When Career Disaster Strikes…

How do you come back?

Successful, established and stable. My job and career was the last thing that I thought was at risk of coming undone. Yet, it happened. For years I had poured every part of myself into my career, and suddenly I found that I was facing the biggest hurdle I had ever come across – I was going to be out of work, and through no choice of my own. I was devastated. Heartbroken.

The trauma you feel in such a situation, the feelings of loss and grief, can be overwhelming – they were for me. I just could not see the road ahead at all. I could not figure out what my next steps needed to be. As a woman who was always secure about my career direction, I found myself to suddenly be completely lost.

Does this sound familiar? If you find yourself in this horrible place, I’m here to tell you from my own story that it is going to be ok. It is completely normal to feel like this, and you know what else? It DOES get better.

The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath, take a step back, give yourself some space, and calmly ask the question “Ok, what will I do to shake this feeling – what will I do next?”. Then choose something that will help you to feel better, make you feel stronger, get you more focused and start building towards feeling more emotionally resilient. This might be unrelated to a career or job seeking task, or it might be completely related. The key to my advice here is this, do what makes you FEEL a little better today, and then the next day, and the day after that. You will find that in doing this you’ll experience a mindset shift. You’ll start to think more clearly and then start to see opportunities around business or career, and you’ll be in a better frame of mind to see who can help you with these opportunities.

My other gem of advice is this – be kind to yourself. Do not, at any time, compare yourself to those around you. Everyone’s journey is different, and yours belongs solely to you. Respect the place that you are in. You might be surprised to find that others are feeling the same way that you are! They just might not be showing it! Oh, and please, please, go to the people who you trust and ask for help if they can help you. This isn’t a sign of weakness or vulnerability. It takes strength to move yourself out of the fog.

Finally, have belief that there is a better life out there for you. There is a workplace, career or business for everyone. For everyone. And yes, that includes you. Keep your chin up, your mindset healthy, reach out to those who can help, and explore and seize the opportunities that await you for an amazing career!