Coming of age

A friend, who is in her 40s, decided to take a career leap recently. For someone that has worked in the same company for over 20 years, the jump is definitely momentous. One of the comments that she made caught me by surprise. She said: "I made a historical move for my peers because they didn't know women our age could still be in demand in the job market."

I laughed when I first heard it but after further thought, she could be right. Imagining myself in my 40s, I would probably have settled down in a comfortable career and time would be divided between work and family, and little attention would be given to my own personal needs. I'd not have thought of making any significant changes in my life at that point simply because I'd be too comfortable in my own zone. I'd have less than a decade to retirement and there's really no point to consider if I could contribute more than what i was already doing. The assumption is also companies would be less interested to hire someone that has less productive years to spare. Older professionals are seen as less flexible and receptive to change.

I personally think that older people have more to offer than young chikus since they're wiser and more experienced. They might have some set mindsets but that doesn't mean that they're reluctant to change. Given the right motivation, they might embrace it with open arms and more ideas to contribute.

I've always admire people who dare to take bold steps in their lives because they're willing to step out of the norm and do things differently than others. Whether it is a success story or not, no one would know for certain but one would definitely never know if he/she didn't make the first move.