When you’re younger, there are certain career rules you need to follow. However, as you gain experience and confidence in your professional life, you’ll find that some of the rules you once adhered to no longer apply. In this article, we’ll explore 17 of these career rules that lose importance as you progress in your career.
Never Take a Break
Workforce.com says that “a quarter of Gen Z workers hesitate to take their lunch break because they worry about what their bosses might think.” Employees over 30 are aware that taking a break is important for work productivity and are less concerned about what their bosses will think about this.
Never Leave Early
Your employers will trust you more and give you more work-related flexibility when you get older. This includes allowing you to leave early from work without asking you why you need to do so. Your age and experience make those in authority trust you more.
Strict Dress Codes
When you’re young and starting out in a new career, it’s important to stick to dress codes to make a professional first impression. However, as you get into your 30s and are seen as a more responsible person at work, strict dress codes might become more lenient if you use good judgment.
Climbing the Educational Ladder
According to BestColleges.com, “about 15.2 million students are enrolled in an undergraduate program. Roughly 8.5 million are pursuing a bachelor’s degree.” Although a college degree may help you get a job, experience in a career might become more relevant than a degree as you get older.
Age-Related Earning
As Forbes reports, British workers under the age of 30 are likely to earn a staggering 25% less than those over 40. This means that thanks to your age, experience, and skills, there is less emphasis on age when negotiating a salary, which we can all agree is positive.
Always Be Punctual
“Punctuality is the ability to be prompt, attend appointments on time, and submit your assignments by the deadline,” explains Indeed. But as you get older, your superiors tend to scrutinize your punctuality less often and are more lenient with you as a more mature person.
Limitations on Entrepreneurship
Starting a new business can become a daunting idea as you get older. But you might be in a better position to start a new job after 30, as you will have more experience in your line of work, more financial resources to support yourself, and increased network connections.
Honesty About Growth
When employers hire someone in their 20s, they want to train the person to stay in that line of work and don’t like it when the person is ambitious about moving on. But when you’re in your 30s, recruiters like to hear how you would like to grow in a role, as your enthusiasm can benefit the team.
Strict Lunch Breaks
“The average break in 2018 was 39 minutes; this was down from 43 minutes in 2014,” according to statistics from Workforce.com. As people get older, they are less concerned about sticking to exact timing when it comes to lunch breaks as they know their employers trust them.
Remaining In a Position
Many people believe that they must remain in a job position for a long time just to make their resumes look good. But once you reach 30, employers see you as someone with experience and are no longer interested in how many roles it’s taken you to get to where you are.
Work Overtime
Employers tend to expect more job-related flexibility from younger workers as they do not yet have the ties of family responsibilities. They are expected to work overtime on a regular basis. When you are in your 30s, however, you have more control over your work hours and can stick to a schedule.
Climbing the Career Ladder
Starting as an apprentice, then becoming an assistant, then an assistant manager, then manager is not the only way to progress once you reach 30. Workers over 30 are desired for their energy and experience, and they can enter managerial roles without working up the ladder.
Never Switching Careers
By 30, you will have had a couple of years of experience in your current job role. This has given you enough time to decide whether you would like to continue in your line of work or start something completely different. 30 is a great age to switch careers.
No Job Description Flexibility
When you’re in your 20s, your job description is rather rigid, and people expect you to do the job you have been given. But when you reach your 30s, you can become more creative and start contributing to your job role in a way that others may not expect but are happy with because of your experience.
No Sick Days
By 30, you have built up enough of a rapport with your employer for them to trust you when you take a sick day. When you’re younger, you may feel obliged to come to work even when you feel unwell just to make a good impression.
No Work Freedom
When you are in your 20s, your employers tend to watch over you, just to make sure you are really doing what you need to be. But as you get into your 30s, your employers tend to trust you more, and stop scrutinizing everything you do.
Taking Your Work Home
Employers tend to expect younger workers to make themselves available for work-related matters at the drop of a hat. They are expected to take their work home because they don’t yet have many family responsibilities. But once you enter your 30s, you can start to leave your work at work.