Redundant mid 50s

[wtftodowithmylife]

Name changed for this one.

Was made redundant at the end of last year from a senior corporate role. Very glad to get out at the time as my boss was ineffective and I was not happy. I'm 55. Thought I'd have a couple of months off and then start to look for another job, which is what I'm doing now. The job market is a NIGHTMARE!

I'm having an identity crisis where I can't decide if I get a PT job for the next few years and start to take my private pension to top things up, or if I want another full-on corporate role. I interviewed for a job for which I had all the right experience, and I thought it went well, but soul destroyingly I haven't heard back in over a week. I honestly thought I'd get called back but... Nothing. I don't think I have the resilience to do this over and over when I will probably lose out to someone younger.

Pension pot is about £350k with a small final salary pension due to be paid out at 60. DH still working and well paid, and has said we will work something out if I don't want to go back to FT work. We still have a mortgage to pay for the next 4 years.

WWYD? I'm overthinking this all to the nth degree at the moment.

That's a brilliant hit rate considering that it would have taken a couple of weeks for the job market to get going in the New Year.

I applied for over a hundred- many of these were LinkedIn easy apply - and didn't get interviews for roles I was perfect for , sometimes it feels like there is no rhyme or reason.

I probably could have held on and got a better paid role than my Charity one, but when I went for interview I was absolutely passionate about doing it and I think that's why I got it. Ultimately employers want people who are genuinely keen to be there.

Maybe you take this as an opportunity, don't rush into anything, take a few weeks / months off and see if there is something different you want to do, especially if you would consider a lower salary or part-time.

The more senior roles you are looking for the longer the process can be.
Also are there any sideways moves you would consider?

I would also suggest knowing the salary you need and what levels of job you would consider. What are you actually looking for? Would a portfolio of positions give you the self satisfaction you need?

@MollyButton I'm only looking at sideways moves. I've no desire to climb the ladder any further!

Lots of jobs you can do online at home. Take a look on you tube.

@rookiemere do you mind me asking what sector you were in before, and how that translated to the charity role?

@wtftodowithmylife I was in project management so it was readily transferable skills. But I would have thought a lot of skills from the financial sector would be useful.

I have to admit that I thought the charity sector role would be my dream role and it hasn't turned out that way, primarily because it's technically more senior at a lot less money, but it's good experience and it's wonderful breaking into a new sector at my age.

I get nervous when people say about taking time out to figure out what you want to do. There aren't a lot of jobs around and frankly in my 50s I would rather keep earning to retire when I want to, rather than waiting for some nirvana job. But's that's just me.

@rookiemere thankyou.

I've already had almost 4 months off if you include my gardening leave and I still haven't got it figured out! Am sure I'll get there.

@wtftodowithmylife honestly I would keep on looking and applying. You will know when you feel enthusiastic about a role.

Oh sorry it probably wasn't clear, I came from Financial Services as well.

Thanks, that's helpful. Honestly, I'd prefer to do something different. But I struggle to see where I could break into another sector.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day 🙂

I also took VR from financial services around the same age. I was apprehensive about being able to find anything else having been in the same industry and out of the job market so long. Registered for contracting work and got some offers but in the meantime I had been offered a job in the insurance industry, where the FS skills cross over well, with better conditions and pay in my case. Found on linked in. I won’t lie, felt like a complete fish out of water for a while, but enjoying it two years in. Hang on in there and don’t get discouraged, there will be something out there for you to use all that experience.

You’ve not been looking for long. It is a much harder market for everybody at the moment. There are lots of job losses keep on going, but yes you do need to have resilience. It’s not just about being young or old.

@user1471550643 how did you go about registering for contracting work?

It’s a tough market in 2025. My job ended last summer, I took several months off then landed a contract role after searching for a couple of months: this has helped me feel more relaxed while searching for something permanent - am late 40s & ageism is real! (Different industry to yours)

At a senior level 6-12 months is a normal time for a job search to take unfortunately

To clarify - when I say 'senior', I'm probably talking more mid senior. Salary around £70k (not London).

Do you think this would be say a 90k job in London?

Its age, role level and a poor job market - it’s taking me ages even with access to the London job market

I think expecting a job search at that level to take less than 6 months is unrealistic: I did an interview yesterday, they want someone in post by June

Applied for a job in Oct, they are still going through their process etc …

Yup that's pretty much the level I was at, was quite surprised when I added it all up and meant I was careful not to moan too much when leaving as in many ways it was a good deal. But I had a choice about going so I had to totally own my decision.

There are jobs around, it's like a husband or house, you only need one !

@thrive25 possibly £80 -£90k, yes. That does help to manage expectations re timescales.

The role I interviewed for last week, they said they wanted someone in by end of Feb. Which seems unrealistic unless they're going for someone who has no notice period (ie no job currently). But they seem to be dragging their heels.

Hi I will pm you

Have a look on https://restless.co.uk it's a job board specifically for the over 50s. It'll show you how age really doesn't bother many, many employers.

If you're in FS, why not look at jobs at Mutuals? They're more supportive than those driven by shareholders.

In the grand scheme of things, you haven't been looking very long and are financially ok so don't be despondent.

Get your 'open to work' banner on your LinkedIn profile and proactively contact/speak to in-house recruiters at companies you'd like to join. It is an employers market at the moment, which means with applications coming in thick and fast, many companies aren't even using recruitment agencies or head hunters as they don't need to. So don't rely on head hunters and recruitment agencies to find opportunities for you.

Many employers also have a preferred supplier list when it comes to recruitment agencies so you will be missing out on jobs if you don't do some research for jobs yourself. You're in a good position as you've got time to do the legwork to help yourself. Many of the candidates you're up against will be trying to find a job while already in a full time job and it's harder for them to dedicate the time needed to job hunting. You've got the advantage here!

You also need to think seriously about what you want. When do you want to retire? If it's in the next few years why are you thinking about a career change now? That doesn't make any sense. If you're planning to retire just stick to what you know best, pour the money into your pension for a few years. You can try all the things you want once you've retired.

And please stop blaming any of this on your age. No one cares how old you are.

@wtftodowithmylife : you are similar level to me

in a good economy, a mid senior job search might be 4-6 months, count on 6-12 in this economic

IME (looking vaguely since last year, more seriously from Sept/oct) companies are being quite picky, which is understandable at this salary level

Being able to join soon CAN be an advantage though

And like PPs say - when it comes to jobs you really do only need one so stay positive

I would also advise a good routine for your mental health, getting in touch with colleagues and someone else in the same boat (maybe not someone you’d compete for jobs with though) for mutual encouragement

Also you can claim job seekers allowance for 6 months and IME they didn’t ask me to jump through hoops as they could see I was applying and interviewing. I stupidly didn’t claim at the start as I thought it would be a quick job search so missed out as I claimed late then got a (temp) job 2 months later . they did back date my pension credits

Work out what you want, focus on your priority jobs/companies. I have taken a much lower level mat cover (lower pay too), but it’s letting me breathe while I look - this is an option

You could also move into a self employed role like this one: https://agent.nfumutual.co.uk People with FS backgrounds have plenty of transferable skills.

@thrive25 re JSA I got a tax rebate which would make it pointless me claiming until the new tax year, but if I'm still out of work then, I'll be making a claim.

I don’t know all the ins and outs but at that time see if they can back date your NI ‘stamp’ which gets paid when you are working or claiming benefits

This is a normal (but less than fun) part of life: keep going

Once you start interviewing it will feel better