Laid Off After 50? How to Navigate a Career Change and Find Your Next Chapter.

Finding yourself out of work after 50 can be frightening.

You may be thinking about your finances, your retirement, your family, and whether you’ll be able to find another job. If you still have children at home, the pressure can feel even greater.

And then there’s the question that can be hardest to answer:

What do I do now?

As a Career Coach who works with mid-career professionals, I want you to know that being out of work does not mean your career is over.

It may actually be an opportunity to rethink what you want your next chapter to look like.

You are NOT starting over.

After 20 or 30 years in the workforce, you have something incredibly valuable: experience.

You have developed skills, knowledge, relationships, perspective, and resilience. Those strengths don't disappear because you lost your job.

In fact, they may be the foundation of your next career.

Your next move could build on what you've already done, allowing you to transfer your skills into a new role or industry. Or perhaps you're ready to do something completely different.

Either way, you don't have to leave your past behind. You take everything you've learned with you.

First, start with what YOU want!

When you're worried about money and your future, it can be difficult to think beyond finding the next job.

But before you start applying everywhere, take a moment to ask yourself:

If I knew I would be successful, what would I want to do next?

What are you good at? What energizes you? What are you curious about? What matters most to you now?

Maybe you want more flexibility. Maybe you want meaningful work. Maybe you want to use your experience differently. Or maybe you're ready to explore something you've always wanted to do.

There is no wrong answer.

Don’t let fear make your decisions. Just know that fear will probably be along for the ride.

You may worry about your age, your finances, or whether employers will see your experience as an advantage.

Those concerns are real. But they don't have to determine what happens next.

One belief I encourage my clients to hold onto is:

“I am going to be okay, no matter what.”

You don't have to know exactly how you're going to get there. You just have to believe you can figure out the next step.

Take ONE step.

You don't need a five-year plan.

Start by taking one action.

Reach out to someone in your network. Research an industry that interests you. Update your LinkedIn profile. Explore a certification. Talk to someone who has made a career transition.

One action creates momentum.

And momentum helps you move from feeling like you're reacting to what happened to you to feeling like you're creating what happens next.

Being over 50 doesn't mean you're too old to change direction. It means you have decades of experience to draw from.

Your next career may look very different from the one you spent 30 years building. And that may be exactly what you need.

You don't have to have all the answers today.

Take stock. Dream a little. Choose one next step. Your career isn't over. Your next chapter may just be beginning.

If you are feeling stuck and need help getting started, book a complimentary consult call here.

Until next time,

Hildi