Mastering mid-career transition: Discovering a New Purposeful Career

By Risto M Koskinen

Are you a mid-career professional seeking change?

Mastering Mid-Career Transition offers a comprehensive guide to navigating career pivots with confidence.

Discover eight essential perspectives and proven tools to anticipate, navigate, and thrive in career transitions.

Craft a vision for a balanced life where work aligns with your values.

Harness tools to cope with the emotional rollercoaster of career transition.

Assess your life course, career phases, and values.

Identify and leverage your unique skill set within a broader context.

Uncover opportunities for value creation and research potential new roles.

Embrace the narrative of a professional pivot and develop your brand.

Explore unexpected career possibilities and chart a sustainable trajectory.

Master strategies for effective professional relationships.

Risto M Koskinen, MBA, widely known as #CoachRisto, is a career transition coach and strategist with a proven track record. With a rich academic and practical background in education, social work, and business administration, and more, he brings a unique blend of expertise to his coaching practice, grounded in evidence-based strategies and a solution-focused approach.

Whether you're facing a career crossroads or seeking to guide others through their transitions, Mastering Mid-Career Transition offers invaluable insights and practical tools for lasting transformation.

• Language: Suomi
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Apr 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9789528073512

Risto M Koskinen

Risto M Koskinen, MBA, Certified Progress Coach®, and a certified supervisor, has extensive experience in teaching and guiding professions. He is also widely recognized as #CoachRisto, a TopVoice on LinkedIn, sharing practical insights on job search, career management, and career coaching. Risto specializes in assisting mid-career professionals navigating transitions for greater fulfillment, switching industries, or coping with unexpected career shifts. Grounded in an academic foundation spanning education, sociology, and social policy, and beyond, Risto has a profound understanding of human behavior, organizational dynamics, and the intricacies of personal and professional development. His coaching philosophy centers on fostering self-awareness, identifying transferable skills, and crafting strategic plans for seizing new career opportunities. Risto firmly believes in the transformative power of scholarly knowledge and a solution-oriented mindset. Today, as a senior coach, Risto focuses on creating coaching tools, concepts, and frameworks. He still does a limited amount of client work, being selective and accepting only clients he believes will benefit from his signature coaching approach.

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INTRODUCTION

Facing a career pivot is often – but not always – due to organizational restructuring, layoffs, or a failure to meet standards.

However, apart from these reasons, a career pivot may be necessary e.g.

1. when a parent is returning to the workforce, but the previous job doesn’t exist anymore,

2. when your present job doesn’t align anymore with your values and passions, and the dissonance feels unbearable,

3. when your present workplace is toxic (e.g., bullying or unhealthy competition) and creates a threat to your health,

4. when your present industry is heavily downsizing and you have to make a cross-industry transition, or

5. when your career has stagnated, and there’s no chance for advancement in the current job.

The pivot may be either planned or forced. When it is intended, you don’t go through such an emotional turmoil that is often the case with a sudden, disruptive, and forced pivot. You also have more time to adjust to your transition. Therefore, proactive career management is the best strategy to increase your career resilience.

Meet two mid-career professionals: Sarah and David

I define a mid-career professional as one who has 10+ years of experience, has worked in 2-3 roles, and has specialized expertise. Their age is somewhere between the late thirties and early fifties.

The stories of Sarah and David are fictitious but resonate with many laid-off mid-career professionals.

Sarah Andersson, age 42,

has a marketing and communications background with over 15 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and an MBA.

Despite her success as a Senior Marketing Manager, Sarah has recently faced unexpected downsizing in her tech company due to restructuring. This forced career pivot has left her uncertain about her professional future.

Sarah is dealing with the emotional impact of sudden job loss and is uncertain about navigating this unexpected career shift. Given the specific industry challenges, she finds it challenging to identify new career opportunities in the competitive job market.

Sarah’s primary goal is to secure immediate employment stability in a new role that aligns with her skills and values. She aims to overcome the challenges in her industry and explore new avenues where her marketing expertise can be applied effectively.

Sarah values adaptability and seeks to leverage her marketing skills in new and unforeseen ways. She is resilient and is determined to turn this forced career pivot into an opportunity for growth.

Sarah is a typical coaching client who feels lost and insecure but is motivated and determined to take responsibility for her career. Another story is David’s.

David Thompson, age 48,

has a background in finance, working for over 20 years in investment banking and corporate finance. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a CFA designation.

Despite his success as a vice president at a financial institution, David is currently facing a forced career pivot due to downsizing in his department. The sudden restructuring has left him contemplating a new professional path.

David is experiencing emotional burnout from his high-stress finance job and is uncertain about how to navigate this forced career shift. He yearns for a career that aligns with his values and provides a sense of purpose, but the current situation has disenchanted him.

David’s primary goal is to find a role that promotes a healthier work-life balance and reduces the emotional strain he’s been experiencing. He aims to transition into a role that ensures financial stability and aligns with his desire for a more meaningful and purposeful career.

David values work-life balance and seeks a career that allows him to spend more quality time with his family. He is determined to find purpose and fulfillment in his work, even in the face of an unexpected career pivot.

David’s story is a common one for managers and executives, too. The key theme to tackle is a balanced and meaningful career.

Sarah’s or David’s story could be yours, too, because you are not safe from sudden job loss. Therefore, a proactive attitude toward your career is necessary.

The importance of proactive career management

Three changes affect your employment more than ever in history:

1. the dynamic nature of the modern workplace that forces us to adapt to changes in industries and technologies;

2. the need for ongoing skill development and learning to stay relevant in a rapidly changing job market;

3. the change in the career landscape: gone are the days of permanent jobs and careers of one profession.

The new forms of career – say, Protean or boundaryless – require you to take ownership of your careers. This means you must keep yourself up to date professionally, build up your personal brand, and commit to lifelong learning and regeneration.

Career management is a continuous, strategic process of setting and achieving career goals.

Career management also includes

1. conducting self-assessment and performance evaluations to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement;

2. building professional relationships for mentorship, advice, and potential opportunities; and

3. recognizing the importance of strategic career moves, such as job changes, lateral moves, or pursuing advanced education, to achieve long-term objectives.

But why this is so important for mid-career professionals? According to The Economic Times, mid-level workers are least valued and most at risk; this applies to mid-career professionals, too. Mid-career professionals also live that phase of their lives where they objectively evaluate their goals, achievements, values, and careers. Being proactive, i.e., ensuring that the change is voluntary, properly timed, and well-resourced, gives a better latitude and more options.

1. ANTICIPATING THE CAREER PIVOT

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.

The second best time is now.

- Chinese Proverb

Do not wait until the layoff but start preparing for the possible – and for most of us a realizing – career disruption now. Later in this book, I will describe several tools you can use, but in this chapter, I will highlight two dimensions: the one I call technical and the other I call mental.

The technical dimension is about, e.g.

1. updating your materials and keeping them up to date: CV, portfolios, etc.

2. following actively job market: trends, emerging demands, risks, competitive landscape, etc.

3. reinforcing your resources: creating financial buffers, activating networks, enrolling in training programs, etc., and

4. crafting your visibility and building up reciprocity.

The mental dimension concerns mindset or a multifaceted approach to work and life. Traditionally, we have spoken about work/life –balance. This implicates a certain dualistic or even contradicting setup and gives the work a disproportional weight.

1.1. Domain harmony

When work is your dominant – and close to only – domain in your life, losing your job feels like an overwhelming catastrophe, which is difficult to recover from. These people – and I have worked with a few of them – lost their purpose, their identity was violated, and their resources to coping were close to zero. Some found no other solution but suicide.

Working as a dominant element of your identity can significantly boost your career. You are motivated and engaged and get deep satisfaction from your work. This enhances your productivity and learning curve, putting (and keeping) you on the fast track.

External signs of your success include, e.g., recognition, social status, and financial stability.

But there are risks, too. You may

•see people as disposable,

•overemphasize your role at the cost of your team,

•neglect important areas of a balanced life, or

•have a limited perspective of life’s other domains.

If your exit from a job is planned, you have time to deal with these issues. But