Seeing Redundancy as an Opportunity
A lot of career shifters that have come to me over the last few months have been prompted by the economic downturn. Sensing a change coming or even having one forced on them through redundancy they are now looking at finding a new job or looking into a new career.This can either be a good or a bad thing depending on how you approach it. A cup half full or half empty syndrome. You can either fight it and resist the change, or welcome it and work with it. Many companies when offering redundancy offer some kind of coaching and support and if you can take advantage of this then you can definitely turn this kind of situation into a half full scenario.
If you love what you do and wish to continue then your path forward is pretty clear. You can look into other companies where you can do the same kind of job and maybe refine your needs as to what kind of company you wish to work for. Maybe think about the kind of ethics you'd like your new company to have or the type of people you'd like to work for. Whenever change comes it is always a good thing to review a past experience and learn what you don't want in the future. In that way you can really clear what you wish to keep from your old experience of this type of work and what you'd like to add.
It may mean that you loved the work, but could do with leaving at a decent time at night so you'd add that to your wish list; a company that honours it's employees and encourages them to take responsibility for their time. It could be you'd like to do the same job but in a different location – what a great opportunity to find have both the job and the place in one go. Or maybe you loved using the skills you have in that arena, but the people didn't match your values. Be clear on what it is you'd like to subtract and add in the next job you take. With those ideas in mind you can start your job search.
Of course this could also be a wonderful opportunity to shift careers totally. In some ways you could look on your situation as doing you a favour. Moving out of a viable job on your own is a hard decision to make, but having the decision made for you catapults you into a place where you can really start looking into what you'd truly love to do. There are a few articles on the site that help you look at exploring your options or trying on ideas, or taking the plunge. Take a look for yourself. This is more about seeing the half full cup and knowing that when these things happen in our life there is always a good reason and purpose even if we won't see them straight away.
Maybe you would never have made this move, but now it is with you allow yourself to see the open door ahead of you. Make it a time of absolute choice, take advantage of this moment in your life when you can really be honest and answer the question - do I love what I do? If the answer is no you have just been given a huge opportunity to make what could be the most important change in your life. Grab it with both hands, after all you spend so much of your day at work, why not do something that makes your heart sing – and get paid well for it too!