The OLD HORSE


 


An article titled "Sorry ! You are too old to be hired" has been doing the rounds of Linkedin for past couple of days and incidentally it came up in conversation with some friends / senior colleagues also. It also refreshed memories of a discussion in our MBA batch whatsapp group from couple of years ago where the entire lot is around 40 yrs age group and the conversation centred around how many more years of survival in corporate world lay ahead of us - conclusion being, not many. 


There are several diverse perspectives and facets of this discussion. Over the last few decades, the average age of the organization has been steadily decreasing ... but that was more from the fact that a far greater number of younger people were being employed with modernization of processes and automation tools / computers coming in etc. The senior roles were still being help by the more 'experienced' people giving direction to the organization. The younger lot was growing and rising but not really breaching the top. 


Now, those youngsters have reached the top and the organizations are also looking at inducting relatively younger blood at the top management and senior management levels - creating a situation where the 'senior citizens' of the corporate world are finding themselves 'not meeting requirements' or being 'over qualified for the job' 


Its a hugely debatable topic of experience versus risk taking ability versus modern businesses and work ethics versus blah blah blah ... with each one defending their point of view ... and for that matter, they are all right in their own space and perspective. 


So whats in it for You !?! 


VUCA - Volatility, Uncertainty , Complexity, Ambiguity 


You career path is now eclipsed by VUCA unless you have been upgrading yourself and keeping pace with the changes around you. 


And yes, the last 2.5 years of operating under COVID has also brought in its fair share of changes and challenges - are you ready to deal with them ? Are you already finding them challenging ? Do you find yourself at the receiving end of the changes or are you part of the core team / leadership that is defining the changes and the new way of working ? 


If you are 40+, what are you planning to do in coming years to remain relevant and employable ... OR ... will you work on Plan B - start working on getting ready to go on your own as and when corporate world decides to surprise you. It could be your own business or consulting in your subject area or follow some dreams that have been on back burner for quite some time with the career getting priority. 


Have you started re-evaluating your finances and responsibilities considering you may not have a steady salary beyond a certain age ... and that age now being sooner than expected. 


Would love to hear different perspectives on this - in comments below or even in direct private message


In an ever changing world, the pace of change is only getting faster 


#business #leadership #experience




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