Evolve or Die: Mindful Learnings of a Middle-Aged Job-Seeker
Courageously crafting a career path that resonates with our core self
Writing is the highest expression of who I am.
I imagine painting with words; splattering letters against my canvas and, with artful strokes, rearranging them until they float into a reader’s awareness and speak to them on a fundamental level.
Creativity as a Career
Gratefully, I’ve been able to turn this passion into an income for the last decade and a half. I freelanced for the first 12 years of my copywriting career, and in February 2022, I had the opportunity to join a tight-knit, in-house creative team within the mortgage industry.
The following month, the Fed started increasing interest rates to curb inflation, and by December, they were more than five percentage points higher.
Amidst the turbulence, loan origination plummeted to unsustainable levels.
I was laid off in the middle of the month, and after 35+ years in business, the company was acquired in early 2023.
Landed the Dream, Lost the Job
Thankfully, after a very short time in the job-seeker market, I landed what I considered the most desirable gig: Instead of convincing someone to buy a “thing,” I played a role in helping children and their families uncover medical insights that could transform their lives.
While it was dreamy, it was also turbulent, but in a different way.
The company had been acquired 10 months earlier, and a lot of the dust was still settling. There was a great deal of movement within the marketing department, and as their first copywriter, I had the opportunity to learn from three creative directors during my tenure.
One of the biggest lessons I learned after stepping away from freelancing is that in the corporate marketing environment, you’re not writing for the end reader as much as you are for your director.
Ultimately, their marketing vision shifted, and so did my role. I was laid off in July.
The New Era of Copywriting: Artificial Intelligence
And reality hit quickly:
The job market sucks.
Nearly 70% of seasoned job seekers report that obtaining gainful employment is more difficult in the current labor market than in previous years.
Furthermore, there's one job opening for every two applicants on LinkedIn, the recruitment process has never been lengthier, employment-related scams are at an all-time high, and when it comes to writing, artificial intelligence can now whip up—in seconds—many tasks that once took a human several hours.
Consequently, I’d estimate that AI has decimated the bottom 80% of the copywriting market. Thus, even with 15 years of professional experience and a solid portfolio, I now compete against hundreds of peers for jobs posted only hours earlier.
With such stiff competition, the results align with what you might expect. I've submitted more than 300 applications in the two months since my layoff, and thus far, here are the fruits of my labor:
Choosing Our Suffering: Wither on the Vine or Start a Revolution
The good news for those of us seeking writing jobs is that, in my opinion, AI’s Achilles’ heel is nuance. It still very much requires a human touch to be impactful.
I also believe AI isn’t necessarily our enemy. Instead, it can help us improve creativity by automating menial-to-moderate tasks like ideating, outlining, organizing, and drafting. There’s even a ton of low-to-no-cost training available online that outlines how to fold this technology into our workflow.
After all, when life drastically changes, we have two choices:
Eagerly embrace the “new normal,” process its lessons, and move forward.
Cling to what was and anchoring ourselves, kicking and screaming, in the past.
One is healthy, the other isn’t.
One promotes growth; the other impedes it.
One sets us up for self-defined success. The other releases control of our future.
With this in mind, my middle-aged job hunt has revealed a deep-seated personal truth: I don’t want to re-embrace someone else’s “normal” or their vision of the future. At this point in my life, I find little value in weaponizing words to sell you the latest “whatever.”
Instead, I want to sell you on you.
I want to show you how you’re a shining beacon of beauty.
How you deserve so much love and compassion.
And how everyone can see your light, even if you can’t right now.
Yes, I choose progress. But I also choose to exit my lane and step outside of the popular narrative.
Just because I’m old AF doesn’t mean I can’t innovate like a MF.
Breaking Free from Expectations: Crafting a Career that Aligns with My Authentic Self
Aimed at this goal, I’ve publicly shared a lot of intimate details about my mental health journey—and will continue doing so—but it doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced substantial reservations. I’ve often wondered:
Will this information hurt my job prospects?
Will employers think I’m crazy?
Will they assume that my challenges make me a less-than-ideal employee?
Based on my experience so far, the answer is a resounding YES; I’ve almost certainly pushed away traditional corporate opportunities with this information.
However, I also believe that revealing the most authentic version of myself will draw closer my “tribe”—those with whom my journey resonates on a fundamental level.
After spending 47 years on this planet, I recognize that trailblazing the unknown can be intimidating. But I no longer have an appetite for empty, preservative-filled words.
Sure, they may taste sweet on the tongue, but they provide no lasting sustenance.
And as a society, we need less “stuff” and more nourishment.
We need to remember our light, reawaken to the millions of mundane miracles surrounding us, belly-laugh at the absurdity of life, and feel safe in revealing our bright, beautifully authentic selves to the world.
Thus, I’m choosing to exit the predefined narrative.
I’d love for you to join me—and learn more about your authentic self—along the way.
Interesting insights on tough reality.