Reinventing yourself at a certain age

Do you need to reinvent your professional self? Are you thinking of retiring? Have you left the workplace but need or want to go back? Many reach a point where they feel their major career has run its course but they still have a financial imperative to work, they have yet more to offer and can’t imagine a life without purposeful work.

Ageing Better, the independent centre of excellence on ageing and demographic change, works with national and local government, businesses and community organisations to improve how people experience ageing. Focusing on creating better workplaces, homes and communities, they tackle ageism and address inequalities faced by people in their 50s and 60s.

They report that the biggest population increase over the next 40 years will be in people aged 80 and over but that the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 in England is 14 percentage points lower than that of those aged 35 to 49. They also tell us that the proportion of people who are still working at the current State Pension Age of 66 has increased from 24% to 30% in just 8 years.

It’s not a pretty picture for the over 50s, especially when you read that only 17% of people over 60 find work through employment services, compared with an average of 25% in other age groups. The answer is different for every single one of us, there is no one size fits all response to this social and very personal conundrum.

I’ve been working with some amazingly talented people with the most impressive CVs who have reached that crossroads. Together, we’ve unpicked what’s brought them to this impasse and how best to move forward, while ticking all the boxes of personal fulfilment and finance. If this resonates with you, don’t hesitate to get in touch – jackie.pinfold@crescendocoaching.co.uk

Madonna is living proof that we can go on reinventing ourselves. You may not want to be an international singing star but focusing on what you really do want can lead to a truly satisfying later career.