Losing a Job & Moving On

While in some countries, spending your entire career with a single company is the norm, in the west, and especially if you’re a creative, this is likely not going to be your story. Whether you’re let go or leave of your own accord, you may at some point find yourself suddenly with lots of time and little direction. Such an event can feel monumental. Just like a break-up or losing a loved one, the sudden shift in your lifestyle and day-to-day can leave you feeling like you’ve lost a piece of yourself and are scrambling to make sense of how to carry on without it. It may feel like it right now, but it’s not the end of the world.

It’s happened and there’s no going back. What matters now is what you do next. Maybe you were let go for reasons out of your control or maybe the work environment was too toxic for you to spend even another day in. Either way, you now have time on your hands and you might as well use some of it to do some self-reflection. It’s easy to slip into a negative thought pattern here, especially if you left on bad terms, but don’t think about what went wrong or replay events in your head, instead focus on the future. Think of this as an opportunity.

We all get complacent at times. Maybe this is just the push you needed to try that thing you’ve always wanted to do but never had the courage to try. Of course, your financial situation will play a large role in what you decide to do next, but if possible, try to relax and spend some time with yourself. Think about your strengths and weaknesses. Think about what makes you happy. Think about your goals. Were your strengths utilized in your last job? Were you happy there? Were you challenged? Take stock of the connections and skills you gained while you were there and acknowledge the experience as one of personal growth.

Whether you asked for it or not you have been presented with an opportunity to make some big changes. If you have the leisure of time, I recommend you use it wisely to ensure that your next job aligns with your goals. If you had been entertaining the idea of a career change, now would be a great time to make the leap. Maybe you can use the time in the interim to learn some new skills and broaden your job prospects. Maybe what happened was out of your control, but what happens next is up to you.