perspective, new takes, and new ideas to a take vs. simply adding someone with the same thought process as everyone else. That’s got buy in from a lot of stakeholders. 8. I Created Projects To Prove My Value When I landed interviews? I’d brainstorm ideas for how I could impact those and package them in a 5–7 slide deck that matched the company’s branding. I’d send it to my interviewers as proof of the ideas I could bring. Showing them > telling them. —— ➕ Follow Austin Belcak for more 🔵 Ready to land your dream job? Click here to learn more about how we help people land amazing jobs in ~3.5 months with a $44k raise: https://lnkd.in/gdysHr-r