Changing Careers in My 40s

The Story So Far

So here I am, in my 40s, wanting to change careers. Lots of people do it, even people older than me! This should be fine!

Except-----The last time I had to put in an application for a job, it was literally on paper, that I handed to a person. Nowadays, late 2025, it is a completely different world, and I am an innocent, baby lamb being kicked out of the nest. Ok, ok, ok, it feels like a cuckoo being kicked out of the nest, complete with rampant imposter syndrome. Here is the list of things that I RAPIDLY find out I need to suddenly master, immediately:

The Panic List:

•    LinkedIn

  • I need to be ACTIVE (what does that mean?!?! Everyone has a different opinion about that)

  • I need to have the Perfect Header

  •   I need connections!

•   Resume (oh my god how old is this thing?!?!?)

  •   It needs to be clear

  • It needs to pass ATS (WHAT IS ATS?!?!?!)

  • It needs to be written by AI

    • No, wait, NEVER use AI, the recruiters can tell

  • It needs to have a cover letter

    • NO!

  • It needs to be 1-2 pages

    • No, it needs to be 3-5 pages

  • It needs to be provable, with actual, numbers-driven data!

  • It needs to be edited to match each job you apply for

•   Applications

  • There are 50 different sites that all have different jobs, and when you click on the job, there are now 10 other ways you can submit your application

  • They all have different rules for what is required for the application

  • They are going to send you a form email in reply, and then MAYBE you’ll get an actual rejection email

•   Interviews

  • TBD. I will report back later!

This is all very overwhelming, and it feels very immediate and important and it has to be done PERFECTLY or I am never going to get hired. And even then, it’s going to be MONTHS of this, without any real feedback or clue if I am doing it right. Did I get rejected because I am too old? Too new to the profession? Did my resume not pass the screening? Did I not throw in enough technical lingo?

The Lightbulb Moment

And as I am spiraling, it hits me: technical lingo!!! I am an interpreter; I know how to interpret technical lingo! The whole Panic List is just another language, maybe even just a dialect, and I have a lot of experience interpreting language and technical vocabulary that I am not familiar with. I did what I did in my job: I broke it down into informational chunks. Because that’s how you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.

How I am Eating This Elephant

1.       LinkedIn: Look at other profiles who are doing the job that I want, and see what they are posting, and what their headlines say.

*Throw out random connection invites---most people need them too, so they are likely to accept.

*Post, even if no one sees it.

*Play those dumb games? I don’t know if that helps but its fun.

2.       My Resume: There are many helpful sites that will show you what you need to do to rewrite your resume. Use them, but you don’t have to pay.

*LinkedIn has a ton of resources and people will post helpful(?) posts about their idea of what the perfect resume looks like.

*AI. Yes, I was super reluctant at first, but it can re-write it and then you can change it to be in your voice.

*Run it through ATS checks, to see what your score is. Currently mine is a 44, which means it will get through 44/100 screenings. I feel like that’s pretty good.

3.       Applications: Look at what they are looking for, and if you don’t have those skills, try to find a way to get them. There are a lot of free classes, or inexpensive classes that you can take online. And then you can add the information on your resume that you are taking that class. When you are done, you can link it to your LinkedIn page so recruiters can see that you are actively working on professional development.

This is a journey, and we are supposed to focus on the journey, not the destination, right? So that is what I am doing---enjoying the journey. Or at least learning how to survive it. I don’t know if I am ticking all the boxes, and I haven’t had an interview yet, but it’s early days. I have my roadmap, and I know my next steps (keep applying for jobs, my check list of professional development courses I am working on, networking, being active on LinkedIn, and now I am posting more here, too! It was overwhelming at first, but when I took a step back and looked at the big picture, it’s like any document or presentation or interpreting assignment---you have to break it down into manageable parts, and take it one bite at a time.