Dr. Sara Laskey, M.D., has quite the variety in schools she calls alma maters.
She’s been educated at Northwestern University, Second City (improv comedy troupe with a reputation as a feeder for Saturday Night Live), clown school (seriously!), and a top medical school.
Approaching the latter part of her career—and thus able to “connect the dots in reverse,” as Steve Jobs predicted every new grad someday would—here’s how Dr. Laskey describes her disparate professional experiences and transitions:
“After making the move from a career in performing—on the stage and in a traveling circus—to a career in medicine, I thought I would be set for life. I’d finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. Unfortunately, or fortunately, life doesn’t always work that way. After graduating from residency in my early 40s, I quickly got involved in hospital administration and into the C-Suite, which opened the doors to the world of patient experience and employee engagement in the corporate sector .
When I realized that my passion for strategy and leadership was stronger than my desire to continue to work clinically, I realized I needed to make a change. With careers in improv, The Greatest Show on Earth, as a stay-at-home mother, and medicine, I had absolutely no idea how to go about entering the corporate job market. I got referred to a certified executive coach who worked closely with me to define my goals and understand my strengths; and who introduced me to the requirements needed for successful job hunting in the current market—an up-to-date LinkedIn profile, a good headshot, a ton of practice interviewing, and lots and lots of networking. Working with an outside coach helped me recognize my value and refine my personal value proposition. She pushed me to define exactly what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do (equally important). And she forced me to reach out to anyone and everyone and just set up coffee—which, as a natural introvert, was not exactly easy.
Finally, I worked on how to sell myself. I can’t speak for all women—but personally I have a very difficult time taking credit or even humble-bragging about my accomplishments. I recognized that this was, and remains, a critical component of not only getting the job I want—but moving up in most organizations.
As a woman of a certain age I’ve definitely had barriers, both external and internal, to overcome. Even now, in a job and company I love, I rarely talk about my age and even get nervous referencing the age of my kids. What I do try to reference more frequently now is the great work I’m doing, and leverage the relationships I’ve built to help carry the message about the value that I know I bring to the company every day.”
Author’s note: It is illegal for American employers to discriminate against someone—an employee or an applicant—on factors such as appearance, race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), citizenship, disability, and more. And the Age Discrimination in Employment Act also forbids age discrimination against anyone (again, employee or applicant) who are age 40 or older.
Less favorable treatment on these factors in hiring decisions—or even asking about them in interviews (“Do you plan to have kids?” is a classic absolute no-no)—is impermissible.
But do these things commonly happen nonetheless? Absolutely.
Ageism is a form of discrimination that’s not top of mind enough given how rampant it is in the workplace. The pandemic only exacerbated it as most every organization moved rapidly to digital communication methods and business models, and to automate roles and processes. A summer 2021 study by nonprofit employment organization Generation found that mid-career and entry-level (i.e., restarting or pivoting) workers ages 45 to 60 are at a growing disadvantage because of hiring manager biases[1]. This age group is the “most overlooked” segment of the workforce—and they rank the worst in the eyes of hiring managers on readiness and prior experience, driven largely by a perceived hesitation to learn new technologies and skills. This isn’t some statistical anomaly; the results held all over the world.
So while we wish we could say that Dr. Laskey’s gender- and age-related fears are wholly unfounded, we can’t. Every employer must lean much further in. But you can help mitigate these issues with career management strategies like the ones she has pursued; namely, refining your story and achievements to ensure resonance, aggressive networking, and getting validated by peers. We want you to know—and then to boldly represent—that not only does your experience matter, it is valued and needed. At times, you may just have to do a little extra convincing.
Mid-career, still-limitless possibility.