Changing Direction

Once you have recovered from the shock of being dismissed or made redundant there may be a silver lining to this particularly nasty cloud. Suddenly you are in a position where you have the time and space to think about what you want from your life and career. Now could be the time to retrain or re-educate yourself in skills that could open a whole new set of doors.

If you have been stuck in an unfulfilling job then this is your chance to take hold of the reins of your career and guide it back to where you want it to be – maybe you always wanted to set up your own company or move abroad and start all over again? There are many different paths that can lead to career and life satisfaction and returning to the 9-5 grind may no longer be the right option for you.

At transitional points in our lives such as job loss it is often good to take stock, to consider whether the work we were doing previously was right for us and to have an in-depth think about alternative options before rushing straight back into familiar territory.

If you find yourself wondering whether you might benefit from considering a different approach, role or type of work and would like some help to focus, it is probably worth consulting a career coach.

Career coaching is future faced and action orientated. It focuses on auditing strengths, aligning values and visioning ideal work. A career coach concentrates on identifying both positive and negative patterns of your attitude to work and helping you to recognise where your strengths lie.

You can find more information about how career coaches work here and find career coaches in your region in our Finding Local Help section