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Tag Archive for: Retirement Age

Is your career coming to an end? Why it is just a transition and you shouldn’t be scared

Career Transitioning, Retirement
Alexandra Humbel standing in front of a painting by Franck Stella at NSU in Fort Lauderdale, FloridaAlexandra Humbel Coaching

Do you experience a fear of loss, when you realise that your days are numbered in your current job, position, and career? Is this sense of loss mingled with anticipation and excitement? Lots of bonuses will soon be yours: No more back-to-back meetings, no more answering emails on vacation, no more power games, luxury to dispose of your time as you wish.

So why is the joy tainted with anxiety? Why are you struggling with the feeling that you are now entering a grey zone? Why are you feeling defined by the fact that this is the last segment of your life?

Several factors are in play, mostly pushing you in antagonist directions, so no wonder that the result is uncomfortable, if not painful. Let’s try to untangle the inner conflict that undermines your energy and obscures your future.

There is no script. You are on your own

As a professional and a person, you’ve been motivated. Always. Through thick and thin, you knew where you wanted to be: Grow, climb the ladder, get a better job, launch a new company, or a new project, succeed, fail, rebound, and mainly stay in the game.

While you owe all these achievements to yourself, there is a blueprint for this. From student to junior to high potential to senior professional, the direction is clear and unmistakable. It is a growth pattern, and growing is an attribute of life. Every day you are exposed to stories that inspire you and show you what is possible. In your magnificent way, you realised your potential despite – and sometimes thanks to- the hurdles and backlashes thrown at you.

When your career comes to an end, there is no script. Not anymore. Language like “Golden years” (coined in the seventies to sell real estate to retirees) or “Silver power” (marketing term for a growing consumer segment) sounds phoney. Besides, what does it have to do with you?

It has a lot to do with expectations

For decades, you were supposed to work your ass off and grow. You were encouraged to do so. The work culture had your back.
At the end of your career, no one expects you to deliver. You may get lost in a space deprived of reference points. You are like a wagon decoupled from the train. The train goes without you. It is a relief, and it feels like an injustice at the same time.

People around you tell you repeatedly how lucky you will be, getting ample time for golfing, travelling, gardening, painting, yoga-ing, biking, learning languages, enjoying family time, and doing the things you love. The more they praise your soon-to-be happiness, the more confused you feel. Not that there is anything wrong with these activities. The confusion comes from the lack of purpose.

It is time to get real, brave, and creative

How do you build a house without a blueprint? You don’t. You’ve got to create a blueprint for yourself. Honestly assess your beliefs about who you are, your place in your world, and your values. You want to let go of a persona that beautifully served you in the past but is no longer who you want to be. Explore what makes you feel alive and driven. Be curious and open. Once you get this clarity, it is time to draw your blueprint and jump into action. It is scary. And it is so exciting. The difference is, this time, you are the architect, the builder, and the proud owner of a beautiful, unique work in progress.

by Alexandra Humbel
https://alexandrahumbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/alexandra-humbel-franck-stella-art-career-coaching.jpg 1050 1400 Alexandra Humbel https://alexandrahumbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/alexandra-humbel-logo.png Alexandra Humbel2022-10-18 09:53:102022-10-18 10:15:51Is your career coming to an end? Why it is just a transition and you shouldn’t be scared

Retirement Age Versus Marketplace Reality: The Elephant in The Room

Leadership
Retirement Age Versus Marketplace Reality: The Elephant in The Room- By Alexandra HumbelAlexandra Humbel

While the debate over extending the retirement age rages on in the French political arena, the reality screams one figure: Only one-third of the 60-64-year-olds are still working.

Is this new? Hell no. Against senior unemployment, “we have tried everything”… said a former French president thirty years ago. As stated by Jean-Francis Pecresse in Les Echos, “this calamitous admission on the fight against unemployment remains relevant to the specific employment level of the over-55s.”

We can only rejoice that the debate is finally widening to the reality of a labour market that is consistently getting rid of experienced workers to replace them (or not) with younger employees.

On the bright side, governments are now aware of the cringing gap between what is requested of experienced professionals, and the lack of opportunities available to them. The French government considers launching an index on equality between the ages, a tool that is quite effective to measure professional equality between women and men. Let us salute this initiative. Hopefully, governments will do what they are supposed to do to bring about change: Evaluate, incentivize, regulate, reform, and provide resources.

On the corporate level, one can shame and blame companies for their policies. But how does it help individuals? What are your career perspectives for the next decade? While governments govern and companies question their HR policies regarding age, experienced professionals must do their share of the work.

Hanging on to your seat in the hope of keeping your job as long as possible is just one way to stay in the game. It may not be possible. It may not even be desirable.

Where do you stand?

You don’t have to wait for the sky to fall in the form of a layoff. Change is going to happen anyway, whether you like it or not.

You are the only one in this situation. An entire generation is between a rock and a hard place, between the necessity to work longer and the lack of perspectives. However, only you know when it is a good time to figure out the next stage of your career.

When you start this reflection in a moment of relative calm, the work gets done, not from a place of fear, but from a place of anticipation. Not from a place of scarcity, but from a place of abundance.

Is now a good time?

by Alexandra Humbel
https://alexandrahumbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/alexandra-humbel-elephant-in-the-room-career-change.jpg 1193 1600 Alexandra Humbel https://alexandrahumbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/alexandra-humbel-logo.png Alexandra Humbel2022-10-18 09:01:232023-02-20 03:05:24Retirement Age Versus Marketplace Reality: The Elephant in The Room

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