Career Development for Women in Mid-Life
This page is here to explain what career development actually involves, how it differs from coaching or résumé writing alone, and how this work supports women in mid-life to make sustainable, informed career decisions.
Welcome
If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re not looking for generic career advice.
You may be feeling stuck, burnt out, restless, or quietly certain that your work no longer fits the life you’re living now. You may have tried pushing through, rebranding yourself, or making small changes – only to find the same questions (and problems) resurfacing.
What Career Development Is
Career development is a professional, evidence-based process that supports people to understand and actively shape their working lives over time.
For women in mid-life, career development focuses on:
Career identity and direction
Capacity, health, and sustainability
Values, motivation, and meaning
Decision-making within real-life constraints
Practical strategy grounded in the Australian labour market
This work is informed by established career development theory and counselling frameworks with strong empirical and clinical foundations, selected specifically to support women navigating complexity, transition, and change in mid-life.
It is structured, ethical, and grounded – not motivational or generic.
What Career Development Is Not
Career development is not:
A quick fix or surface-level solution
A linear step-by-step formula
About ‘finding your passion’ to the exclusion of common sense or practicality
Only about job searching
Generic coaching with a different label
Fortune telling
It is also not therapy, although emotions, identity, and meaning are naturally part of the process when work no longer aligns with life.
Many women seek career support believing they need a technical solution, when what they are actually navigating is a developmental transition. Treating this work as purely practical often leads to repeated cycles of burnout or dissatisfaction.
You might like to check out my article about why traditional career models fail women.
Why Mid-Life Career Questions Are Different
By mid-life, most women are no longer asking how to get ahead at any cost.
Instead, they are asking:
What can I realistically sustain now?
Why does work that once felt manageable now feel exhausting?
What parts of myself have I outgrown?
What am I no longer willing to trade for security?
These questions often arise alongside increased responsibility, health changes, caregiving roles, or burnout. They are not signs of failure – they are normal signals that something needs to be re-evaluated.
Feeling stuck is a normal human response to dealing with the paid and unpaid loads women carry.
How the Career Development Process Works
While my work has clear professional aims, it is not delivered as a rigid program. Each woman arrives with a different history, context, and level of readiness.
That said, the process often moves through recognisable phases.
1. Orientation and Grounding
We clarify what is actually happening – burnout, loss of confidence, dissatisfaction, or misalignment – and create enough stability to think clearly.
Further reading about this is my Capacity, Burnout and Sustainable Work article.
2. Capacity and Context
We look honestly at energy, health, cognitive and emotional load, life responsibilities, and the difference between what you are capable of and what you can sustainably maintain.
You can learn why this is important in my Capacity vs Capability article.
3. Identity, Meaning, and Career Narrative
We explore career identity, internalised expectations, roles you may have outgrown, and what still matters. This often includes grief, relief, and renewed self-trust.
If ever you have felt like to have been duped by the idea of ‘being more resilient’ you’ll like my When Resilience Becomes a Trap article.
4. Discernment and Direction
Only once there is internal clarity do we explore options – career change, redesign, consolidation, or transition – within realistic Australian labour market conditions.
At this stage you’re making forward thinking decisions that consider all of your context, for more on this check out the Career Change in Mid-Life for Australian Women holistic guide.
5. Expression, Strategy, and Practical Tools
This is where résumés, LinkedIn profiles, and language come in. This is often where women try to start this process, and that why often it fails to help them in ways that matter. This stuff is important , but it’s management and execution of a strategy which first must be developed with you in mind.
I work with women to develop these tools together, educating and upskilling them to articulate their experience and value clearly. The aim is long-term agency, not dependency on a one-off service.
If you are ready to book a Soul Strategy call jump over to my services page. Or if you are ready for practical support because you have done the groundwork to make clear decisions and know exactly what you next move is, then you might look at the LinkedIn Launchpad mini course, or my job application and resume services page.
Career development can feel:
Unsettling before it feels clarifying
Slower than urgency would like
Non-linear in visible outcomes
Emotionally tender at times
There is often grief for earlier versions of self and relief in finally listening to what has been trying to surface.
This work is not about fixing you. It is about supporting you to make informed decisions that honour your whole life.
What Many Women Don’t Expect
If you’re unsure where to begin:
Explore the articles linked above
Download the white paper for a deeper explanation of this work
Book a Soul Strategy Call to discuss your situation and next steps
Where to Go Next
Have Questions?
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Career development is a professional discipline grounded in evidence-based career theory and counselling frameworks. It focuses on career identity, capacity, decision-making, and sustainability over time.
Career coaching often focuses on performance, confidence, or goal attainment. Career development goes deeper, particularly in mid-life, where questions are often tied to health, identity, life stage, and long-term viability rather than short-term goals.
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Career development and career counselling are closely related. My work sits within the professional career counselling tradition, adapted for mid-life women and delivered in a way that is practical, ethical, and grounded in real-world outcomes.
While emotions and identity are part of the process, this is not therapy. The focus remains on career understanding, direction, and action.
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No. Many women come to this work precisely because they don’t know what they want anymore.
Uncertainty is often the starting point, not a barrier. The process is designed to help you clarify direction gradually and safely, rather than forcing premature decisions..
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Career development is not a one-session fix.
The length and depth of the work depend on your situation, history, and goals. Some women seek clarity around a specific decision, while others engage more deeply over time. We work at a pace that respects your capacity and life context.
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That is very common in mid-life.
Work and identity are deeply connected, especially for women who have carried responsibility for long periods. While this is not therapy, emotional responses are expected and handled with care and professionalism.
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Career change is one possible outcome, but it is not assumed.
Some women change roles, others redesign their work, and some stay where they are with greater clarity and boundaries. The aim is not change for its own sake, but alignment and sustainability.
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Yes. Résumés and LinkedIn profiles are part of the work when they are relevant.
Rather than writing documents for you, I work with you to develop them together so you understand how to articulate your experience, strengths, and value. This builds long-term confidence and skill, not dependence on a one-off service.
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Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.
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Yes – with care.
Burnout is often a sign that capacity, expectations, and role design are misaligned. Career development can support clarity and decision-making, but it does not push women to ‘power through’. Pace, safety, and sustainability are prioritised.
