Here’s the conundrum: Early in your career, you needed more experience.
Now you’ve got it... and suddenly, you’re wondering whether you’ve got too much. (UGH.)
You’re ready to contribute. But instead of talking about what you can do, you’re debating which years to leave off your resume.
When did the experience you worked so hard to build become something you felt you had to hide?
My special guest today is Maureen Wiley Clough, and she’s simplifying how to get hired when you’re over 40.
Maureen is the host of It Gets Late Early, a podcast exploring the issues facing mid-career workers, including ageism. She’s also experienced a layoff herself.
We explore how age bias can show up in a job search, especially for women, and what to consider if you suspect it’s happened to you.
We talk about “Botoxing” your resume and showing the value of your experience through your LinkedIn profile and a portfolio of accomplishments.
And we look at how to put your network to work, weigh fractional opportunities against a full-time role, and build more options for yourself.
Because doing great work doesn’t guarantee you’ll be protected from a layoff. But you can take steps to give yourself more choices about what comes next.
Here’s how we simplify getting hired when you’re over 40:
- Recognize age bias. What ageism means, how it can show up during a job search, and why women’s experiences deserve particular attention.
- Consider your next steps. What to do if you suspect ageism influenced a layoff or hiring decision, and why it can be difficult to prove.
- Show the relevance of your experience. What Maureen means by “Botoxing” your resume and where your LinkedIn profile and portfolio of accomplishments fit in.
- Put your relationships to work. How to turn your network into conversations, referrals, and opportunities, even when asking for help feels uncomfortable.
- Build more options. How to weigh fractional work against a full-time role while staying hopeful and realistic about what comes next.
Whether you’re actively applying, recovering from a layoff, or thinking ahead, this conversation is an invitation to recognize what you bring to the table and explore more ways to put it to work.
What’s catching my eye this week:
- The difference between updating your story and erasing it. How can you make your experience relevant to the role you want without feeling you have to apologize for the years it took to build it?
- Your network as a source of possibility. A former colleague, client, or manager may know your work in a way a resume can’t communicate. Who could you reconnect with?
- Having more than one path forward. A full-time job is one possibility. Fractional work is another. This episode gets us thinking about what we want from work and which arrangements might support that.
- 3 hours of (free) focus music for deep concentration - Quiet Quest - Study Music
- Mary’s book is out now! Buy Squash the Sunday Scaries: A Modern Playbook to Rebuild Trust, Transform Culture, and Reignite Your Workforce on Amazon now or your favorite bookstore!
- Hire Mary Baird, PHR to help you run a 30-day Employee Experience Accelerator to listen better to your workforce, rebuild trust in your senior leadership and improve culture at work - The Simplifiers
- 50 powerful questions to help you reflect - The Institute of You
My challenge for you this week:
Choose one accomplishment that shows the value you could bring to your next role.
Write a short example explaining the problem, what you did, and the result. Use the details you can verify, including numbers where you have them.
Then reach out to one person who knows your work. Tell them what kind of opportunity you’re exploring and ask whether they’d be open to a conversation or introduction.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire job search this week. Start with one clear example of your value and one conversation.
Send me a DM over on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesimplifiers and tell me what you chose. Let’s add a little accountability and support as you #dothething!
Episode sponsored in part by Goodboy Agency, providing employer branding redesigns for busy HR Teams:
This episode is brought to you in part by Goodboy, helping HR teams compete for top talent. Goodboy helps midsize companies strengthen their employer brand, attract better candidates, and fill open roles faster. From redesigning your careers page to running targeted recruitment campaigns, they’ll help your company stand out in a crowded talent market. Visit www.goodboyagency.com/simplifiers to learn more.
Links, books and apps mentioned:
Podcast: It Gets Late Early - Maureen Wiley Clough
Resource: Learn more about Maureen’s speaking and work
Book: How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It) - Jessica McCabe
Podcast: How to rethink your job search + career path, featuring Mike Peditto - The Simplifiers Podcast
Podcast: How to heal your career wounds, featuring Mandy Tang - The Simplifiers Podcast
Podcast: How to squash the Sunday Scaries (guided visualization) - The Simplifiers Podcast
Mary’s new book is out NOW on Amazon!
My new book, Squash the Sunday Scaries: A Modern Playbook to Rebuild Trust, Transform Culture, and Reignite Your Workforce, is out now — and you can buy it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your favorite independent bookstore. It’s written for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone ready to make work better in a practical, human way. If you’ve been looking for simple tools to improve employee experience, rebuild trust, and create better results for your people and your business, this book is for you. Learn more, visit: https://squashthesundayscaries.com
About Maureen Wiley Clough:
Maureen Wiley Clough is a former journalist who climbed the corporate tech ladder before a colleague called her a “dinosaur” at 37. A couple of years later, she was laid off from a new role at another tech company, just one month after launching It Gets Late Early, her podcast about the issues facing mid-career workers, including ageism.
Today, she’s an independent media founder, speaker, moderator, and brand partner with a social media audience of more than 110,000. A LinkedIn Top Voice, she’s been featured in Forbes, WIRED, and Business Insider, and partners with organizations including AARP and HubSpot. It Gets Late Early ranks among the top 1.5% of podcasts globally and has reached #13 on Apple Careers US.
Her work helps people build resilient careers, whether within corporate or on their own, so their future doesn’t depend on any one company saying yes.
Where Maureen hangs out online:
Website: https://www.maureen-wiley-clough.com
Podcast: https://www.itgetslateearly.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenwclough
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maureenwclough
Maureen’s vote for the perfect guest on The Simplifiers Podcast:
Brie Abramowicz is an author, speaker, and founder of Build with Brie, a product consultancy for creatives and founders whose work spans multiple disciplines. She wrote Polyworker and hosts and produces The Portfolio Career Lab podcast. Through her podcast and newsletter, she explores how people can build creatively and financially rewarding careers across a variety of projects, clients, and income streams. Brie also offers coaching and workshops focused on portfolio careers and personal brand positioning.
