It’s Halloween week, my favorite time of year! I’m a sucker for all things orange and black, witches and goblins and all things spooky. #allthecandy! 🎃
OK, so what’s up with the title of this episode? I know I may have pulled a fast one on you with that, my apologies!
What I mean by “how old are you” is, how old you are in your “career age”. The term "career age" is something that just came to me as I was doing something completely mundane like pouring coffee or folding laundry, can't remember which to be honest. To define it a bit, I think it’s a combination of some of the emotions that I’ve been feeling since mid 2020. Our career age is not our chronological age, we have our “happy birthday” age, and that’s definitely worth celebrating, however what I’m thinking about today is our “career age”. 👻
I think our career age can mean several things. For example, it could be how long you’ve been in your industry or in your role. In my case, I’ve been in administrative support (role) for 20+ years, with the bulk of those years being in higher education (industry). Or it could define how long you've been working that 9 to 5 life. In my case, I’ve basically been working since the ripe old age of 13, from babysitting in my early teen years, to working retail in my late teen years until finally making my way into administrative support in my early 20’s, where I’ve been ever since. And you know what? I think I’m tired. I truly am. Working for so many years, as we've progressed through our career, is it any wonder that we may begin to question where we go from here? 🕯️
Do you ever feel yourself entering into periods of career reflection, presented with questions like, what it is that drives you? What are your goals? Do you want to stay in your profession or industry? Are you capable of more? Is now the time to pivot into something else? Or should you just be grateful that you're working right now and settle? Honestly friends, these are tough questions that have been giving me pause lately. When I stopped to think about our career longevity, it led me to thinking about our career age. Author, Career and Leadership Coach, Kathy Caprino happened to author a LinkedIn article titled, 5 Biggest Mistakes Career Changers Make and How To Avoid Them just last week that adds a bit more depth into what I'm attempting to describe.💀
In relation to this, there was a saying I saw on Pinterest at the beginning of last year that has really stuck with me, which is “I am no longer accepting apologies this year; only changed behavior” Powerful. However, I would like to add 2 words to the end of that. From. Myself. So instead it would read something like this: “I am no longer accepting apologies this year; only changed behavior, from myself.” 🦇
As this year inches to a close, should we make a pact with ourselves that we will no longer accept apologies and excuses this coming year? If a career change is indeed what we're after, should we only accept changed behavior, which may lead us to action? I believe the time has come for us to quiet the mental inquiries and take action, to bring us closer to our career happiness. If you are like me, in the middle of your career age, then we still have a long way to go, so why not make the most of it and pursue a career path more aligned with what we want for ourselves in this season of our career age? 🧛♀️
Sorry friends, I know this was a bit long and all over the place, but hopefully you understand my intent. So, boo! You're it! Would you agree we have a “career age'' and that now is the time for action? Are you experiencing similar feelings at this stage of your career journey as well? I invite you to reach out and let's continue the chilling conversation! ☠️
