We Were Dismissed, and We Accept It – Here's How to Find a Fresh Position That Fits for You
The beginning of a new year can be a time for reflection, and for numerous people, that encompasses thinking about our career trajectories.
Two publishing professionals who were made redundant from their jobs due to organizational changes at first believed it was a disaster.
"I poured my heart into the position... I trusted in the values we championed. But in my case, those values were absent," a former editor states.
Both individuals chose to employ the word "fired" and suggest that being transparent about it can help you deal with it.
"People rely on numerous alternative phrases for job loss. Yet, the sooner you acknowledge it, the quicker you're honest about it, the sooner you can advance.
"That's the fast track to what you desire to pursue next," she adds.
Now, they are succeeding in new positions, where one leading a media business and another serving as top editor for a luxury magazine.
Whether you've lost your job or are looking for a new career, consider these four strategies for guidance.
1. Consider The Past Year
It's common to feel a bit low about work after a holiday break.
A professional advisor emphasizes the value of looking back before starting a new job search.
She suggests people to consider what they desire to do more of, what to decrease, and the things that motivates or depletes their drive.
Examining your accomplishments to spot underlying threads is useful too. "Try to avoid focusing solely on the recent past, since everyone suffer from for recency bias that can obstruct the process," she notes.
Another professional notes it is important to establish what place your job fits in your life.
This involves being truthful regarding the hours you devote to work and the influence on your personal life.
Following her job loss, she suggests against letting yourself be dictated by your job.
2. Take Incremental Actions
The expert states that individuals can make gradual progress towards changing careers without diving in headfirst.
Her own journey required a long period to move from a corporate role to running her own business entirely, building her project while still employed, which enabled she could pay herself.
"It needed more time, but that represented the method I used sustainably," she explains.
She suggests a test-run strategy.
This could be pro bono work, joining a professional project that interests you, or accepting a new challenge within your current team.
"If it fails, you find out that area isn't for you, but it's better to find out now than after you've switched careers," she states.
Additionally, she suggests considering short-term "bridging roles". They are perhaps not the perfect role, yet they function as a step towards your goal, such as a role with parallels to your desired career, yet not in the same area.
"It means allowing yourself the leeway to accept this is good for now, but that isn't the same as forever.
"This is a clever approach to get much closer to that desired transition."
3. Acknowledge Your Successes
If you've recently lost your role, you are not the only one – job cuts have risen markedly lately.
One professional was editor-in-chief at a style magazine, but in 2022 she and her team lost their jobs when the firm closed the print version.
Recognizing that this event did not reflect of her performance assisted her cope with the situation.
"The skills you've gained doesn't disappear just because you were dismissed.
"Don't relinquish your confidence, it's crucial for everyone to remember their own worth."
The other editor was let go following a long tenure in a business journal after a change in management and the arrival of a different editor.
She emphasizes that so much of the stigma of dismissal is self-imposed.
"Given that hundreds of thousands of professionals losing jobs, it's usually not about you. It's likely not about you, so avoid carrying that feeling around with you."
4. Create a Career Checklist
If you're desperately seeking work or are deeply dissatisfied in your current role, you might be tempted to jump at at any opportunity – disregarding your own happiness.
But this is a big misstep.
Alternatively, she proposes an exercise called "browsing" – narrowing your search to only job descriptions that capture your interest.
She suggests browsing job platforms and saving around 10 to 15 that seem promising.
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