I like to tell each new client that comes my way that they should not see themselves as “unemployed,” but instead in “job search transition.” Changes occur in our life all the time. Some of them are more pronounced than others, (getting married, the birth of a child in our family, moving to a new city), while others can happen more subtly. For example, in my coaching business, most of which is driven by work with outplacement organizations, the two major organizations to which I supply my coaching abilities, have undergone major revision. In both instances, the boutique specialized firms for which I worked for over a decade have been bought out by larger organizations. And, while I am still coaching, how clients are assigned to me, the way things are recorded in the records of the work I do with my clients, and the management of the firm, have changed in their style and culture.
In the case of employment, changes in the management and culture of the company for which we work is something becoming far more common in recent years. However, changes can also occur in those organizations which one chooses and volunteers to belong. Sometimes members who were part of the organization that you were a part of choose to move on, and those that join, while still wonderful people, just do not provide the same chemistry for you as an individual. In other instances, as one moves forward in their life (defined as aging), activities that one did on a regular basis become a chore to do. They become more of “an obligation” to get done, as opposed to a task one enjoys doing.
With my job searchers, particularly those who may have been with the same firm for a long time, or who may have done the same type of work for a long time, I highly encourage them to “assess” where they are now in their life and career. Do they still want to work for a large firm, or are they open to working for a smaller firm? Is it possible they might want to work a part-time schedule, versus a full-time schedule. Perhaps they want to provide their services as a consultant, or in a small business they own. Or maybe they are in a strong enough financial state that they do not want to work at all. (That does not always mean that they are not active, but perhaps their activities are helping as a volunteer at a cause that is meaningful to them).
We all face points of transition in our lives. I personally faced one almost 20 years ago now, when in my early 50’s and becoming a recent widower, I knew that a life working in corporate America was no longer what was right for me. It did not mean I immediately knew what was next. It took some time to take advantage of resources available to me through the outplacement package I received from my corporate job assignment, to learn of possibilities of what could be next for me. Carefully examining possible paths, I found out the one that was right for me. It did require being open to “certification and reeducation” on my part. It also required learning to work in a style that I had no familiarity with in the days I was strictly working in corporate America, and adapting to it accordingly.
Years go by, times change, and we reach new stages in our life. I know that I am likely facing that again in my life, as I move into my seventies. When will be the right time to transition to something new? I do not know for sure. What will I do if I choose to transition? That is something to still be determined. However, as I think back on it, and realize I have done it before, it makes me aware that it is possible to do it again.
Are you open to the transitions that you may be facing in your life? Do you see them as ones you are choosing to make or ones that are being “forced” upon you, (be it by your employer, your family, your health, etc.). Remember, you are not the only one who has faced changes in their life, and that if you take the time to Assess, Research and Target paths that may be right for you, you will be on your way to the next chapter in your life.
