Use redundancy as a time to reflect

Are you going through a turning point in your career and re-evaluating what you want out of it?

Even before the current financial crisis and recession caused unemployment rates to soar, a large number of supposedly employed managers and professionals have fallen into a new category that I call the "uneasily employed," who feel that the axe can fall any time.

Several thousand more may already have lost their jobs.  The immediate coping response of a lot of these people will be to try to get the same job in the same sector. Bad news!

They should use redundancy as a period for reflection as to where they should go next in their careers.  Great for me to say because it really takes confidence to think about a career change when you've just lost your job. I think most people's gut reaction would be "I'll stick to what I know because I'm just not qualified to do anything else."

Well look at this way.  If people in the finance, automotive and construction sectors go and try to job seek in those areas and continually get rejected (as they're likely to be) it will be far more damaging. It will sap their self confidence, they will be less easily able to get a job as time goes on and it will be very counter productive.

Find out what fascinates you and use that passion at work

Several years ago, there was a story on television about the "Living Treasures of Japan." One of the people honoured was a weaver in one of the far Northern provinces. "Sometimes I lie awake in the early morning hours waiting for the sun to come up, so I can start my weaving again."

This woman was engaged in a simple, repetitive task, but was utterly fascinated by every part of it – the yarn, the colours, the dying, and the act of weaving itself. The end product, the woven cloth, was almost an afterthought for her. And yet her cloth is considered so unusually beautiful, rich, and finely made that much of it is displayed in museums as examples of the art.

Bringing more of yourself into your work makes sense

We are often asked if people can really love what they do in this day and age. Executives, managers, professionals, people who would seem to have it all together are asking if they can be passionate about what they do.

You can get up in the morning looking forward to work. You can find out what fascinates you about what you do. In fact, finding out that key part of you can absolutely mean the difference between just going to work and being enthusiastic about it.

The more involved, interested and fascinated you are by what you are doing, the more you will enjoy it and the more productive and creative you will be. How do you do that?

Come along to our Career Evolution Workshop

Recrion works with an accredited Highlands Facilitator to run workshops designed to bring your individual career goals into focus and develop your leadership skills. In the workshop, you will gain real knowledge of your innate abilities, how you make decisions and how to motivate yourself.

Prior to the workshop, you will need to set aside about 3 hours to work through a series of work samples online.  These tests are fun to do and will ascertain your natural abilities and those that don't come as naturally to you.  The test will result in a 27 page detailed report that will give you an indication of the type of work that has a Strong, Good, Moderate and Weak match with Your Abilities.

Visit our website to register for the next workshop or call Katherine on 01780 484910 to discuss a workshop near you.  Make it the very next thing you do.