The Age Advantage: Making the Most of Your Mid-Life Career Transition

Walker's book goes a long way toward meeting the increasing need for books about mid-career, midlife transitions. I would definitely recommend this book to my career coaching clients because it has insights available nowhere else. Walker writes in straightforward "advice" style with no attempt to create the jazzy style common among self-help books. It's easy to read, although I winced at the clichés ("It's not over till it's over"). You're definitely out of the "dream-it-and-do-it" mode here. The best part of the book comes at the beginning, when Walker describes what it's like to go through a midlife career crisis. Midlife career change is defined as a change "when age is a factor." Walker claims that attitude determines whether age is an advantage or disadvantage, although she later acknowledges that discrimination is a reality that "should not be tolerated." And I never figured out how attitude can create an "age advantage." Walker differentiates beginning, middle and endings people, i.e., the stage of a transition where people feel most comfortable. Her distinction resembles Martha Beck's four stages (Finding Your Own North Star) and my own distinction between jumpers and clingers (see articles on movinglady.com). Walker's discussion of resumes is superb, especially the emphasis on "accomplishment statements." Although she suggests leaving off the "objective," I encourage clients to run their resumes past someone who is active in their own field. Some firms and fields actually like objectives. I also like Walker's reality checks. Finding a new job, especially if you are changing fields, can take a long time, and you may need to mourn your lost career. For setting up your own business or consulting firm, Walker's guidance is accurate and perceptive. Her advice about learning a firm's culture seems basic -- until you realize that someone who's been in a job for twenty-plus years is like a fish who stopped seeing the water. That said, I believe Walker underestimates the effect of identity on midlife career transition. She resists the term "overqualified" employee yet urges the midlife applicant to be careful not to intimidate the employer during a hiring interview. My view is different. Being overqualified does create stress among employees and their coworkers and, if you have to worry about intimidating others during the interview, you'll be tippy-toeing around for the remainder of your career. I question the value of a detailed assessment program. I find that people in their forties and fifties tend to be self-aware and that abstract values and interests rarely help them align with real careers. Most people have a secret (or not so secret) dream or idea of what they want to do. When they don't, they're usually blocking themselves and standard exercises won't help. The self-knowledge exercises here are commonplace, even banal: I hope the author saves more dynamic tasks for her "live" clients. Finally, I find that many people

When my job was eliminated during a budget-chopping free-for-all at the corporation where I was employed, I decided, after the initial shock wore off, to take time to really think about what I wanted my future to look like. Since I'm an avid reader, I decided to read as many books as I could on the subject of midlife career changing. Jean Erikson Walker's book was one of many sitting on the reference shelf at the unemployment office. Out of the 15+ I have read to date, it's absolutely the best.Ms. Walker gives concrete, useable suggestions on how to stop feeling like your life is over, and start realizing that being downsized could be the best thing that ever happended to you. Her section on how to write a resume is excellent; some of her ideas will surprise you.I'm now on my second reading of The Age Advantage, which will not be my last.

When my boss informed me a few months ago that the recession was forcing the company to let go of most of the staff -- myself included -- I was genuinely worried. Facing my first job hunt as a "40 something" was a daunting prospect. Walker's book did more than offer me reassurance. It got me to consider several key options I had not realized were there for me. Her ideas are refreshingly practical and her extremely well-organized style makes this a good read from start to finish. She sensibly discusses a wide range of options, including designing midlife resumes, starting your own business, and more. Her key point is that age and experience are a genuine advantage, and those of us with both have to make the most of them. The book includes some interesting self-evaluation exercises, some of which were real eye-openers for me. And Walker is not just an academic theoretician -- she bases her suggestions on the hundreds of people she has counseled through career transitions. While I cannot say I have turned this job loss into a triumph just yet, it is early -- and this book has definitely helped me to approach the process with a more creative attitude. If you are facing a career change or just want a clearer sense of what your midlife options are, I would highly recommend The Age Advantage.