Security Career Exit Strategies

Exit strategies are not necessarily top of mind if you are enjoying a successful security career. We have previously looked at a wide range of strategies and needed competencies to advance in your profession. What we have not explored in depth is how to start planning your exit strategy when you are no longer seeking professional advancement.

Security professionals often continue to work well into their 60’s and early 70’s while maintaining healthy lifestyles with long life expectancies. When we talk to many of these executives who are still contributing to their organizations, often the common thread is they have not given serious thought to their lives after traditional employment.

They often mention satisfaction and enjoyment at looking forward to a variety of ongoing challenges including travel, attendance at professional events and seeing colleagues. However, this can also be a sign that work is too closely tied to their identity, and they have not contemplated what they will do once they are no longer employed by an organization.

One of the main challenges to not creating a plan for the next phase of your life is a reliance on everything remaining status quo. This is an unlikely scenario today. Change is inevitable and a lack of investment in developing a realistic plan for the future can have devastating psychological effects.

Things you should consider doing when creating an exit strategy include:

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