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For too long, we’ve accepted the idea that careers follow a predictable path: build momentum in your twenties and thirties, peak in your forties, and gradually slow down from there.
Fortunately, reality tells a very different story.
In episode 901 of the HRchat Podcast, I had the privilege of speaking with three remarkable professionals whose careers challenge everything we think we know about age, ambition, and reinvention.
Their journeys are very different, yet they share one powerful message: your next chapter can be your most meaningful one.
Reinvention Starts When You Stop Waiting for Permission
Actor, writer, and producer Renée Hackett knows that building a creative career later in life isn’t simply about talent—it’s about courage.
Rather than waiting for opportunities to arrive, Renée began creating her own.
Our conversation explored something many professionals experience but rarely discuss openly: confidence often arrives much later than expected. Experience brings perspective, resilience, and the ability to focus less on external validation and more on meaningful work.
Renée also spoke candidly about navigating perimenopause and menopause while expanding her creative career. These conversations remain far too uncommon in many workplaces, despite affecting millions of experienced professionals.
If organisations are serious about retaining senior talent, supporting employees through different life stages cannot remain an afterthought. Flexibility, understanding, and open dialogue aren’t simply wellbeing initiatives—they’re business imperatives.
Returning to Work Isn’t Starting Over
Many people step away from paid employment to care for children, ageing parents, or their communities. Too often, they worry that these years represent a gap rather than growth.
Diane Loveys offers a different perspective.
After a successful marketing career in financial services, Diane left corporate life to focus on family before eventually returning through the travel industry.
Her story demonstrates that career breaks don’t erase capability.
Instead of trying to recreate her previous career exactly as it was, Diane reassessed what mattered most. Flexibility, purpose, and balance became priorities alongside meaningful work.
Perhaps her most refreshing advice involved confidence.
When preparing to re-enter the workforce, she turned to younger people—including her own children—for help with networking, technology, and interview preparation.
It’s a reminder that mentorship isn’t always one-directional. Reverse mentoring and intergenerational learning can help professionals at every stage of their careers.
A Portfolio Career Can Become Your Legacy
Not every career transition requires leaving your current role.
Audley Stephenson demonstrates how a portfolio career can develop gradually and intentionally.
While maintaining full-time employment, he pursued side projects rooted in genuine curiosity—from basketball to podcasting, leadership development, and purpose-driven community building.
Rather than chasing perfection, Audley embraces what he calls a “try and see” mindset.
Experiment. Learn. Adjust. Keep moving.
That philosophy has enabled him to build multiple avenues for contribution while preparing thoughtfully for retirement—not as an ending, but as an opportunity to focus more intentionally on impact and legacy.
What HR Can Learn
Listening to these conversations reinforced something that every HR leader should be thinking about.
Today’s workforce is living longer, working longer, and increasingly redefining traditional career paths.
That means organisations must rethink how they support experienced employees.
Career development shouldn’t stop after promotion into senior management. Flexible work shouldn’t only be available to new parents. Learning opportunities shouldn’t have an age limit.
Employers that embrace lifelong careers will gain access to deeper experience, stronger judgement, richer mentoring relationships, and employees who bring resilience developed over decades.
Your Next Chapter Starts Now
Whether you’re considering a complete career change, returning after time away, building a side business, or simply wondering what’s next, the biggest lesson from this episode is wonderfully simple.
There is no single timeline for success.
Your career isn’t defined by your age.
It’s defined by your willingness to keep learning, adapting, and investing in yourself.
The next chapter isn’t something that happens to you.
It’s something you choose to write.
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