At a time when Gen Xers have paid their dues and might have anticipated settling into their professional prime, they find themselves at a crossroads. From the creative to the corporate, Gen Xers are seeing their careers upended, as established roles, skills and industries are disrupted by AI. This comes at a challenging time, when a comfortable retirement is no longer guaranteed. Now Xers (aged between 45 and 60) are tackling the phenomenon head-on, leveraging their unique experience or pivoting to different disciplines entirely.

The New York Times highlighted mid-career uncertainty in March when it documented the “meltdown” of Gen X’s creative careers. While career transitions in midlife are not new per se, for many, today’s circumstances are uniquely challenging. Those that expected to rely on skills refined over the years now face displacement, retraining or, like younger generations, the need to embrace multiple income streams or side hustles - a daunting prospect when juggling mid-life responsibilities, especially when many are not financially prepared for retirement.

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Courtesy of Pexel

One response leans in to precisely what’s unique about Gen Xers’ experience. Geezer Creative, featured in the New York Times piece, has launched as a full-service advertising agency with a focus on what it calls “the most lucrative market in the world – the 50+ demographic.” The Gen X creatives, strategists, and marketers that the agency works with all have more than 25 years of experience too. “Experience gives you so much more than just making creative work,” Karen McKinley, co-founder and CCO copy at Geezer Creative tells VML Intelligence. “Gen Xers have a better understanding of how to work with demanding clients [and] manage shoots [and] budgets. Gen Xers are also workhorses. We love this business and while we, too, want a ‘work/life balance,’ we expect hard work and long hours if it means making a difference for our clients.”

Another approach is to pivot by adding new skills to the portfolio. Research from UK-based longevity think tank Phoenix Insights shows a third of 45 to 54-year-olds now expect to change careers before they retire. As creative and content marketing consultant Tighe Flatley wrote in a recent Substack post: “Gen X creatives learned the hard way that being great at just one thing wasn’t enough. If you’re only a copywriter, designer, or strategist, AI-powered tools will soon encroach on your work. The solution? Cross-train and expand your capabilities.”

The Future Proof Career book
The Future-Proof Career by Isabel Berwick

Skills aside, Xers may also face another challenge in getting hired: ageism. A study reported in The Times revealed that almost half of recruiters think 57 is too old for a job. This will change says Isabel Berwick, who leads the Financial Times’ Working It brand and is the author of The Future-Proof Career. She tells VML Intelligence that as demographics mean “fewer Gen Z and Alphas coming through into the workforce…we [will] still need a lot more older people to work for longer.” She notes that “some of the ageism of the past is going to be ditched because of this pressure.”

Businesses that dismiss Gen Xers will miss out on valuable interpersonal qualities too says McKinley at Geezer Creative: “Without Gen Xers, who's left to mentor younger creatives? I really worry [that]….younger creatives [are] likely not getting the kind of mentorship Gen Xers had in the 90s and [that] it will stunt their growth and creativity.”

In the future then, perhaps might we see more efforts dedicated to elevating older talent, like the UK’s 55/Redefined - an organization whose solutions aim to “attract, engage, grow, and retain over-50s talent.”

The Intelligence take:
Creative careers are acting as the canary in the coalmine for how all established Gen Xers’ careers could be impacted by societal shifts. The response could be a template for how to tackle these mid-life career disruptions on a wider scale.

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