Is it harder to switch jobs an an older women?

[ForThisPost1]

In my early 40s and working in tech. I do really like my profession and plan to keep working (silly me?..). Since the start of my career, I normally switch jobs every 2.5 - 4 years. Sometimes due to redundancy, lately due to higher pay and better title. I also get bored when stayed in one place for too long, this is just a personal preference I suppose. However, I am wondering if my switching model is sustainable as I am getting older. I want to prepare for it i.e acquire extra skills now, before it is too late.

Any advice/share of experience is welcome. Thank you so much.

Carry on applying for jobs and see what happens. Don’t restrict yourself based on your thoughts about your age. Why are you doing that?

Whether you get the role is down to the new employer but in my experience, that has never been a factor when I’ve needed to job change.
I changed careers at 52. Never looked back.

Pffft. My honest opinion is that there's a lot of self-defeatism on this site. This is main barrier to getting jobs as older person. You have a lot of experience at progressing your career by moving employer, so already a step ahead of most of us.

I want to humbly suggest that if you make a big jump (new industry) you may have to accept coming in at a more junior level, proving your skills are transferrable & you can learn the new industry ways. This is not demotion, it's being agile. If your skills / ability are strong, you'll quickly progress pay-benefits-status back to similar or higher level as in old industry. Probably each leap you made was because of new better opportunity & there's no reason why that shouldn't continue as long as you're feeling up to meeting challenges of new workplace/employer/colleagues.

I changed jobs this year at the age of 48 after being in the same job 28 years ! I absolutely love it , I worried I would be stuck in my old job for ever as I hadn't done any courses or training in all that time but my son ( who works in recruitment) told me by transferable skills , loyalty and age ( wouldn't be going on maternity leave ) would go in my favour in a lot of places . I'm so glad I went for it , there isn't a day now where I don't want to go to work . Go for it !

Well I am 52 and about to change job because the company I work for is awful, there is no progression and because of health issues.

I currently work in marketing/comms for a charity and frankly I want a complete change as I am running of interest for maintaining websites, social media and producing yet another leaflet...and every charity I have worked for has been a really poor employer.

I think some companies purposely target younger people but some sectors also have a good track record of employing older workers.

I am looking at the Civil Service because it seems to be one of the sectors that has no issues with older people and I want to get a fully remote role.

@Bluewitch Hi, I’m late 40s and looking for fully remote work. What’s this about the civil service?

@Oldthyme Thank you so much for your reply, may I ask what made you change career at 52? Did you change to a less stressful and more fun one after reached certain level financial stability?

This is the thing I am unsure about, I might not have the luxury of a brand new career for less money in 10 years time. Thank you again.

My experience is that at 45 I was keen to think about continuing on with progression in my work. At 53 I'm tired, struggling with menopause and seem to have lost my enthusiasm for career progression. So I would say if you're female get yourself set up so that you are happy with where you are in your career before the menopause kicks in.

Just saw that you're referring to women in your title.

I’m mid 40s, in a similar profession and also change roles about every 3 years. Last year I was looking for something new in mid- senior leader type role and got offered 3 jobs so it’s not been an issue yet.

I think there’s a tipping point of age and it’s not just for women (i see a lot of men over 50 in my industry struggling to get new perm roles) I’m hoping by the time I hit 50, views have changed again and we’re still seen as employable as now. Biggest hurdle for me is trying to keep up with pace of change in technology and how it’s relevant (talking the use of AI and machine learning here rather than how to use a computer)

I took my last job aged 53. I was recruited specifically because of my age because that meant I brought valuable experience to a relatively young company.

Not all companies think that older = bad!

So go for it @ForThisPost1!

@cushioncovers - thank you, this is the advice I properly need to hear. While it was relevantly easy for me to switch job so far, but I genuinely not sure if it is sustainable and don't want to become complacent. On the other hand, I also try to avoid over thinking and self-doubting.
The reason I refer to women in my title because I am a woman so it is more relatable.

go for it while you can. I’m in my 50s and finding it v hard to get a job also menopause has hit me very hard so don’t want anything too stressful have to take a step back I think 🤔 in terms of level/salary

@BIWI - Thank you so much. Over the last 5 years, I also deliberately moulded my career to a path where experience is appreciated to make myself employable in the next decade.

@ilovebrie8 - Sending hugs, I totally understand as I already found my energy is declining and less tolerant of stress.
Very best of luck in your job hunting. It might not be an age thing but a market thing. My friend who is in her late 20s also found it hard to land a good job after being made redundant.

Gosh does early 40s count as older now?! I'm mid 40s and haven't had any trouble getting a new job recently.

I think there are statistics that do show it becomes harder to get a job as you get older, but also stats that show the younger graduates are losing out in favour of more experienced employees - the only way you get experience is age... so who knows!

I agree it's a self defeating approach to start from the basis that you will find it hard.

I work in the civil service, it's not utopia of older people friendly, endless flexibility and remote working - it depends very much on the department and the role. In fact there are less and less remote roles on offer I've noticed.

It's harder to to anything as an older woman. Except pass unnoticed in a crowd.

In tech, older people have had time to build a broader skills base, so seem to be in demand - at least, they are where I work.

@youveturnedupwelldone Thank you very much for the reply. I didn't say early 40s is old, but I am inevitably getting older. As a 'planner' type of person, I want to know if my change-company-every-few years approach is sustainable in my 50s.

Early career - changed jobs every 1.5-2.5 years. Then had 2 babies 3 years apart and did a different job (same employer) inbetween mat leaves. Each job role pushed the depth or breadth of my skillset. In the following 9 years of financial/emotional/physical survival of raising two young dc with a dh that worked away during the week, I did the another job. Same employer. I did it really well and took oppurtunities to act up/join working groups etc On my 50th birthday I decided that it was now time for me. The DC were 10 and 13. So I started applying for jobs. I'm now on my 3rd job in 3 years - all internal moves, all a step up - and where I feel I "should" be. For the first time in 20 years, I'm also toying with a job ad on a different organisation.

So basically, I cruised my 40s a bit, because of domestic demands, and I'm happy with that. There is nothing wrong with your career taking a back seat to a young family. But I was stashing away skills, knowledge and experience, to smash through interviews when I was ready.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads Very inspiring, thank you very much for sharing.
Do you think you will have the same opportunity if you want to step up in a different organisation? I do want to change to new companies in future. Thank you again.

@ForThisPost1 thank you, that’s exactly how I feel don’t have the energy less tolerant of stress etc not easy ..

Job hopping is OK for gaining experience, promotion and generally relieving boredom but be aware that it can seriously damage your pension unless you have a personal pension !!

Reading with interest. I am 52. I am currently working In education and have been in this job for 5 years but honestly it’s too much, I can’t see me being able to keep up this level of stress. I need a change but am worried about how employable I am now.

@Gloriousgardener11 - This is a very good point, while I don't want to work for a pension, I also try to avoid looking back and found a half empty pot.
My question is, if I can consolidate my pension pots, and due to pay increase of the new job I am getting more pension both from my own contribution and the new employers, what are the damages I might have naively missed? Thank you very much.

I changed jobs at 48. My (current) manager told me I was the most capable candidate at interview by miles.....

There are a lot of positives of being an older employee. I bring experience and maturity to the table. My manager sees me as a safe pair of hands.