Who to go to work at 35 years old man

People who are looking for work are very often surprised to find a problem with finding a job after the age of 35. For some reason, the employer gives preference to young employees without hesitation. And sometimes, even in principle, it does not consider applicants over a certain age. Where is it from? After all, it is obvious that they have much less work experience! The urgency of this issue today is such that even if you are far from 35, there is no doubt that sooner or later he will surely appear in front of you in all its glory. Agree that in our time hardly anyone can boast of a guarantee of stable work and constant income. Therefore, to understand the intricacies of getting a good job (as a result, and a high standard of living) is the privilege of educated and conscientious people who want to manage their own lives.
Paradoxical as it may sound, the problem is not really age per se. The fact is that from a certain point in everyone's life there comes a period when you want more comfort and less stress. After 35 years, we begin to look at life more soberly, calmly and balanced. Very rarely does anyone retain youthful enthusiasm and audacity in achieving goals. Most of our ambitions disappear. Instead of striving to realize their dreams, a person begins to value a comfortable stay at work, wants to have a lax bosses, work schedule as soft as possible, earn more and do less at the same time. Employers simply call it: the employee starts to "hang".

Energetic young people who, as a rule, have big plans to “conquer the world, make a million dollars, become president, etc.” are tireless. They do not reckon with fatigue, think less about rest, and are more willing to devote themselves to work without a trace. Such employees are ready to sacrifice comfort for the sake of the implementation of their ambitious projects. In the end, they certainly seem to the employer to be more efficient due to simply the willingness to spend more energy on the proposed area of ​​work. After all, they are “burning”! There is such a "burning" time in the life of every person. For most, it lasts 5-10 years.

The two periods mentioned differ only in that in the first, the employee's priority is personal comfort, and in the second, success in work. This is the only reason employers prefer young people.

What to do if you are already over 35 years old and the problem of employment has become acute in front of you? Remember the main thing. For the employer, it is not age that is important, but always only the personal qualities of a person. To get the job you want, get ready to show in the interview that you have the same ambitions as a 25-year-old. Of course, you don't need to demonstrate a desire to achieve fantastic results or, even worse, goals that are already inappropriate for your age. Show only one thing - your great desire to develop as a specialist. That you are not just ready to improve your skills sometimes, but you are constantly doing it and - attention! - Do you like that! For example, an accountant, in addition to listing the courses and seminars passed, must definitely make a significant emphasis on what areas of accounting he is currently studying in his free time, and certainly ask what knowledge the company would like to see in his position, say, in a year. This will show the employer that, in addition to money, you expect the satisfaction of your personal interests from this work, and most importantly, these interests coincide with the interests of the company! Don't be afraid to overplay it. Indeed, in fact, each of us is really ready to acquire new skills if it makes his life better. Moreover, with the constant updating of your knowledge, you will surely feel a new taste in your work.

First of all, I went to the vocational guidance center, where, after two hours of testing, I was told about the professions suitable for me as a sales manager, dog handler, director and logistician. Not a bad spread, right? What a versatile personality I am!

I must admit that the pictures seemed to me the most rosy (well, gray hair in the beard, a demon in the rib - you yourself understand). But, as soon as I began to surf the labor market in search of possible vacancies, all illusions about my brilliant future in a new field crumbled in an instant. And the most important stumbling block was the item "requirements for applicants."

How to find a good job when you are over 40?

The decision came completely by accident, and not at all from the side from which I expected. But about this a little later, but for now I’ll tell you what other difficulties I faced, and what I should think about before deciding to radically change my profession.

What kind of work is not worth looking for after 40?

  1. Don't shrug it off, take time out ... Sometimes it is not the chosen profession that makes me sick, but the work in principle. Well, you are tired! So the best option would be a vacation, and you can have a good rest and think over everything soberly. Maybe after two weeks of lying on the beach, you will want to skip to work and you will no longer have any desire to change something.
  2. If, nevertheless, thoughts of change do not leave you, think about it. Maybe you are not satisfied with your occupation, but with your team or wages? You should not engage in self-deception, otherwise you just change the awl for soap. Who knows, what if it is best to change the company, and not the profession?
  3. Decide what you want to do and learn about all the pitfalls. Otherwise, difficulties can discourage any desire to continue doing something. At this age, defeat is much harder to experience, I know from myself.
  4. Search for educational courses in the profession. , they will help you gain basic skills. In addition, as far as I remember, many employers highly value certificates of completion of such courses, as they provide the knowledge that is really necessary for work.
  5. It is great if the chosen area will be adjacent to your previous activity. ... This will help you learn a new job much faster, and your experience will become a beneficial advantage over young people.
  6. Expect to spend a lot of time and money on retraining, so take care of your financial cushion in advance.... Also, an important factor will be whether your loved ones are ready to support you, since changing your profession is a very difficult step, and you may need help.

How I changed my profession at 40

As I said, the decision came completely spontaneously and unexpectedly. I made my favorite “ministerial” poppy seed cake (I love baking, to be honest) and called my friend for tea to chat and complain about which employers are repulsive and how hard it is to find a job at 42.

In a leisurely conversation over goodies, it turned out that my guest's daughter was going to have a wedding in a week. So she asked me to bake a birthday cake, as they both simply adore my flour "masterpieces".

Of course, I gladly agreed! It was very exciting. I took out a notebook with the most proven recipes from the bins. I have been surfing the Internet for a long time. And on the eve of the celebration, she created something three-tiered, poured with fragrant glaze and decorated with my trademark candied flowers. She was in shock from herself, to tell the truth.

At the wedding, all the guests were delighted with the cake. But what was my surprise when within a week 3 people called me with a request to bake something like that to order! So my love for sweets turned into a source of income.

My husband supported me very much in my endeavors, for which I am immensely grateful to him.

True, after a couple of months I felt that my skills were still not enough, and therefore I signed up for special pastry courses. So now I can make a chiffon biscuit, mascarpone cream, and even make mastic figures with my own hands.

Now I have an appointment for a month in advance. I finally feel like I’m just trudging about what I’m doing. The income, however, is still slightly less than in the previous job. But you can't buy happiness for any money!

When they ask me who I work, I proudly answer that I do not work, but do what I love!

So, if we return to the question of whether it is difficult to find a job at this age, I will answer: a job may be very difficult, but your favorite pastime is quite real. And when you are happy with what you are doing, then there will be money.

I hope my example will inspire you and help you not to be afraid of change. Anything is possible at any age! Unless, of course, you really want to.

How to properly change jobs in adulthood - with the least stress and without financial losses. Until recently, you could say with confidence: I love my job. And now you are bored, every morning you make an effort on yourself, forcing yourself to get ready for the office. Perhaps you have reached the ceiling in your career and are bored, tired working on your last project, or even “burned out” - there may be a lot of reasons, and the consequence is that you are thinking about changing not only the company, but the field of activity in general. But how do you know if you need such a radical change? And what if you are not a 20-year-old student for a long time, and starting to work as an assistant with a meager salary will definitely not suit you, because you have a mortgage, a teenage child and a cat? Alena Vladimirskaya tells where to start so that the change of job (if you do decide on it) goes without serious problems and loss of quality of life.

1. Think well

Listen to yourself. It is important to understand what the problem is: you are tired because you have not been on vacation for a long time, you are uncomfortable in the company where you work now, or the reason is more global - in principle, you no longer like what you are doing now. In order to understand yourself, take a vacation for at least two weeks and go to a place where cellular communication and the Internet will not work. Disable gadgets. In the first week, the brain will include a hysterics - "What am I going to do without work!" When you return to the office, you will most likely already understand what needs to be changed: the company, the industry, or nothing at all, because you are well rested and are ready to continue working here.

2. Define the criteria

Let's say you find out that you are not happy with the company. We are adults and we understand that you cannot get everything, so decide on the criteria: what is more important to you - no dress code or a big salary? Free schedule or career growth? And based on the answers, look for a company that suits you.

3. Highlight your strengths

No, it is not "outgoing" or "active" - ​​because these qualities do not say practically anything about you. Find several cross-platform qualities that are valued equally across industries. For example: I can win tenders, I am good at making presentations.

4. Select the industry you want to work in

If you decide on a radical change of activity, choose three or four industries that you like. Find people who already work there, talk to them. Ask them simple things: how much do you get? What's the most annoying thing about work? Why do you get a raise? Are they fired? Adults are often engaged in myth-making - they idealize the sphere into which they want to move. For example, a girl comes to our project "Anti-Slavery" and says: "I want to work in culture." And we send her, say, to a music school in Yuzhny Butovo to check if the walls are well painted over there. This is what the Ministry of Culture is also doing, but it turns out that this is not at all what the girl wanted. Therefore, interview at least three or four people, based on their words, select two industries - and go there. You need to send your resume, having previously emphasized your cross-platform qualities in it. But an adult without work experience in the required field is extremely rarely even invited to interviews “through a resume”. Reach out to acquaintances who work in the industry you are interested in. As a rule, 10 out of 10 people who are approached with such a request promise to recommend, but in reality only one does it. Therefore, contact 50 people - this will give about two or three calls from the HR.

6. Get the support of a career counselor

This is a very important point. Don't change jobs without a career counselor. Of course, there are also their own successful transitions of adult specialists from industry to industry, but there are few of them. A career consultant will advise you and help you understand if you are really ready to change your profession? Maybe if you are a successful economist who loves to cook, you should leave cooking as a hobby?

7. Be prepared to lose 20% of your income

The transition to a new industry will take you six months to a year. You will lose 20 to 50% of your income and move one or two steps down the career ladder. This is not easy for an adult, including psychologically. Therefore, firstly, you should look for a new job without leaving the old one, and secondly, you must have a financial cushion - at least for six months. That is why it is worth thinking carefully about where we started: do you really need a change of activity or are you just tired?

Surely this thought made you scared, even if you are not yet 35? But your work now does not bring you much pleasure, do you run there with joy every morning? Or maybe there’s something about her that doesn’t suit you, but you’re afraid to leave?

All these questions are relevant for almost any person who works for a long time in one place. and stepped over the border of adulthood. He often asks them to himself right up to the very retirement. But in vain! After all, there is still time to change your life: to change not only your profession, but also your field of activity. This is not crazy it is a smart step towards real life. Why it is worth changing your profession at a mature age, and how this is possible, you will find out below.

What is the common pattern for choosing a profession? Young people from the institute usually go to work in accordance with their specialty, or where they could get a job due to lack of experience, or they just needed money and went at least somewhere. Thus, the choice of a profession is often compulsory and not always consciously. Accordingly, a career is made from the very beginning where he came.

According to psychological research, it is in adulthood that values ​​are revised. The person begins to think: “What have I achieved? Am I in my place? What would I like from the profession? " Answers to these kinds of questions tend to cause sadness and frustration. in professional sphere of life. A person gets bored, wants something new. This is fine. Values ​​and priorities change, you begin to understand that work should bring not only money, but also pleasure. And the latter is closer to the vocation. In principle, any psychologist will confirm that long-term work in one place leads to severe emotional burnout. and dissatisfaction my life. There is nothing strange in the fact that over time, fatigue from long work in one place accumulates, duties are performed mechanically and a person loses in professionalism, despite a lot of experience. It sounds contradictory, but this is a fact confirmed by many psychologists.

Even if the profession has been deliberately chosen, you have become a professional in your field: you have made a career and achieved a high result, there may still be a risk of emotional burnout:

  • it gets boring at work
  • you stop developing in professional plan, nothing is interesting, there is no desire to learn new,
  • growth prospects are lost because you have already reached the ceiling in professional plan,
  • health deteriorates,
  • you go to work as if you were going to hard labor.

A person is fully happy only when he has and professional and personal life are perfectly balanced and well-organized.

Your ideal profession ...

The most comfortable and profitable profession can be called only the one that allows you to maximize the strengths of a person, his personal attitudes (values) and motivators. If we talk about motivators, there are only 6 of them according to B.J. Bonnstetter's system - these are traditional, theoretical, individualistic, utilization, aesthetic, social motivators. You can find more information about them on the Internet, or you can contact a psychologist or coach who will help you determine your main motivators.

It is obvious that when a person successfully realizes himself, through the use of his strengths and talents, life begins to bring him joy and pleasure. Therefore, the profession should be chosen according to how fully it allows you to use your strengths and talents, how much it corresponds to the values ​​and motivators.

Pros of changing profession

Age should not interfere with a change of profession. Scientists have proved that if there is a strong desire in adulthood to master a new profession, then internal reserves are revealed, the soul revives, and health improves.

A person is initially called upon to develop in life, to learn, to learn something new. Leaving your comfort zone is also beneficial - it will help you see new horizons and take a fresh look at life. The new profession provides such an opportunity in the best possible way and fully.

Profitability, of course, falls, but if you do something with love, and you do it perfectly, then the work will definitely become profitable over time! I will count this as a plus, because the profit factor is only temporarily in the minus.

You, as a "young" specialist, have excellent qualities, and they will withstand the competition with those who have been "in the subject" for a long time and have extensive work experience. People who have changed their profession, as a rule, take up work with great enthusiasm, they are ready for training, they have not yet developed professional inertness of thinking and templates, their eyes are not “blurred”. It is easier to cooperate with them, it is easier to convey the ideas of the company to them. Push on these qualities at the interview. Such employees are also very much needed.

And the cons? There is, of course.

The main "minus" that everyone is so afraid of, but it is simply inevitable if you want to live a full and happy life, is getting out of your comfort zone. Development and success cannot be achieved without getting out of your "swamp".

Also, at first, a person often has a lack of confidence in himself and his strength, the so-called "suspended state", which can shake at the first steps and give rise to despondency and fear of failure. These states are quite normal for any person who goes through changes: the old is behind, and the new has not yet arrived. The main thing is to understand whether the fear is justified? Where is he from? What are you afraid of. You should not close yourself in them, you need to work with them. Once again, a trained psychologist or coach will provide excellent support.

And the following techniques will also provide excellent support.

Surely someone and your acquaintances have already gone through a similar experience of cardinal changes. They survived it, coped with obscurity and mastered the novelty. Often even these people themselves then say: "It was for the best!"

If you don't know anyone, look at other examples: movies and books, famous people.

In your life, most likely, you had to go through transitional moments, get new experiences, "fall out" unexpectedly from the comfort zone due to unexpected circumstances. Remember how you lived those moments? Have lived the same. How did you deal with them? What helped?

I will share my experience with you. I have been the managing director of two auto dealerships for 14 years. The centers were organized by me personally from scratch. It was a deliberate choice. I enjoyed my work immensely, having grown from an assistant director to a center manager. She achieved great professional success and introduced a completely new brand to the Russian market. But later, at the age of 35, the understanding came to me that I gave everything I could to this work. My activity has already become automatic, self-realization has ceased, there is only making money.

Then I decided to change not only the place of work, but also the field of activity. Now career growth has lost its relevance, work has become a priority, which would bring pleasure and in the best possible way. would match my main motivators. I went to consulting, organized my own company. Accordingly, I immediately faced all the disadvantages discussed above. For example, leaving your comfort zone. Then I had a fairly large staff of subordinates under my command, where each was responsible for a certain part of the work. But suddenly I found myself completely alone, I had to delve into many little things and details of the business, learn new things. Of course, in the beginning, my income was almost zero. But for this I mentally prepared myself, most importantly, I liked my work, I knew for sure that over time my business would bring profit. My vast experience in consulting, recruiting and much more has allowed me to share with people successful methods and techniques. Today, the new profession is absolutely comfortable for me, because I realize my strengths and talents. It became profitable because it is performed with love and on a professional level. And, moreover, it is also important for me that my activity is directed not only for counseling and teaching other people, I develop myself.

So go for it, and you will succeed! The main thing is to believe in yourself and your strength, then others will believe in you.

Personal effectiveness. In it, a business consultant, business coach, blogger, author of books on time management and achieving success, as well as on healthy lifestyles and weight loss, F. age to beat young competitors:

The economic crisis, changes in consumer markets, new technologies requiring new knowledge make it difficult to find a job. And the most difficult thing is for middle-aged people. Firstly, sometimes they cannot even for a couple of months remain without a stable income, because they need to financially support the family. Second, it's no secret that most companies choose not to hire people over 35. The very understanding that you have to compete with young ambitious candidates who are ready to agree to a lower salary can cause stress and feelings of inner discomfort. But personally, I am sure that in adulthood there are good chances in the labor market, if you follow certain rules and principles in your career, do not relax and do not forget that the status and salary level already achieved are not a guarantee that tomorrow everything will be the same. ...

1. Relax in your comfort zone

What are the main arguments of companies against age professionals? Complex character, complete or partial absence of physical and psychological energy, lack of ambition, weak motivation, inflexibility, unwillingness to develop, insufficient openness to new information, especially technical or technological. There is a risk that an older candidate will not fit into a younger team. Often these are quite objective disadvantages and risks. And the most amazing thing is that people who are rejected for their reason, five to eight years ago, quite successfully worked in the chosen direction and even grew. What have they missed? What mistakes have thrown them on the sidelines of their careers? At what point does a person cross that invisible line beyond which it is difficult to find a job? The very moment he enters his comfort zone.

In interviews with recruiters, adult candidates often say, "I'm experienced," meaning a considerable number of years devoted to their professional field. But there is a small "but". The number of years is not an indication of experience. And, most importantly, we must not forget that experience is a very elastic concept.

Let me give you an example. A friend of mine once approached me with a complaint that they parted with him after 12 years of work. During the meeting, the words most often sounded: "I am experienced", "my experience", "my years". I asked my friend two questions. The first question: "How long does it take to learn how to do your job at a normal, acceptable level, if you want to?" Answer: "One year". Question two: "What do your 12 years of experience mean? Could you, for example, at the end of the eighth year say that your theoretical knowledge, skills, technique have improved over the past 12 months? Have you developed professionally for 12 years? Or continued every day do the same thing a day? " "Of course, I did what was required of me every day." “Everything is clear,” I replied. “In fact, you don’t have twelve years of experience. You have only one year’s experience, which you have repeated 11 times. And for this simple reason, it is quite easy to replace you with a young specialist, more energetic, ambitious, with with more recent knowledge and a lower salary. "

Having found a job and putting the performance of daily duties on the rolled rails, some people subconsciously relax. It is from this moment, when the strongest desire becomes to feel safe, in the comfort zone, that problems begin. I often meet young people who are glad that they finish their business at five or six o'clock in the evening, that in the daytime they always have a couple of hours of free time to sit on social networks. They call it good work. But in fact, this is what puts them at risk.

What to do? Realize that 10-15 years in the comfort zone will severely impact your future career. Eliminate any idleness in your mind during work hours. It is this craving for idleness after years of being in a comfortable "cave" that leads to the fact that its vaults collapse.

2. Stop developing

The world of business is moving forward at such a tremendous speed that even after six months of passivity in professional development, one can lag behind. Basic education alone, received 20 years ago, is clearly not enough to keep oneself in professional shape.

At the same time, professional development implies not only technical knowledge, but also a large number of humanitarian skills, which sometimes affect a career more than specific special skills. For example, the ability to establish communication, presentation and self-expression skills, the ability to control your stress, and knowledge of personal effectiveness techniques are a powerful career catalyst. All of this can be learned. And you need to.

A friend of mine has been complaining for a long time that there is no time to read. Yes, he understands how important it is to gain new knowledge, but too much work. And after just half an hour of conversation, it turns out that every day he spends an hour and a half on the road, listening to the radio, one could listen to books. Along with this, it turns out that the correct planning of his working day and meetings will free him up to two more hours a day. And then there will be time, which is sorely lacking to pay attention to family and friends.

What to do? First of all, plan your development. Plans should be made for each month and year and periodically summed up so as not to get stuck in your comfort zone. Regular analysis of your achievements will allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of your career, adjust it depending on external conditions.

Read specialized magazines and articles. There are a lot of them on the Internet. A simple example: if you set aside 20 minutes a day to read just two articles, over the years you will add 400-500 articles to your baggage and along with them - a lot of new information, opinions, criticism, knowledge, techniques and tools. And if you listen to audiobooks on the road, you will be provided with at least one book a month. Now remember how many books have you read? And how much time did you spend on the road?

Make your professional development a priority every day. If it is not possible to sign up for trainings, seminars, master classes, then watch it all on the Internet. At the end of each week, ask yourself: What have I done in the last days for my future? And after a while it will become a habit for you - to invest every day in your future brick by brick. And remember one important point: what seemed unshakably true a few years ago may not have any relevance today.

3. Lose work-life balance

Another argument against older candidates is a decrease in activity in all areas, as well as psychological and emotional fatigue. What does this mean?

With age, business and worries are added both in professional and personal life: family, everyday life, children, work. A person who does not know how to manage his time and does not own the techniques of personal effectiveness, fatigue is superimposed every month. And this affects everything: face, intonation, temperament and behavior both in everyday life and during interviews as a job seeker.

For years, not paying attention to the quality and dietary regime, encouraging their bad habits, not spending time on sports, a person eats away his body. The first calls about health problems begin right in middle age, that is, at the most crucial moment when activity is extremely important. And if we add to this the possible psychological fatigue, then such a candidate is unlikely to give the employer with his appearance and psychological attitude a guarantee of activity, dynamism and efficiency. On the contrary, in view of the above, such people will strive for more measured work, will pay a little less attention to clients, and will be a little less patient with colleagues. And the problems in the organization begin with the sum of all these "little".

What to do? Firstly, from a young age, take care of your health, lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right, learn to have effective rest. Secondly, every day to devote at least half an hour to physical activity in order to spend the remaining 23.5 hours more brightly and colorfully. Don't have time for sports? Who's stopping you from doing just 20 squats every hour? In a day, you will do 150-200 such exercises, disperse your blood, lose calories, and make your legs slimmer, help your spine to stretch, which hurts from hours of sitting. Even such simple actions can make magical changes in the appearance and psychological state of a person.

4. Forget networking

A network of connections and contacts, along with knowledge and experience, are one of the most important assets of a professional in any field. What happens to some people? For years they have been working in the same company and do not communicate with anyone outside of it. Nobody knows about them. And they themselves do not declare themselves. Even the best, but unknown specialist will find it difficult to find a job if no one knows about him and his knowledge.

What to do? Attend seminars, business breakfasts, conferences. Make a rule of thumb: at least one event per month. Meet interesting people at these events, exchange business cards, and remember to keep up the relationship. To remind you of yourself, the day after the first meeting, write to new acquaintances, thank them, express your desire to meet again for a cup of coffee. Be sure to get involved in the various industry communities to be able to exchange ideas and news. Connections are the most important capital that you need to build up regularly by investing your time.

Who is responsible?

One of the main complaints of people who have fallen behind in professional development: the company did not pay attention to my growth. Yes, it is quite possible. It is highly likely that the company did not have the budget for employee training. So what? You cannot leave your future, financial well-being, career in the care of the company. Your company will shamelessly part with a specialist who has worked out his resource, replacing him with a young promising staff. It is very easy to part with a person who does not meet modern requirements and realities.

Is this attitude towards professionals "in years" fair? As a person who has worked as a leader for a long time in companies with an exceptional focus on human capital, I can confidently say that there is a big difference between biological and psychological age. Gain experience, develop, reach for something new, take care of your health, stay young at heart - there will be no barriers in front of you.

A career is like surfing. The fact that you are on the crest of a wave today does not at all mean that it is forever. New big waves will regularly roll over you: tasks, projects, cases, crises. And to cope with them, fresh skills and knowledge will be required. For this reason, while still on the current wave, it is important to think about the next one and prepare for it. And if you relax at the moment of the highest take-off, a new wave will throw you to the bottom, where it is more difficult to rise.