Going through a redundancy can mark the end of one chapter in your career, but it also presents exciting opportunities for your future. It could even be the catalyst that propels you into a new career. Now is the perfect time to consider other possibilities, so that your next career is one that’s meaningful to you. If you’ve been made redundant and want to change careers, here are some practical tips to get you started.
Be curious
At the beginning of your career change journey, you may not know what move to make next, especially if you’ve only ever worked in one type of career or you have little work experience. To tackle this conundrum, you need to shift your mindset from focusing on the unknown to being open to new ideas. The best place to start is by getting curious.
Take time to reflect on your work history and note down your proudest achievements or career highlights. Dig a little deeper here; what is it that makes these moments stand out – could it be the contribution you made to a project, the impact you had on a colleague, or the connection you felt with an employer’s mission? Go back further in time and remember what activities you enjoyed doing as a child. Again, look for the clues – if you loved playing make‑believe games, that could suggest you are innovative and enjoy coming up with new ideas, which will be invaluable in helping drive organisations forward.
Write down all of your reflections and look for themes within your insights, to spark ideas for types of jobs or companies that align with the things most important to you.
Your unique value
Employers want to understand the value you’ll bring to their business, so you’ll need to demonstrate how your skills and experience have made a positive difference to a team or initiative. Think through the instances in your life where you’ve made that kind of impact. Concentrate on what happened as a result of your involvement, because that’s where your unique value lies.
For example, if one of your strengths is attention to detail, when did your precision make a difference to a piece of work? Had you not intervened, what would have been the consequence?
Be prepared to share these stories in an interview, so you may want to practice talking them through in your head, or even out loud in front of a mirror.
Put small actions in motion
While time spent thinking and reflecting is a crucial part of the process, career change doesn’t happen in your head or on a piece of paper – it happens out there in the real world. Draw out the insights you’ve noted and each week, set yourself an action plan of steps you can take to help move you towards a new career. Keep these actions small enough that they’re achievable. It may be volunteering a few hours of your time to support a local business (and gain new experience along the way) or completing an online course to build your knowledge in an area of interest.
It’s also really important to reward yourself for the progress you’re making; give yourself things to look forward to, no matter how small they may be. Set aside portions of time in the week to do something completely unrelated to your career change. Not only will that boost your morale, but it will have the added benefit of replenishing your energy reserves and may even inspire a new career possibility!
Who can help you?
Going through a redundancy can feel like a lonely experience, so staying connected to others is critical. Think about all the people in your network: colleagues from previous jobs, anyone you studied with, family and friends, or people you’ve met at events. These individuals can support you in all sorts of ways – perhaps you’ll be introduced to a friend of a friend who’s gone through a career change and can offer you support and advice. Or arrange to speak to someone whose job really interests you. Maintaining and building on these relationships will help you stay positive through the process.
Here at Brook Street, we’re here to help too. With offices spread throughout the country, our experienced consultants will support your job search by using their specialist knowledge to match your skills with suitable opportunities. We have hundreds of temporary and permanent job opportunities available across a range of industries, so we can help turn your career change dream into a reality.
Browse all our job opportunities here and apply for a new role today.
