When I started Career Counseling Connecticut, I thought that the bulk of our clients would be recent college graduates who were looking to find career traction. I was not surprised by the number of twentysomethings who had not found career-building jobs. I also was not surprised by the young thirtysomethings who were contemplating changing careers. But I was surprised by the number of clients in their forties and fifties. The work world had dramatically shifted in the last ten years. All ages were affected.
My recent book: The Parents’ Guide to Career Planning for Your Twentysomething has brought this point home. I have almost a dozen calls from parents who while calling for their children’s career coaching needs noted: “I could use your help also.”
I thought of my old neighborhood in Guilford, Connecticut. One neighbor in his early fifties had been let go by his company where he had been for nearly two decades. Another neighbor, about to turn 50, had cycled through a series of sales jobs and unemployment and another neighbor in his early forties was working the overnight shift for the electric company, not just for a brief time but on his 7th year with no end in sight.
The calls to Career Counseling Connecticut reflect the craziness of our current world: “Our whole family needs help!” one mom said, half-kiddingly, as she noted her son graduated UCONN last year but has no job prospects, her husband hated his job and she was trying to get back full time in the work force.
Happy to help.