How Resilience supports career changes

It’s been an incredibly tough few months for everyone, and as we start to come out of lock down, organisations are left counting the cost of corona virus, and are adapting quickly to a bleak economic landscape. This will inevitably mean some difficult decisions have to be made. According to a recent poll of 751 UK organisations conducted by the British Chamber of Commerce, a third (33%) of businesses said they are likely to make redundancies within the next three months.

For those who may be facing the prospect of redundancy, there are ways to help you build your resilience and develop the right mindset to cope if the axe should fall. Redundancy can be a scary prospect, but it can also be a catalyst for change, bringing new opportunities, a different perspective, and a chance to reassess your career goals.

How can you turn any career changes into an opportunity to play more to your Strengths?

The Resilience Wheel is a good tool to help you assess your current position, gain some clarity, and decide which path to take. Working through it can help you to regain a sense of control and purpose at this uncertain time. The areas of the wheel to consider are:

Purpose

What do you really enjoy doing? If you have always had a burning desire to do something other than your current job, now might be the time to go for it!

Support

Who can support you now, and help you drive your career in the right direction? It is time to re-connect with people in your network, and build new relationships with people who may be able to offer support and guidance to help you achieve your goals. Broaden your circle of contacts across different sectors.

Confidence

Redundancy can be a blow to self confidence, but it is important to try to build it back up again. Putting yourself out there might feel scary, but creating a blog, video or social media post can be a great way to get yourself noticed and demonstrate your expertise and knowledge. You might be surprised at the positive response you receive!

Adaptability

This is closely linked to attitude and how well we cope. What do you want your attitude to be? Redundancy can come as a big shock, and it’s important to practice self-compassion and give yourself time to process it, but remember ultimately you decide what attitude to take. Being open and adaptable to change will help.

Meaning

Give yourself time to consider what you think and feel about your circumstances. Do you view it as frightening or an opportunity? You might feel it’s both, and that’s OK. Whatever thoughts and feelings you are having, allow yourself to feel them, know that they are all normal, then consider whether they are helpful. Some of the unhelpful ones can perhaps be re-framed. Instead of thinking ‘this is a terrible thing that has happened’ could you switch your focus to ‘this is a chance to do more of what I love’?

Consider if you had to sum up your future career goal in one sentence, what would it be? Focus on this to give yourself meaning and purpose. Stick it up on the wall to remind you if this helps!

Energy

Ask yourself ‘now what?’ and assess the steps you need to take to get you to where you want to be. What excites you and scares you about your situation? Where do you want to be, and what is the first step? Take it one step at a time, so you don’t become overwhelmed, and congratulate yourself on each step you achieve along the way.

Self care, such as getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising are also important to maintain the energy and resilience to keep going with your plan.

Adapting to change can be scary, but remember that you have been through lock down, which asked a lot of all of us, was sometimes scary, and meant we all had to adapt the way we live our lives. Recent events have tested us all, and will continue to do so for some time to come, but it has proven one thing. We all have a resilience reservoir to draw on when times are tough.

You will need to draw upon your reserves of Resilience, when making a career change.