I have been made redundant four times in my working life, once at the age of 40 and three times after the age of 50. On each occasion it has felt like a terrible blow, a blow to my self-esteem and sense of worth, a blow to my finances, a blow to my sense of wellbeing. I felt lost. Twice I have even been counselled by others to give up on the idea of ever working again because of my age. It is a truly awful and scarring experience.
But, on each occasion not only have I found work, I have ended up in a situation that was much better than the one I had left. I have been reflecting on my experiences and wondering if they might be helpful to others who are now in the same position. Of course I fully realise that in the current situation with the pandemic the circumstances are very different, but I hope it may be helpful to someone.
The first thing to accept is that the feelings of rejection, anxiety about the future, near desperation at times, are perfectly normal. Part of the ‘grieving’ process that follows the loss of employment and lifestyle. Give yourself a break and time to reflect, to get your thoughts in order.
Find time to organise your affairs. Look at your finances of course, but also look at your cv and get it fully up to date (be careful with firms who offer to help you with your cv), look at recruitment websites like Indeed, find time to get out into the fresh air and give yourself thinking time, prepare standard paragraphs for job applications. There is an old saying ‘Don’t just grieve, organise’.
Be prepared to be flexible in your job choices. I went from debt counselling to Local Government, from Local Government to working with older people, from working with older people to working with deaf people, from working with deaf people to working in a Credit Union by way of the National Census, and the final one from working with a credit union to working with Healthwatch where I have been since 2013. All very different, each rewarding in it’s own way. I prepared myself for this more flexible approach by volunteering my time and gaining insight into the ways in which things worked in each of these professions.
Of course you do need to have some luck, the right vacancies have to come up. You also have to be ready to accept that you might not succeed straight away, every rejection can be a learning opportunity. You might also be more restricted in your options by personal circumstances – I know I was. My key point is that there is always hope, and if you keep going you may well end up in a much better place than when you started. I certainly hope so.
Chris Bain 