Getting a Flexible Work From Home Job in Your 50s

Flexible work brings benefits to both employees and employers. For example, older workers who switch to remote employment have an improved work-life balance. While employers see increased productivity and greater employee engagement.

In fact, trends show that many over 50s are making this switch. A reported 32% of people returning to work after a break said that flexible job opportunities are the biggest catalyst in them considering rejoining the workforce.

In this article, we’ll highlight some tips to help you get started, so you can find the right job for you.

Work With Our Age-Accredited Employers

Businesses are waking up to the benefits of hiring people who are over 50. It's a cultural shift that is gaining momentum as people live longer and want to work for longer, too. Plus, birth rates are falling, so there are fewer young people coming into the jobs market. By employing more over 50s for longer, everyone wins.

Hiring and retaining the over-50s mean that companies don’t need to provide extensive training, as workers already have much of the experience they need. Plus, businesses have noticed that older workers tend not to ‘job hop’ as much as their younger counterparts.

As a result, businesses are taking steps to attract older workers into their workforce and tailoring roles to meet their requirements – such as offering remote or hybrid work.

Curious about what age-inclusive work opportunities are available for you? Have a look at flexible work on our jobs portal to find out more.

You can also reach out to age-accredited employers we work with to discover new opportunities.

Build a Portfolio Career

A portfolio career is where you have multiple job roles across different sectors. For instance, you may work as a writer for one company, and as a consultant for another.

Starting a portfolio career opens you up to multiple income sources, more variety in your work, increased control over your workload and ultimately allows you to get more flexible work from home jobs. It’s also an opportunity to utilise the significant career you already have under your belt.

Portfolio careers can also be lucrative. Your experience can be incredibly valuable to companies – people will spend more cash on your time.

It doesn’t need to be limited to paid jobs, either. Skills, hobbies or experiences can also build up your portfolio career. For example, you could add hobbies such as gardening or photography to your portfolio and get paid gigs in these areas.

Find out more about how you can turn your favourite hobby into a professional career in our Ask the Expert interview.

Juggling various jobs can be difficult, so staying organised and self management is key. You’ll also need to stay in charge of your own finances, and handle tasks such as calculating your tax. If this isn’t your strong suit, then it may be worth hiring someone to look after this on your behalf.

Flexible Jobs for Over 50s That Make Use of Your Current Experience

Do you have a lot of experience in a particular sector? You can take your knowledge and transferable skills into other industries or roles. For example:

Consultant: Provide expert advice to others in your chosen field, such as science or law. Consultancy generally pays well, so you don’t need to work many hours to make it worth your while.
Trainer or instructor: Offer training and development opportunities to share your expert knowledge and help others advance in their career.
Mentoring: Reflect on your past experience and use this to advise others. You can mentor for a variety of topics, such as running a business.

Thinking about becoming a mentor? Here’s everything you need to know.

Lateral career moves are another possibility. Rather than change industry completely, there might be an opportunity to refocus within your existing specialism. For example, you might move from being a chief marketing officer, a role that’s largely strategic, to head of content, which allows you to focus on your passion for writing.

Flexible Jobs for Over 50s That Don’t Require Experience

It’s quite common to want to do something new in your 50s, but many midlifers believe that getting a job with no experience is impossible. However, this simply isn’t the case.

More often than not, you will have a bank of transferable skills that can be used across a variety of roles. If you feel at a loose end with your job search, here are some ideas for flexible jobs, some work from home, that require no prior experience:

Virtual assistant: A virtual assistant takes on responsibilities such as answering emails and phone calls, scheduling appointments and conducting online research.
Librarian: If you’re a booklover, then being a librarian might be a good career choice for you. Requirements to become a librarian tend to include previous experience in a library, or an undergraduate degree.
Tutoring: Tutoring others can be incredibly rewarding, and is a popular choice for a career change as a result. There is no formal qualification required to be a tutor.

Not feeling inspired by any of these flexible work from home job ideas? Consider having a look at our Purpose Finder, which you can use to help you decide what direction you want to take.

Start Your Own Business

If you have a passion project or want to find a solution to a common problem, then starting your own business could be a great option.

And don't think it's too late to start a business in your 50s. It's not true. A business founded by a 50-year-old is 1.8 times more likely to achieve high end success than one started by a 30-year-old. Consider: in your 50s, you’re probably more financially secure than when you were younger, you’ve already got a lot of life experience behind you, and may have more time to spend on your new venture.

Thinking of starting your own business? Learn how two Redefiners made the move: Darren Underhill who joined SpecSavers Joint Venture Partnership to start an audiology business and Dave Woods who moved from advertising to publishing.

You might need to consider how to fund your new business – check out our finance page for tips.

Four Tips for Applying to Flexible Jobs

1. Make Your Application Stand Out

If you are looking for a flexible working from home role, in your application you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to use remote-specific software and tools. These can include:

Google Workspace: A collection of online apps and tools that promote team productivity and collaboration, even when they’re not in the same office.
Project management tools: Applications such as monday.com or Trello allow you to communicate virtually with your colleagues in real time and easily see the progress of all your projects.
Virtual meeting platforms: Platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams are now standard across business.
Team communication tools: Utilising online communication tools such as Slack will help you keep in contact with your team.

Even if you haven’t used these tools in a work environment, demonstrating your familiarity will do wonders in your interview. There’s plenty of support out there that can help you get more comfortable with using them. Here are some places you can get started:

2. Look At Websites That Are Specifically for Flexible Jobs

If you’re looking specifically for a remote job, then you may find yourself scrolling endlessly through freelance jobs or one-off gig roles that aren’t the right fit.

We’re here to help. Our Jobs/Redefined website includes hundreds of remote working opportunities with age-inclusive employers – have a look at what’s currently available here.

3. Do Your Research on the Company

Picture your interview prep as if you’re revising for a test. Have a Google of the company, and check out their website and LinkedIn page. Take note of anything that seems of importance, such as their mission statement or top clients, and remember to mention them during your interview.

For more advice on how to prepare for your job interview, check out our article here.

You should also check employee reviews of the company. It’ll give you ideas about the culture that you can refer to in the interview. Also, if you see something that's a red flag, you can consider whether this is the right company for you.

4. Prepare Answers to Common Remote Job Questions

If the flexible role is remote, you should also expect some questions about your capabilities in working remotely. Common questions include:

Why do you want to work remotely?
Do you have previous experience working from home?
Do you have a home office? If not, do you have a quiet space to concentrate?
How do you minimise distractions when you work from home?

As the saying goes, you’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you. So, you should always prepare some questions for what you’re looking for from your employer too. This could be how they’re planning to support you in a remote working environment.

Resources to Help You Find a Flexible Job in Your 50s

Jobs/Redefined portal: A jobs portal that's age-inclusive and has flexible work for midlifers.
Life/Redefined Online Training courses: A selection of free online courses to help you develop your skill set.
Life/Redefined careers: Advice and resources to help you make a career change.
Work/Redefined portal: Learn more about how business is tackling ageism and which companies are at the forefront of the age-inclusive movement.

Are you considering a career change? Look no further. Our article on jobs to help you navigate the life-changing next step in your career gives you all the information you need to make the leap.