A quandary to ponder.....

Anonymous

April 7,2022 at 4:43PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

A quandary to ponder.....

I've been with my current employer for 10+ years and have worked remotely the entire time. Had planned to retire from here, but things have gone down hill rapidly over the last 3-5 years. Resource reductions have resulted in folks now responsible for the responsibilities of 3 FTEs, toxic work environment, people bailing ship left and right, etc. Although the company publicly touts work/life balance, that is not the reality. Most are working 14 hour days just to keep our heads above water.

My salary is in the very low 6 figures, which makes me take pause, but am considering resignation as this is not something I wish to tolerate any longer and the stress is not healthy.

My quandary......I'm 55 and finding this a bit of an awkward age to pivot. Although I would love to retire, having no income at this point makes me uncomfortable. I enjoy working, but have found that in this stage of my life, I'm struggling with what appears to be an emerging corporate environment lacking support of work/life balance and the constant demand to do more with less. In addition, reading recent discussions regarding the interview process just makes me cringe.

I've been investigating remote/freelance type opportunities that would support work/life balance and not necessarily tied to specific hours of the day. Finding this to be a bit more difficult than expected. :)

Anyone else find themselves in this situation? Would love to hear your experience, thought process, resolution, etc. Any opportunity suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your time and input.

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

27 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

27 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousApril 7,2022 at 5:40PM UTC
I find these types of opportunities as a contractor through my network I've built over the years. It seems most companies are open to project work by contractors. The work is lucrative, I work on my own schedule, decide how many projects to take on and when. There is a freedom to working on your own terms.
AnonymousApril 8,2022 at 2:25PM UTC
Thank you for your input. What type of contract work do you do?
Sabrina CortesApril 7,2022 at 6:59PM UTC
I started out freelancing (and still do to some extent) and love it!
Like someone else already said, many of the jobs are contracts but you can work with as many or as few companies as you want to. At one point, I was working for 4 different companies and one provided me with steady work, while the others were speratic.
Indeed and LinkedIn are great starting points to finding remote work.
Btw, there's even a group here called Creating the Freelance Career that you might consider joining. :))
I'm a professional Resume Writer so, if you'd like help, just let me know, ok?
Sending good wishes to you!
AnonymousApril 8,2022 at 2:33PM UTC
Thank you for your feedback and suggesting the other groups on FGB. I was not aware of the separate groups.
Also, thank you for your offer to assist with my resume as this is an area in which I’m lacking. I struggle with selling myself. I may take you up on that, should I just connect with you here?
Sabrina CortesApril 8,2022 at 2:55PM UTC
You're quite welcome!
And of course, go ahead and send me a connection request. :)
Rynn StrangeApril 8,2022 at 12:20PM UTC
Don't be afraid to pivot. I'm 67 and changed jobs in January after working at a temp position for four months and doing WFH for eight months.
Rosa GoesApril 9,2022 at 3:43PM UTC
Bravo Rynn!
HelenApril 9,2022 at 12:52PM UTC
It is not too late to change.
I am 56 and have just changed jobs. I had worked for the same company for 15 years and the job I loved had changed to one which made me stressed and unhappy. Like you, I was well paid and that made it difficult to just leave.
I took a forensic approach to my current role and looked at the aspects of it which I could leverage into a new role elsewhere.
You will also find that applying for jobs and interviews has changed substantially since your last period of job hunting many years ago! It took me a few false starts and a few interviews to get into the application groove. I rewrote my cv/resume several times and learned that a covering letter which addresses the person spec is now more important than my actual cv/resume.
I was fortunate to be interviewed by a big foundation where the lead interviewer rang me up after the interview. He explained that he knew I would probably be able to do the job, but he had been unable to tick the boxes in my interview: I needed to learn how to be interviewed again. So he took me through the interview questions, critiquing on how to go about answering them. I will be eternally grateful for his help. I didn’t get that job, but his advice was invaluable and now I work for a great organisation doing the professional services work which I love.
One more thing I did: I set myself a date target to find another job. I found that focussing on that really created the impetus to spend time each weekend applying for jobs. It is time consuming and to do it well needs the time and effort.
I am happy to send you some notes on the techniques for answering interview questions and how to tackle the covering letter if that would be useful.
In short, do it, but take your time and accept that it won’t be quick. Get some good advice on your cv/resume and application techniques. And good luck!
AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 1:02PM UTC
I am curious as to how you got connected with the foundation. Did you just apply or did you have a recruiter or another entity connect you?
Thank you.
HelenApril 9,2022 at 9:03PM UTC
Hi, I applied direct. I used LinkedIn to identify the organisations I would like to work for, then signed up for alerts for relevant vacancies on the Foundation’s own website.
AnonymousApril 10,2022 at 11:29PM UTC
Thanks, Helen!
AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 1:20PM UTC
I’m not the OP, but I’m interested in the interview and cover letter notes you mentioned. Could you send them to thinksnownow@yahoo.com
HelenApril 9,2022 at 9:00PM UTC
Will do!
AnonymousApril 11,2022 at 1:22AM UTC
Thank you so much for your input and advise. I sent you a direct message.
Sheila PhieldsApril 9,2022 at 1:09PM UTC
Your situation is nearly a mirror image of mine 6 months ago. I’m 52 and took the leap to the consulting world. I doubled my salary and work no more than 40 hours per week remotely.
AnonymousApril 11,2022 at 1:23AM UTC
Thank you. That is encouraging to hear. Congratulations on your successful pivot.
AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 1:19PM UTC
Could working part-time at your current employer be an option as a way to transition into retirement so you can still have some income but it's not completely quitting? If you do this, you should make sure that there are clear boundaries on the days/hours that you are working.
AnonymousApril 11,2022 at 1:24AM UTC
Potentially, but the toxic environment is not where I wish to spend my energy. But, thank you for your suggestion.
AnonymousApril 18,2022 at 10:22AM UTC
Hi again, could working part-time at your old employer until you find a new role be an option?
Resign from your current role and not put it on your resume.
AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 2:24PM UTC
I find myself in this situation right now, so I am working toward leaving corporate America behind. I'm also looking at the possibility of doing freelance work in addition to selling my art because I just can't stand the politics any longer. I would suggest that you set yourself up to have some sort of savings, pay down any debts, and find multiple streams of income BEFORE you quit.
AnonymousApril 11,2022 at 1:33AM UTC
Thank you for your feedback and very wise financial suggestions. Fortunately, I’m in decent financial shape and have no debt. I’m a saver and have a healthy retirement account in addition to liquid savings. But, with everything going on in the world (inflation, etc) just uncomfortable not having some income coming at this point. :)
AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 3:16PM UTC
its never too late
AnonymousApril 10,2022 at 11:56PM UTC
I was in a very similar situation to yours.
I had been with my most recent company for 10 years, am 60 years old, and had hoped to retire from the company. However, I was not yet in a position to retire financially, and still wanted to contribute professionally.
Over the 10 years my workload had more than tripled, and the environment had become increasingly more toxic, accelerating during COVID. More than 50% of our team resigned over a four month period. I spent the last two years conducting a job search, and was the "runner up" for several jobs. Finally, the stress began affecting my health. I resigned in January.
I am in the process of building a service-based business, using the skills I have gained during my career. I am excited about this new venture. However, I will echo what several other posters have written: this option comes with its own stressors, including many hours, a lot of unpaid work, uncertainty, and a dramatically reduced income (hopefully this is temporary). I have had to adjust my expectations re: my lifestyle in retirement. For me, though, it is well worth what I have gained: peace of mind, better control over my schedule and workload, and working only with those I respect and who treat me with respect.
Best of luck to you, whichever path you choose!
AnonymousApril 11,2022 at 1:40AM UTC
Maryann – Thank you for your input. Your suggestions and guidance are very insightful, appreciated and on point. “Know what you’re looking for” is my number 1 challenge right now. I think that’s why I’m struggling with this situation. I’ve been a business owner before, and I know that is not a road I wish to travel again. Sounds like I need to do some more soul searching!
Paula BrantnerApril 18,2022 at 3:48PM UTC
Do you have skills that would lend themselves to consulting? I've found that your 50s is a really good time to do that, where you have several decades worth of experience, and you can still dictate the terms and conditions of your engagement. Maybe you can even consult back to your current employer, with a smaller scope of work that you can do part-time and give yourself the balance you need. I did that until building enough of a client base that allowed me to move on, which resulted in a good transition for everyone.
AnonymousApril 18,2022 at 6:38PM UTC
Hi Paula - Thank you for the suggestion. I will take that into consideration. I appreciate your feedback.
Paula BrantnerApril 19,2022 at 9:00PM UTC
Happy to discuss further with you or anyone who would like to talk about how this would work. I'm working on a book chapter about this topic so will be focused on it in the days ahead.