What do I need to know as a mature worker?

The brave new world of work is constantly changing and these days there’s no reason why you, as a mature worker, shouldn’t be out there in the job marketplace selling your skills. After all, you’re likely to have plenty of expertise, experience and perhaps even a few tricks up your sleeve you can bring to any role, and so making you highly valuable to employers.

So how do you go about it? Here are some key pointers and guidance:

Been out of work a while? Get up to speed with the jobs marketplace
When you’re out of work – especially after a long time in employment, it’s easy to lose touch with how the job searching process works. But don’t be put off, there’s plenty of help out there. Your local Jobcentre Plus is a useful place to start investigating into your local jobs market, and a good source for advice on vacancies and training opportunities to meet your needs. It’s worth noting, that as a mature worker your CV will almost certainly need to be updated and revised for the next role you choose to embark on. Employers will be keeping an eye out for relevant and up to date information, so try to avoid a long chronological CV of all career experience over numerous pages. Be specific, and keep your CV short but punchy.

Being made redundant? Start looking now
It’s always a good idea to plan ahead of circumstances. If you’re facing the possibility of being made redundant, or if you’ve only just been made redundant, there’s no reason why you can’t start looking for a new opportunity and take control of your situation at the earliest opportunity. You’ll be more positive and confident knowing that you’ve got a few interviews to go to.

Coming to terms with redundancy at any stage of your career can be daunting, but avoid making rash quick decisions as a result. Remember to stay calm, upbeat and focused whilst taking stock of your position and planning the next move. It pays also to take counsel from those around you, including friends and family and professional advisers.

Although it is a time of great change, which can be unnerving at times, bear in mind change can also be a good thing and for the better. Look forward to the next step in your career path and you will find yourself feeling excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.

Planning your career
Even as a mature worker, you might want to think about what you want to do instead of rushing back into a job straight away. You may want to try something completely different, or go for an improvement on your previous position. There’s a whole host of workers; from corporate employees to public sector, who’ve branched into charity work, mentoring or teaching to share their knowledge and experience. Whatever your circumstances, it helps to have a goal and break it down into small steps by creating a short plan of action. This way you’ll be able to get from where you are, to where you want to be, one step at a time, rather than trying to leap the whole distance.

Training or retraining could be the way forward
There’s nothing like retraining to get you on the path to a new career – and training has absolutely no barriers to age. Whether you want to be a ski instructor or a pastry chef, an accountant or a mechanic – there are training options all around you. This can sometimes be even more rewarding in later life because you've usually chosen to do it rather than had to do it.

And, as so often with training, the courses you go on will offer some guidance as to where the job opportunities are. The biggest challenge may simply be trying to decide which course you should do - and that’s why you need to plan carefully.

Fancy a complete change? Consider volunteering
If you’ve had enough of conventional, salaried working but still think you have something to offer, then how about getting involved in charity work or volunteering? There’s a growing need for people who want to donate some of their time to a worthy cause. Not only that but you can have some fun, meet people and gain a sense of fulfilment too. Any local authority, or local charity will be able to tell you what community projects, caring and retail charity work they have on the books. You could think about coaching young people and pass on your knowledge and guidance. And don’t forget, there are plenty of volunteering opportunities abroad, so you can go for a total life change if you want to.

Age Discrimination - a thing of the past
Finally, the good news is that whatever new career you want to embark upon, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against you on the grounds of age in all areas of employment, including recruitment, promotion, training, dismissal and retirement.

That means that any pay or opportunities that apply to your new career, cannot be related to your age in any way. However, if for any reasons you feel you have been discriminated against, either as you go for a new career, or perhaps in your current circumstances there are organisations such as ACAS that can support, advise and guide you.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to a career change is giving your CV the punch it needs to make an impact in a new industry. You may think that little of what you have done before will count, but you'd be wrong. We all pick up and develop a wide range of skills that can be applied in many different roles.