Why want to change jobs after 20 yrsMy company has done some restructuring during the last 20 years, and my current job is very different from the job I was initially hired to do. That's fine, except it keeps evolving, until now I don't feel challenged or excited by the work. This has happened to those in my job class, not just to me. I feel I'm losing my skills and my zest for my work. I don't want to turn into one of those old-timers who hangs on in a job she doesn't like, just for the money. This is the truth. I know when I change jobs, I'll have to take a pay cut. I don't like that part of it, but I've considered this seriously for several years and have decided it's worth it. Oh, and I should mention that I'm in my early 50's. (But I don't look it :) and am extremely healthy. A bit of a health nut.) Problem is this. I've interviewed a few times during the last several years and was rejected every time. This compares with 20 years ago, when I got hired for every job I interviewed for, just about. Very different now! I got the sense that the interviewers were baffled and suspicious of my wanting to change after 20 years. And...they didn't mention my age, but I wonder if that was a factor, too. No, they can't legally ask your age, but they know the questions to ask, and I really don't mind them knowing. I wouldn't want them to be unhappily surprised. The feedback to the employment agency from one interviewer that he didn't understand WHY my company would have cut back on my duties or made them less challenging (he was hinting that I was the reason, I guess). So my question is this: Am I right in telling them the reason I'm leaving? (I don't mention the part about becoming an old hanger-on, or that I'm losing my zest. I just say the other part.) It doesn't seem that odd a reason to me, but is it? Am I stuck with my current company the rest of my life because no one wants someone who has been with a company that long? I know I'm over 50, but I've got at least another 10 years (I'm sort of middle management, in a field where turnover is typically 2 to 8 years, so I don't think they'd expect a lifetime employee out of anyone they interview). I'm dedicated, experienced, nice to others (that's how I lasted for 20 years somewhere!), I get along with people, and after this many years, I have a fairly extensive set of skills. But it really is a huge problem, the age thing, isn't it? Also...how can I give a job reference? I dare not tell ANYONE at my current company that I'm interviewing. Even supervisors who have left are still friends with people at the company. Any suggestions?
I am just guessing here, but I don't think you meant that your job keeps evolving. If it is, then this is a good thing because you have to face new challenges and responsibilities and possibly even more demands. I would think that you would be finding your job still challenging to you. Since the challenges may not be what excites you most about your chosen field, then I can see why that feeling would diminish. Did you mean to say that your job is devolving so that challenges, responsibilities and the excitement are being taken away? You may have to take a paycut, there is always the possibility of that happening. There is also the greater possibility that a company will pay more for your experience and skills than you think they will. Don't devalue yourself. Age should never play a factor, unfortunately I think it does. From some of the posts I have read, anyway, it does. There is a forum on these boards regarding age and the possible discrimination people may feel. This also goes both ways. The younger set also feel that they are being discriminated against because they don't have the skills or experience that the candidates they are running against have. Twenty years ago when you were starting out in your field, the competition wasn't quite as fierce. The background checks weren't quite as extensive. The interviews and the interviewers weren't as harried and the potiential to get through them without feeling as if you have said something wrong was greater because neither you nor the interviewer were faced with the possibility of offending the other. The interviewer who stated to the employment agency that he didn't understand about the cutbacks, etc obviously has never faced your situation. As for your reason for leaving when asked by the employer, there is nothing wrong with telling them that you are looking for more challenges to enhance the skills and experience you already possess. Telling them about the structural changes being the deciding factor for your leaving may lead them to believe that you are incabable of the flexibility that most jobs expect of their employees. With regard to your references, you may have to bite the bullet on that one and face the fact that your main source of work related references are from the company you have work at for the past 20 years. However, if you had and still have a good professional relationship with the people who left, go ahead and ask them to be references for you. Remember, they also had to ask someone from the company for a reference and so they may understand that you would like to keep this quite for the immediate future. "....there is nothing wrong with telling them that you are looking for more challenges to enhance the skills and experience you already possess. Telling them about the structural changes being the deciding factor for your leaving may lead them to believe that... " Kelly is spot on here. Do NOT say your job functions have been "downsized" or however you have been putting it. It may indeed lead recruiters to think there is something the matter with your skill level or your dedication. Simply say that after 20 years in the same position with the same company, you are eager to move on to a place/position in which you are challenged, etc. Personally, if put that way, I could totally understand why someone would be ready for a change after 20 years! I'd have been bored out of my mind staying in one place for that long! So, put this in a positive, not a negative light. Don't say, "My company has gone through some changes and has taken away some of my responsibilities....." but, "After 20 years, I've gone as far as I can in this position with this company, and I'm looking to take on new challenges and a higher level of responsibility...." Tell them you want to contribute long term to a new firm--make your maturity and longevity of tenure a big plus. If asked where you see yourself in 2 or 5 years, or whatever, explain that you are looking for a place you can stay in over the long haul, that you are not looking for a springboard to the next job after this one. I see that you have nothing but positives to offer, but YOU have to present them in that light! Oh, and you ahve to be as assertive as you possibly can without being aggressive about the pay issue. "I know I will likely have to take a pay cut, but at this point in my career, challenge and fulfillment are more important to me." Good luck (from another 50-something who just went thru a job search knowing I'd have to take a pay cut, and can understand what you're going thru)! You can also go the route of due to reorganization, there is no longer any room for advancement. Similar to what others have been saying but slightly different twist.
Tess 1 - Unfortunately, age is a factor. Nothing you can do about it. 2 - 20 years with one company is not a real selling point. I am not sure what your resume looks like but it should look like you have held several jobs over those 20 years (probably should only go back 10 years unless you need to highlight some previous experience). 3 - A few interviews over several years is hardly an indicator of anything other than the fact that your resume may not be as good as it should be. Post it on t he resume forum (without personal info) and let the people over there take a look at it. 4 - References... You need them. You have to contact some of those former supervisors and ask whether they will keep your job search confidential. Thanks for the suggestions to you and all the others. As for going back 20 years, I sort of have to, since I have only one employer, when I state beginning date or how long I've been there, well...that is 20 years. That's the problem. People are suspicious about why anyone would want to leave a place after 20 years. Maybe I have to move out of town. People will think that is a better reason than seeking more job satisfaction. It's all so silly. But you all have given me an idea of how I might want to phrase it better, or include more details. For example, it's not that I can't or don't want to adapt. The changes at the co. started happening about 10 years ago. I have actually done pretty well in those 10 years, getting more and more raises (it is for certain that my salary will not be matched in a new job...that is the way it is, when you stay somewhere 20 years...you get more and more raises. No way a beginning salary at another company will even come close to my current salary. I want to change jobs, despite that. Without having an attitude about it, either. I'm worth more to my current employer than I would be to a new company, where I would be a unknown, an unproven commodity.) I will re-work my resume and post it on the resume forum, as you suggest, and see what others think. I'll try to think of some supervisors who have left and who might keep a confidence. They are professionals, so they don't "need" references in the same way that some others do. Besides, in their community, they are likely to know about other licensed professionals, anyway. So getting references in my business is not really something the "supervisors" can relate to. But I'll give that some thought. Thanks again for all your comments. They were extremely helpful. I think I see now what first steps I should take to re-word the resume and re-word my in-person interview responses. Thanks! Indie, I am taking a few minutes here because it occurred to me a few moments ago that if you have been at your present company for 20 years, you may have the ability to retire from the company rather than quit your present job. Does your company offer a 401K and/or optional retirement plan that you have taken the opportunity to contribute towards? Have they matched or contributed a certain percentage? My point is that if you can retire from your present job and leave on those terms, then the explanation of why you are searching again after 20 years is the simplest of all. I think. Many many and many more people retire from places they have worked for a long time and then went right to work for another company because they simply didn't want to stop working. They just want to give others an opportunity to succeed as they have already done. This also answers the question of why you are willing to take a paycut. (This may be unspoken) But, you are getting your retirment benefits so earning theexact pay isn't of utmost importance to you. -----If you are wondering why this occured to me at this time, it is because I just interviewed a woman who retired from US Attorney's Office after 25 years but because she is still young (53 to be exact), she wants to keep working. We can only offer about 2/3 of her former pay, but she actually stated that her retirement benefits are 2/3 of her pay and if we pay her another 2/3, she is actually making out with a pay raise----- No, you DON'T have to go back 20 years. Set up your resume like this: XYZ Company Lead Supervisor Shift Supervisor Quality Supervisor End it at this point You are not stating for the record you have only been there 10 years, you are only showing them 10 years. If you get to the interview stage, and that is the only reason you send a resume, you can mention that you have been there 20 years if it helps your cause. Thanks. I see what you're saying. I'm a paralegal at a law firm. That is my one and only job title. I've been a paralegal at the same firm from 1987 through the present. I could separate it out by listing dates I worked in particular areas, such as labor and employment 1994 - 1999, and the like. But what I have found when interviewing (the very few times I have in the last 20 years), is that they ask how long you have been with the current firm, and they also require that you complete an application. I think once they allowed me to say "see resume" on the application, but the others insisted the app be filled out. Also, they want to know when I graduated from the paralegal school, and they have always asked how long I've been a paralegal or worked under that specific job title. I could change my resume, though, and list just the different areas I've worked in at the firm, and start it somewhere in the mid 90's, and see how it goes. But I had better be ready to discuss, still, why I want to leave after 20 years, since they probably will ask when I started work there. But that is a good suggestion that I'll try. Thing is...I've worked really hard these last 20 years and built up my 401K, starting from nothing, so that I feel secure enough financially to take a job at a reduced salary, but which I find more challenging and interesting, so I think...hey, go for it. Life's too short, and I spend so much time at work, that it's important to feel happy with my work. But I'm not miserable where I am, so maybe I'm stuck here until retirement. There are worse things, I suppose. Or...I could move (I was going to move at retirement, anyway), and that would give me the reason to find employment closer to where I live. I haven't been able to give this much thought in the last few days, though, since I've found a stray dog and gotten extremely busy at work, both at the same time. I hope to be able to revise my resume this weekend. Thanks again to all of you. Your opinions have been invaluable to me. Really. I see now how some of what I've said in prior interviews probably didn't come across as intended. You are worrying about things that happen once you get there. The resume is the vehicle that gets you there. You can tell them anything you want and fill out the application... but if you don't get asked to come in, what's the difference??? Design the resume to GET YOU THE INTERVIEW. Then worry about explaining 20 years of service (which is easier done in person). | |
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