Have you ever lost a job or been demoted? Shock and panic often set in and the ability to think clearly is diminished. Where will my next pay cheque come from? How will I pay the mortgage? What about the kids? People rarely look at being downsized, demoted or dismissed as an opportunity to explore career options.
Career counselling (career planning) can help you find a direction that you may never have considered before – or help you realize that you have been doing the right thing all along, but with the wrong organization or for the wrong boss.
Career counselling after a job loss or demotion needs to include the space to explore what happened to you. Sometimes before you can go forward, you have to look back. You need to understand what happened in order to make peace with it and move on. The last thing you want is to take “stuff” from the last job into the next job. This is referred to as baggage, and baggage is not good. Once you have journeyed through the past, looking to the future can begin.
You may want to start with your dream. Dreaming doesn’t mean that you will end up there, but it is a great place to begin. Formal career testing may also be appropriate. Ask your Career Counsellor if they offer career testing services.
Another upside of being downsized is that as you move through the career counselling process, you will develop a better understanding of yourself, your career, the next steps and a plan to get there. Ready to write the next chapter of your career? Learn more about Career Counselling.
