Do Mature Job-seekers Need Career Planning?

N.C. writes:

I read with considerable interest your article on Developing a Strategic Vision for Your Career Plan. After reading it 3 or 4 times, I have some points for clarification and will be obliged if you can please clarify them for me.

Are career plans related to the age of the individual? For e.g., I am close to 50, and our organization has a policy of retirement at age 58. I am presently in the middle level of management. I have a master’s degree besides professional banking certification. What could be my vision for my career plan for next 5 years, and is there any possibility of long-term career planning at this juncture?
Given the increasing trend of employers to go for younger persons, what could be the opportunities within and outside the organization for a person who is close to 50 now?

The Career Doctor responds:

First, thanks for taking the time to read one of my articles. I think career planning is vital — at any age — because without a plan, job-seekers are like a boat without a rudder. Career-planning is all about taking a step back from the daily grind of your job and developing a vision of where you see your career progressing over the next 5 to 10 years.

Planning doesn’t guarantee you will achieve all you set out to accomplish — and you may even change your plans one or more times over that time period — but what planning does guarantee is that you will have a better foundation for understanding what direction you want to move toward. I like to think of career planning as building bridges to your future.

And I think for mid-level managers and executives who are reaching or past 50, career planning is an even more vital exercise. You still have plenty of work years left — if you so choose — but it’s at this time in our lives where we want to have more control over what is most likely the final phases of our careers.

Career experts don’t know what to expect over the next 10 to 20 years. Yes, our society is most certainly youth-oriented, but don’t forget that we have this amazingly large cohort — the baby boomers — who have reshaped everything over their lives…and most experts expect they will reshape how we view and value older workers, as well as redefine the meaning of retirement.

So, take a break from your work. Over a long weekend or a few vacation or personal days, step back and spend some time envisioning where you want your career to go next. Then put that vision on paper, adding action steps to lead you to that new vision. Begin to use, develop, and strengthen your network to help you achieve that vision.

Here are some other great career and job-search tools for job-seekers 50 and older.