This book provides practical advice for career coaches, executive coaches, and HR professionals who support midlife professionals navigating career
transitions.
Midlife career transitions are becoming the norm, not the exception. As the workforce lives longer, works longer, and redefines success, career coaches
must adapt to new models that address the unique psychological, financial, and identity challenges of midlife career change. This book bridges this gap, proposing a research-backed framework for coaching midlife clients. It offers psychological insights into the fears, identity shifts, and motivations behind midlife career change, practical coaching tools, strategies, and case studies to guide clients through uncertainty, and a roadmap for portfolio careers, self-employment, and new career pathways. The book ensures coaches have
the evidence-based knowledge, tools, and confidence to guide their clients through one of the most significant career transitions of their lives.
Equipping coaches to support clients who are not starting over but evolving into their next stage of meaningful work, this is the ideal resource for both career coaches and HR professionals, as well as students of coaching.
Table of Contents:
Introduction. PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE MIDLIFE CAREER TRANSITION 1. Why Midlife Career Change is Different 2. The Psychology of Midlife Career Change 3. Contemporary Career Models and Their Relevance to Coaching PART 2: COACHING MIDLIFE CAREER TRANSITIONS 4. The IGLOO Framework for Career Coaching (Adapted for Career Coaches) 5. Career Exploration and Self-Discovery Coaching Tools 6. Overcoming Psychological Barriers in Career Change 7. Supporting Clients Who Choose Portfolio Careers 8. Coaching for Career Longevity and Future-Proofing Work 9. Coaching for End-of-Career Transition PART 3: THE BUSINESS OF CAREER COACHING FOR MIDLIFE PROFESSIONALS Chapter 10: Designing Career Coaching Programmes for Midlife Clients Chapter 11: Marketing and Positioning Your Coaching Practice for Midlife Clients Chapter 12: Coaching Ethics and Best Practices for Midlife Clients PART 4: ORGANISATINAL SUPPORT MIDLIFE PROFESSIONALS Chapter 13: Leadership and HR Support Chapter 14: Organisational Career Planning: Opportunities to Engage with Career Planning with an Age-Friendly Focus PART 5: CASE STUDIES 15. Case Studies
About the Author :
Clare Mulligan-Foster is a chartered psychologist and expert in midlife career transitions, with a focus on coaching professionals in their forties and fifties who are navigating career change. With a background in both organisational Psychology and executive coaching, she brings a unique blend of academic research and practical, real-world coaching experience to help midlife professionals find fulfilling and sustainable career paths.
Review :
'In Supporting Midlife Career Transitions Through Coaching, Dr Clare Mulligan-Foster provides a clear, psychological framework for professional change. She moves past the usual coaching generalisations to offer grounded authority on how to navigate this stage of life.It is an essential read for those looking to coach others on how to prioritise what actually matters in their career. Clare demonstrates how to reclaim agency and lead your next chapter on your own terms'.
-Dr Gemma Leigh Roberts, Occupational Psychologist and Author of Mindset Matters
'This book is brilliant and an absolute must-have if you are someone who coaches or supports people who are in midlife and wanting to change career. Clare has a wealth of knowledge and experience which she has shared so generously through clear guidance and practical exercises for readers to use. This is a book that is meant to be used and I know I will be revisiting this book again and again to help me in my own coaching practice'.
-Dr Hayley Lewis, Occupational and Coaching Psychologist and Owner of HALO Psychology
'This is an important and very engaging text of great value to coaches working with clients managing midlfe careers in the context of longer working lives. The book supports coaches working with individual clients and in organisations with very practical tools and programmes all supported by current research and theory'.
-Janet Sheath, Coaching Programme Director, Birkbeck College, University of London
'Clare has condensed years of wisdom and research into this accessible, yet high-density resource. Packed with reflective exercises, practical tips, and case studies this is a must-read for coaches who want to make a real difference to clients, and to even plan out their own career journey along the way!'
-Lorna Mills, Chartered Coaching Psychologist and University Lecturer
'The book is the most wonderful and thoughtful resource for coaches and organisations. It combines Clare's deep psychological knowledge and experience, her clients' voices, and lots of relevant evidence and research. As a coach myself I loved the reflection prompts, the new coaching models – including Clare's own model from her research – and the practical advice on pricing and marketing. If you are a coach or practitioner in this space, you simply have to read it!'
-Anna Connolly, Chartered Work and Organisational Psychologist and Coach, Work Frontiers
'Midlife career change is becoming an increasingly visible and complex feature of contemporary working life. This is a useful and accessible book that combines a research-informed perspective with practical resources for coaches supporting clients through transition in mid and later life. It resonates with the realities practitioners encounter and invites thoughtful reflection on identity, meaning, and how success is redefined as working lives evolve'.
-Dr Elizabeth Crossé, MCC, Coach Supervisor, Mentor Coach, and Research Practitioner
'Clare's book is one of the most generous and practically useful guides I've come across for coaches working with mid-career clients. Supporting Midlife Career Transitions Through Coaching is comprehensive, supportive, and immediately applicable, and the coaching insights Clare shares are genuinely gold dust for anyone who wants to feel more skilled and resourced working with people navigating midlife career decisions'.
-Wendy Kendall, C.Psychol, AFBPsS, Founder, Inspiring Psychology Practices, Chartered Occupational and Coaching Psychologist
