This Friday, I will be leaving my current company for a new opportunity. As I begin the next stage of my career, I will share my experiences with you through a series of posts. This is going to be a big change. Not only am I moving to a new company, but I am moving into a new industry. In the next six months I will also move to a new city. For those of you who may be hesitant to take a leap of faith and pursue your dream job, I hope to give you the confidence to do so as you read about my journey and begin to understand what to expect.
I gave my company the standard two week notice, and since then I have watched as my boss and his boss have essentially gone through the “5 Stages of Grief.” I have seen denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and I expect to see acceptance as I am actually leaving on Friday. Friends have warned me that the climate will get very cold. They tell me that people who you think you were close to will start to distance themselves from you. The truth is, those colleagues whom I consider friends have actually been wonderful. They are happy for me, they have congratulated me, and they have even told me they are jealous. They are wishing me well, and telling me that they will miss me. Ironically, the people who are cold and distant are the ones whose actions (and inactions) drove me to look for a new opportunity in the first place. Their response simply validates my decision to move to a better place.
After months of following my own advice on how to find a new opportunity, at the end it all came down to networking. For a while, I thought I may have run up against the unspoken issue of age discrimination that we all know is out there. Then, a female colleague in her 50’s found a new job herself. I admit, I was depressed for a few weeks. I had to face the fact that age discrimination did not prevent her from making a move. When I found out where she was going I was amazed. I had been looking at this company for months! It was a completely different industry but one I had wanted to get into for years. I applied for an open position, then reached out to her and asked if she could personally put my resume in the hands of the hiring manager. She did, and two weeks later I had a job offer! Franky, my head is still spinning.
As I finish this week, I am trying to follow the advice of Alison Doyle in order make a ‘graceful transition.’ If you are in the process of leaving your company, or think you may be in the future, read the article “Things To Do Before You Leave Your Job.” Here is a brief summary:
- Help make the transition go well.
- Make a list of what you do on the job.
- Update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- Write some recommendations.
- Get some recommendations.
- Save work samples.
- Remember to be humble.
- Say thank you.
- Keep it nice and polite.
- Get information on your ex-employee benefits.
To the FabulousAfterFifty community, I hope you will follow me as I embark on this journey so you know what to expect when you make that next move. Be strong!
Well after almost 4 years on the job the general manager decide to let me go on 11/15/2018. I am 51 years of age and when I tell you i am lost without a job – how can I go about it without breaking down?
Wanda, I understand. When you find yourself suddenly out of a job it can be terrifying. Please read some of my earlier blog posts under health and wellness for ideas on how to cope emotionally, as well as posts under the career development category. There is a post on ‘survival jobs’ which you may wish to look at – this is a good time of year for this. So many retailers are looking for extra help during the holidays. Even if this isn’t what you want to do long term, it will give you a paycheck and get you out among people. This is critical right now. You may find that at the end of the season you are offered a full time job. My thoughts are with you….let me know how it goes for you. Andrea