The prospect of redundancy is a time of fear and extreme uncertainty for many people.  Employees are often left feeling betrayed and angry, wondering if they are ever going to get another job. In turn this can lead to feelings of helplessness and inadequacy, and in extreme cases depression.  However, according to Career Coach Gill Best, of Caelum Coaching it does not have to be this way.

Too many people are stuck in what may be considered good jobs but they are not jobs that are good for them.  The illusion of security or a decent salary keeps many people trapped in employment that is at best unsuitable, and at worst destructive. Redundancy with its inevitable shock factor, can be the ideal time to totally re-evaluate your options and at last go for a career that truly reflects who you are. .  

For some it is an opportunity to start that business that they have always dreamed of; or retrain for others it is a career that suits their innate skills.  Other people  may realise they enjoy the work but need a different environment that is more suited to their individual style and where they can perform at their best.

Best strongly believes we owe it to ourselves to fill our working day with employment that truly reflects who we are.  “In an average working day we spend up to 12 hours in work related activity, including getting ready to go to work, travel time, the working day itself and winding down at the end of the day.  That  doesn’t include the many extra hours we think about work and let’s not forget that awful “Sunday night” feeling that so many of us suffer from.  For most people work dominates their lives and yet so many people are wasting their natural talents. The result is people who are stressed, companies with de-motivated employees and talents that are wasted. “

 “We, as individuals have to wake up to this – we need to take control of our working lives and for many, redundancy is an ideal opportunity.  Care needs to be taken though to ensure that someone doesn’t jump from one unsatisfactory career into another“.

One option to help people make that all-important decision is to undertake a programme of career coaching.  One person who took this route was John, an IT specialist in his early fifties who had been made redundant after a very bitter experience that left him feeling unskilled and unemployable.  He decided to a complete change of career was in order and was considering becoming a Teacher.  Through a series of structured sessions, career coaching helped him identify his career values, his highest level of skills, his motivation, and the work environment which would support who he is. The information was placed within the context of his whole life so that he could make important work life balance choices.  During coaching John realised that becoming a teacher would have been a big mistake because it would not have allowed him to meet any of his career needs.  

John is now well on the way to securing the job that is right for him.  He now values himself and his skills, knows exactly what he is looking for and can clearly articulate how he would add value to an employer.  He also knows he can command a far higher salary than previously, though this is not his primary objective. 

He is confident that it is not a question of if he will find a job that meets his needs but when.  Through this newly found certainty and belief in himself, John is finding opportunities that he knows he would never have imagined before coaching.  

Best sees this all the time in her coaching practice.  “Once you start to really understand yourself, your needs and motivations you are far better placed to make a decision that will not only improve the quality of your life but will greatly benefit the organisation you choose to join.  That is win-win all round