There is no limit as to when you can take the decision to recareer, it can happen anytime, whatever age you are, you just have to be ready, willing and able!
One of my previous careers was in Human Resources, in fact my last J.O.B. was as a Human Resources Director for a major magazine publishing company, something I loved doing as I am very much a "people" person and if I can help somebody with a problem, be it work wise or personally, then I am delighted. It gives me a great sense of self-satisfaction.
So why did I leave you may ask? Well much as I loved my work, it was a very draining experience and there was much negativity attached to it. Dealing with over 600 employees meant that most evenings I would go home and reach for the gin bottle! Basically I had reached the end of that career and wanted to restore some positivity into my working life.
I had also almost reach retirement age, so the decision was an easy one. However I am not one who could ever cope with retiring totally! So I decided to learn about Recareering and found that my love of helping people would be put to good use, but this time in a very positive way. It also seemed to lead on very nicely to take account of my HR experience. I would also be working for myself, which is always a bonus!
So my recareering decision was taken late in life and for a distinct reason.
Anyone who considers recareering should only do so for a "real" reason and from my observations, there seem to be 5 occasions when an individual may consider it:
1. Having begun a career, but not totally convinced it’s the right one for them. Do you remember the career counsellors at school / university who knew absolutely nothing about what was available apart from the obvious?
2. Being stuck in a career for a while but not sure whether to change or stay where you are. And also probably having absolutely no idea what to change to. This is a tricky one as you have to have the courage to recareer – it takes a lot of that!
3. Transitioning from one career to another - a good example here is going from the military to a civilian job.
4. Redundancy. In these times of financial cut backs then unfortunately as they say **it happens! Maybe this is the time to think outside the box and not look for a career that you have been doing for many years.
5. Retirement
. For whatever reason some of us want or have to keep working but cannot do so in the same job.We are all individual and unique and have our own set of reasons. This amongst others things is what a Recareering Coach has to elicit in order to help you move on.
Stay tuned…..
I am originally from the UK but have lived internationally for the last 13 years, including time spent in the middle east. Currently I am living in Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean and focusing on being a Recareering Coach. My background is in Human Resources.