The world of work has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Anyone who is 40+ has seen business and employment practices revolutionized, with advantages and disadvantages innate in every major change. People in their 50s and 60s have also witnessed the entire evolution of the information age and the integration of digital technology into every aspect of our lives.

1. Changes That Affect Your
Career Change

2. The world of work has changed dramatically over the last
twenty years. Anyone who is 40+ has seen business and
employment practices revolutionized, with advantages and
disadvantages innate in every major change. People in their
50s and 60s have also witnessed the entire evolution of the
information age and the integration of digital technology into
every aspect of our lives.
Some of the changes in the area of employment have been massive. Old jobs have disappeared, new
ones have appeared and many have morphed into something quite different, but this has been going
on throughout history. A century ago, as the first cars rolled off the production line, horses required
for transport were far less in demand and so blacksmiths were out of work. Then new jobs appeared
because mechanics and car salesmen were suddenly in demand. Now independent mechanics are
under threat because of the high level of technology in new cars.
When computers landed on office desks many clerical tasks could be performed by one person and a
software package. However someone had to create that software package, someone had to sell the
computers, and others had to install the systems and keep the computers working, so as one form of
employment was reduced or disappeared new ones came along.
Good schools and teachers are preparing children for jobs which are still not part of our vocabulary
or thoughts, but they will be by the time those children are working. Who had heard of a social media
manager or a data miner 10 years ago? What jobs will be commonplace in 10 years time but don't
exist yet?
If you are going to make a career change you need to know about the changes
and understand the strategies that are successful in the contemporary
workplace.

3. Job search strategies have changed
Technology has also impacted on the way that people can find work. If you are serious
about changing your career, you need to understand the contemporary ways of finding
work and being employed.
Job applications have changed in many ways. We live in a world where successful
products are marketed very cleverly, and products that aren’t marketed well are not
successful regardless of their excellence. Similarly dated unprofessional applications
are just not adequate in a pool of well-prepared self-marketing résumés, no matter how
skilled or experienced you are.
Privacy rules have affected the content of résumés as well. It is hard to accept that
in the 1950s…when Elvis Presley was scandalising parents and Mick Jagger was
learning guitar….it was still expected that personal information such as height, weight,
age and marital status would be included in your job applications. It was an era when a
female employee who became pregnant could be dismissed. Imagine the potential
discrimination cases which could arise if employers asked those sorts of questions or
took that action today!
Of course some of the requirements of the past are still relevant today.
Accurate spelling and grammar and good presentation are essential
and carry the same weight today as ever before, especially given the
ease of creating a résumé on computer rather than by hand. But in
many other ways applying for a job has changed as dramatically as the
type and nature of jobs themselves.

4. Written references are now rare. Once they were essential when applying for a
job. Your good character, work ethic and perhaps employment history were
detailed in a written reference and made available to your prospective
employer. But that was before privacy laws and legal action loomed large in
our lives. People are reluctant to write a reference in case the person they
recommend lets the company down in some way. The days of those “I have
known Joe Smith for several years and he’s a wonderful person” references
are all but gone.
A new breed of employee has also emerged over the last ten years – the virtual
workforce. Now anyone with the right skills and experience, coupled with a
computer and internet skills, can find virtual employment online and work in
the comfort of their home.

5. Self-employment has also changed
As a direct result of technology the entrepreneurial 'laptop lifestyle' trend is enticing as
people recognize that they could genuinely be their own boss creating a business,
online or offline, using technology to enable the business to exist and potentially make
serious money. More and more employees are joining these ranks and are finding
freedom that their traditional job cannot offer.
Although the basics of business remain the same, the way of marketing, finding clients
and communicating with other business people is a world away from the common
strategies of the past. The skills involved in starting and running a business…online
marketing, finding customers, communicating with customers, raising your profile,
building your business brand, recognising changing trends….now demand that you are
technologically savvy (or prepared to pay someone who is) and that you are prepared
to learn, evolve and adapt as necessary. Technology has made home based businesses
commonplace and given freedom to many to create a successful and fulfilling
business, but you do need to go into it knowing that you will need to learn new skills
and keep up to date. Don't let that put you off. It is fascinating learning the new ways
of doing things.

6. Career change can be daunting to anyone, but
particularly to an older person. The media
constantly tells you that older workers face
age discrimination, and we do live in an era
which values appearance over
substance. However you have skills and
experience that are valuable and if you are
willing to adapt to the changing world of
work you will find great opportunities in store
for you.
Embrace the changes and don't spend the rest of your working life doing
work that you don't enjoy or not doing work that would make your heart sing.