For seasoned professionals, the fear of work opportunities drying up in their 50s and beyond is common. While global development is not immune to issues that impact hiring decisions in other sectors, there are ways to overcome common challenges that may face late-career professionals, including laying the groundwork early for a potential transition later.
“I think career transition is a lot like an Escher painting. It's not like you convert from a fish into a bird … It doesn't happen overnight. It's something that happens gradually,” Jeannette Tramhel, a veteran development consultant, said during a recent Devex digital event where she shared lessons learned from her own journey, which led to landing a “dream job” after what she thought was her retirement from the sector.
Tramhel was joined by Caroline Korda Poole, a certified career coach and the founder of Centered Career, to offer advice on navigating development’s employment landscape as a late-career professional. Here are a few tips on things you can do now to help find the right role later.