Is Your Career Age Holding You Back

Is Your Career Age Holding You BackIs Your Career Age Holding You Back3Norwegian scientists have come up with a low-tech way to allow a person to figure out their fitness age, and the result are often surprising.If we could figure out our career age, maybe we could discover surprising revelations about ourselves and things we need to tweak in our job searches that might help us reach a whole new level of career fitnessA career age assessment might mean thinking about how you approach your career choices, how long youve remained stuck unhappily in the same job with the same platzdeckchen of out-dated career skills, and drawing up a plan for change.Here are five suggestions for changing your career ageTake a step at a time.Just as a good personal trainer does an initial fitness assessment and comes up with a blueprint to help you reach your goals little by little, think of yourself as your own personal career trainer and work out a plan for your career success. You can make it general, but the more specific you are, the more direction you will give yourself, and the greater your chances for success.Adjust your tude.Adjust your attitude, that is. And lets be frank Sometimes if youve been at your career for a while and have achieved a certain amount of success, you may have settled into a little bit of complacency. This is not just an issue for older workers. Its more about being forward-thinking. Having a nimble mind-set is a good thing no matter what your age, but its especially smartfor the 50 or older crowd to take a proactive stance.Give your resume a workout.Sometimes less is more- both when it comes to physical fitness and when it comes to your career fitness. If you fall into the older worker category, be especially disciplined and go through a process of elimination and self-editing when you update your resume and write cover letters.Be mindful.The mind-body connection is another big trend in the fitness industry. Why not bring that thinking to your career as well? It makes sense that being mindful about your career has a huge effect on your health. Being mindful of what makes you happy- physically, emotionally, and otherwise- is as valid a concept in your career as in any other area of your life.Cross the finish line.Envisioning your career as a marathon rather than a sprint may help you put any little stumbles along the way into context. Tripping doesnt always mean falling, andknowing where your finish line is can help you keep going until you reach your goalReaders, tell us what you think your career age is and how you keep your career fit and nimblephotocredit thinkstockphotos.com