Finding a New Path in Midlife Takes Some Exploring
After eight years as a stay-at-home mom, Sandy Lewis was bitten by the work bug. Her oldest daughter was off to college, and her youngest was starting high school. Now it was time for Lewis to pursue her career dreams.
But what were they?
“Some people have a passion for their work, but I have never heard that bell,” she said.
Years ago, Lewis, now 51, had been employed in the residential loan business. Though she says she fell into the field by chance, she excelled. Working on commission, Lewis took in between $65,000 and $85,000 annually in the late 1980s. In 1991, she left the job to take care of daughters Skye and Jamey at home in Laguna Niguel. She also did school volunteer work, including fund-raising and field-trip supervision.
Working with children proved very fulfilling, so Lewis considered becoming a teacher. But education’s administrative elements and financial limitations put her off. Then friends suggested that health-conscious Lewis pursue a career as a dietitian. Although intrigued, the former English major worried: Would the field’s course requirements--especially in science--overwhelm her? Maybe she should just return to the loan business.
No bells of passion were tolling for Lewis. So she sought the advice of career counselor David Helfand. She knew she wanted to help people in a new vocation and hoped to earn enough to ease her husband Tracy’s financial burdens.
“I’d like to be able to say, ‘Hey honey, you, too, can have a life’--so he can put his own wish list into play,” she said.
Helfand searched for clues that would reveal Lewis’ strongest values, skills and interests. He studied Lewis’ resume and reviewed an introductory letter she composed. He listened as Lewis narrated her past. Soon, three overriding “themes” emerged. Lewis was an extrovert who loved interacting with both adults and children. She had an entrepreneurial flair. And she enjoyed giving helpful advice--particularly about nutrition and exercise.
Helfand’s recommendation? Explore two broad fields: counseling and alternative health product sales, but do so slowly. Here are the steps he presented.
1. Hit the books. Lewis needs to learn about vocations she’s not previously considered. General subject books will give her introductory information about each career path. Helfand suggested Lewis obtain three Opportunities Series guidebooks published by VGM Career Horizons: “Holistic Health Care Careers” by Gillian Tierney (1999), “Fitness Careers” by Mary Miller (1997) and “Nutrition Careers” by Carol Coles Caldwell (1991).
But she shouldn’t stop there. Lewis targeted four potential careers within these industries--coaching, career counseling, school guidance counseling and dietary supplement sales. To learn about them, she should locate relevant trade publications, professional journals, books and first-person accounts about the professions.
2. Make new friends. Lewis can play “Six Degrees of Separation” by asking her friends if they have acquaintances in her targeted fields. More than likely, some will. Lewis can contact these individuals and ask about their experiences. Helfand suggested that, for a more formal approach, Lewis consider sending introductory letters to these industry insiders.
3. Don’t go back to the future. Still having misgivings about the road ahead, Lewis asked Helfand if she shouldn’t consider returning to her past line of work. “How do I know if I’m walking away from something I did well, something I should still be doing?” she asked. “Well, one giveaway is, the only time you’ve mentioned it was on your resume,” said Helfand. “You didn’t speak about it during our conversation.”
Lewis’ urge to return to the familiar is common among older career changers, according to Helfand.
“During a midlife transition, we ask ourselves whether we’re happy where we are, and where we might like to be,” he said. “Some people feel ashamed of this. They wonder how a person in their 30s, 40s or 50s could not know what to do.
“The process is really a combination of building self-awareness combined with career awareness,” he said. “And one of its goals is to make the unfamiliar more familiar.”
4. Be inner-directed. In a few weeks, Lewis plans to take the Myers-Briggs Analogy Test and a battery of other tests to help her better pinpoint her aptitudes (potential skills) and abilities (current skills). Lewis asked Helfand if these tests can actually help her select a career.
While acknowledging that the tests were another piece of Lewis’ career puzzle, Helfand cautioned Lewis not to put too much stock in their outcomes. He said that many career-hunters fall into the trap of being too “outer-dependent” during their search for a new vocation. They want the tests to “assign” them new careers. But no test can do that, Helfand said. Instead, career searchers should simply use the tests to gain insight into their character, desires and skills.
5. Look long and hard before you leap. Lewis is in an enviable position. Because she and her husband have been thrifty savers, she’s able to take her time researching her four target careers. Should she need to return to school for additional training or expend entrepreneurial business start-up costs, she’ll have the funds available to do so.
Helfand told Lewis to take at least six months to check out the potential occupations she’s chosen.
“Six months!” Lewis gasped.
“Six months,” Helfand said. “That may sound like a lot, but people underestimate the work involved in finding a new career. Many clients spend more time planning their summer vacations than they do their life’s work.”
6. Choose the best match. Each of the jobs that Lewis is investigating offers something she loves.
Coaching would allow Lewis to utilize her entrepreneurial and sales skills. She’d be able to encourage people, support their efforts to change and help them unlock potential. She might be able to combine her coaching efforts with fitness and outdoors endeavors, as Jim Abbey of Littleton, Colo., and Michael Davis of Portland, Maine, have done.
Abbey conducts group consultations in pastoral settings, while Davis, a registered outdoor guide, takes his coaching clients hiking and kayaking to discuss life and career challenges.
Some coaches, such as New York City coach Lorraine White, devote coaching efforts to children. White’s nonprofit organization, Future Possibilities Inc., offers free coaching to inner-city youths ages 6-12.
“The best part about coaching is you get to watch people evolve,” said Michael Stratford, a Philadelphia-based coach. White suggested that aspiring coaches get their own lives in order before offering help to others. And, she adds, they should be compassionate listeners, who can be direct and strong when needed.
“That’s what people are looking for, someone who’ll tell them what even their family won’t,” she said.
Career counseling would offer Lewis the chance to help guide clients in their vocational aspirations. Should Lewis decide to become credentialed like Helfand, she’d need to obtain a master’s degree in counseling, then spend two years doing supervised counseling and pass the National Career Counselor Exam.
In California, career counselors charge between $60 and $100 an hour. They must be well-versed in employment trends, industry requirements and career salary ranges.
Becoming a school guidance counselor would enable Lewis to work closely with children. Guidance counselors help students achieve personal, academic and vocational success. In addition to administering standardized tests and offering job and college advice to students, they come to students’ aid during times of crisis, help those who are failing academically, and lead group sessions about such issues as relationships, abuse, bereavement and divorce.
“Every day is different,” said Jan Gallagher, president of the American School Counselor Assn. in Alexandria, Va. “It’s not a job for someone who likes structure. And it’s not for someone who’ll get shocked easily, because you’ll hear things that’ll blow you away.”
Dealing with students’ troubles can be taxing.
“There will be times you’ll just want to sit down and cry along with them,” Gallagher said. “But you can’t, because if you break down, you won’t be of use to anyone.”
Lastly, Lewis can flex her sales muscles as a nutrition supplement salesperson. The fast-growing field is expected to reach $15 billion in overall revenue by 2003, according to Hartman & New Hope’s Natural Product Census, due to baby boomers’ quest for natural alternatives to prescription drugs, as well as the public’s heightened interest in preventive health measures.
Sales reps in the field can make between $40,000 and $200,000 annually, said Jay Levy, national sales manager at Wakunaga of America Co., a Mission Viejo-based distributor of Kyolic Aged Garlic extract. Sales experience and enthusiasm for the products are the job’s only requirements, he adds.
7. Beginning the homework. As Lewis embarks on her search for a new career, she said she’s suddenly looking forward to reinventing herself and reaping the rewards that come with a fulfilling life career.
“This new stuff is really me,” she said. “And I’m going to use this time well to learn about each career, then put my plan together. You know, I’m excited. I’m all chills.”
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Ready for a Change
* Name: Sandy Lewis
* Current occupation: Stay-at-home mom
* Desired occupation: Uncertain
* Quote: “I’m ready for the next career. However, the ‘next career’ is a puzzle to me.”
* Counselor’s recommendation: Investigate four “target jobs” in counseling and sales.
*
Meet the Coach
David Helfand is author of “Career Change: Everything You Need to Know to Meet New Challenges and Take Control of Your Career” (VGM, 1999) and has been a career counselor for 24 years. He is a professor in Northeastern Illinois University’s counseling department.