Changing roles at 55

[extramaturecheddarcheese]

Please could you tell me your positive stories about changing job roles at 50+ ?

I am smarting today as just interviewed for and didn't get a role that I could do standing on my head. Position went to someone who interviewed better than I did, which is fair enough.

I just need some positive stories to show that there are still choices for people over 50. Please tell me your job and interview successes and any tips would be welcome too, if you have them.

Morning! So it isn’t a story of me but of my dad … he’s now 68 and has two changes since being 50.

At 54, he went from having worked in a role/site location for his entire career to date in a factory to working in the office (about 10 miles down the road from the factory). It was a step up and also a complete change in what/how/who from anything he had ever done before even though it was the same company. I think he pushed himself outside of his comfort zone at this age partly to support me better whilst going to university and partly to prove to himself that he could do it once the opportunity had knocked. He always looks back at this role as the hardest change he ever made - because of the time of life he was at - but also the best. (I don’t think he loved the job per se but he loved the experience - he always says he was a fish out of water here). I am really proud of him.

he did that role for about 6 years and then the company made a lot of redundancies during the turbulent times and his department was cut. He tried retiring for 4 months and it wasn’t for him…

So at 60 so he applied for a role (much less pay and pressure) in a completely different area (related area but not the same)… and he got it. To be fair, the role he got needs people with practical experience in industry so his age actually went in his favour here … and now, 8 years later, he runs the place.

I see my in laws (who are much younger than my parents) struggling with this same question… and I always tell them about my dad. But it doesn’t seem to help as they say his work is totally different… but I think the difference is that he didn’t just apply for any role, he went for roles where his experience went in his favour.

Is there anything out there like that in what you work in?

i am sorry to read your interview didn’t go well and you didn’t get the job…

try to see it as they didn’t deserve you! and don’t lose your confidence. The right thing will come along. Good luck OP

sorry for the super long post!

Thank you @HappyHolidays22 that is really helpful, and your Dad sounds amazingly resilient and determined to have moved from a practical to an office based job, that really is a big change.

It is reassuring to hear his story. With me it was a job within the same organisation which I had actually done previously (in a different department, but the same job role) which is what has made it extra galling!

I think I maybe relied too much on being able to prove I could do the role rather than demonstrating some of the other skills I have.

Thanks for sharing. I'm also interested to hear that your dad tried to retire for a bit but chose to go back to work, that in itself is like a new job role. I love the fact that he now runs the place based on his practical knowledge. Thanks for sharing.

I've just applied for a new job aged 51 so I'm interested in answers. I've not done this role before but I know I could as it builds on experience I have for the last 20 years. I keep swinging from being confident they will consider me, to thinking I'm too old and should forget about it.

@Frenchfancy good luck! I would definitely apply and be confident that it's for you. I had exactly the same concerns re: 'they'll just hire someone younger' and in my case they have BUT I feel as though I should have been cleverer about how I prepped for the interview. Looked at what my younger colleagues would have done for interview prep and assumed that anyone else who applied would be approaching it in the same way as they were likely to be younger too. It's not enough to know that you are capable of doing the job but you need to also do something extra.

Just got a new role this week at 53 - a huge step up for me. I was worried that my age would go against me, but my passion and enthusiasm for the challenge is what they noticed rather than the wrinkles 🙂

I’ve just started applying for new roles at 50 and after many years in the same organisation. I’ve realised that I’ve potentially still got 15 years plus working and don’t want to be stuck in my current job for that long. I was offered the first job that I went for so there is hope for us over 50s (although I didn’t take it for various reasons). Don’t be discouraged- it may partly be interview technique?

@Bessica1970 that's good news. I bet you're really pleased.

@Twinsplusonemum yes I feel similar, I need something new to keep my brain working and keep me interested. And you're definitely right about interview technique. I need to work on that once I've kicked my wounds a bit.

I got a new job in a different uni at the age of 50 and it was the best job I ever had. I learnt so much and I think I contributed a lot too. Keep going.

Go for it, I've just made an internal move at 51, after 12 years in one role.

Prior to that, I recruited two people to my team, one was 61 and the other 65. The experience and skills they brought to the team was invaluable. Their ages didn't factor one bit in my decisions on who got the roles.

These are the stories I needed to hear. Thanks

I'd rather hire an older person with life experience and decades of practice of "soft skills" than many a younger one to be honest.

If you've got the soft skills we can teach you our systems and practices etc.

I don't know if it's being on the road to menopause (I'm 43) but I'll always prefer someone who demonstrates that they have given thought to what the position requires and what we the employer need, rather than Tigger-ish youthful over confidence.

My boss hired a rash of brash young men last year whose careers with us were all quite short lived.

Some of their replacements are in their 50s.

There's a 64 year old in the potentials for one of our current vacancies and I'm advocating for him hard. It's a step down, he can do it in his sleep.

New job in a totally new industry at 50, entry level. Within a year I was promoted, and then a year later promoted again.

It's hard and scary, but what do you have to lose?

I started a new job earlier this year, in my early 50s. I also took a contract role for six months last year after being out of the workforce for a couple of years. Both jobs are in sectors I have not worked in before and neither involved work I have specifically done before, although it is in the same field, finance. Prior to my time out, I was very senior finance, the roles I have took on are very junior part time finance and doing jobs that would have been done by somebody many levels below me previously and as I say, things I have never done personally but I have an awareness of.

My biggest challenge (in my opinion) prior to interview, was convincing the interviewers that I genuinely wanted to make this change, in terms of the level of work and also that I could adapt to being a junior team member. So I prepared my answers to these inevitable questions more than anything else I think. And my rationale was largely around work life balance, switching off at the end of the day etc. but I balanced this with making clear that I would always be b to the best of my availability and would not be coasting in the workplace, would be great value for money for them and I would be getting the balance that I want.

When it came to interview for the job I have now, it was easier to explain this because I had already done a six month contract at this different level and I was able to demonstrate that I had been able to do it already. These are the only two jobs I have interviewed for in years and I was offered the job the next day for each.