Given all the grim news it's easy to think that change is impossible and that you best trot along to the next dull meeting and keep your head down for now.
Survival is primal and must be served first, and there's no quicker way to become grateful for your job than to have it swept away without any sign of a new one on the horizon. We all have mortgages or rents and perhaps a few overspent credit cards to pay - that without a pay cheque looming is a pretty scary thing.
So, where does this leave us?
First, the imbalance has shifted. The world at large will have to take stock and work out where it sits when the debris settles. Maybe humankind rebuilds on sustainability and community rather than greed, dehumanizing efficiency and hungry individualism. Out of adversity comes opportunity for real change.
But where does that leave you right now?
Germinate
Career changes, and certainly the more profound ones, don't happen over night. So while you have your head down at work, this is the perfect time to spend time working out what you do want to do, to research options, start that evening course, develop that hobby, learn about business, volunteer etc. That way, when things do shift, you're ready to go.
Extricate
If you've had your hand forced and find yourself redundant, you may be more determined than ever to carve a future you want. You have, perhaps unwittingly, just overcome one of the biggest hurdles for the would-be career shifter. Being catapulted out of a job can be the largest single catalyst in successfully changing direction, the security of a job being an otherwise difficult thing to leave. Plus in a difficult market place, with some industries flattened, a change of direction could be the only way to go.
Investigate
There are jobs out there, there are growth industries and growth professions- the internet and all things related to it, the environment - for example. Future proofing becomes an important question when you're changing direction - is there going to be a demand for what you intend to do? Some intelligent thinking about the marketplace may open up new avenues.
Educate
The government has been investing significantly in training and skills. There's more available now than there was before and with a bit of digging you may find some government funding. Teacher training is currently a popular choice, with potential to earn while you train.
Speculate
There's been a lot of talk about businesses unable to access finance, which can lead to the very erroneous assumption that you have to borrow to be in business. Very successful small businesses have been built on profit-related growth. And with a world powered by web technology, satellite staff and virtual offices, running a business has never been this cheap. Not just that, a changing marketplace is exactly the time to look out for new opportunities and openings sprouting fast by seismic changes in consumer behaviour. Again on the subject of business, there's the argument that self-employment can give you relatively more control over your destiny.
Simplify
A shift back to downsized living, may mean you decide to err on the side of satisfaction and away from the incessant wage trap.
Emigrate
If moving abroad has always attracted you, there are countries that look likely to recover sooner than ours that are alive with new opportunities, particularly given our relatively advanced skills.
As with most things, it's resourcefulness and resilience that separates those of us who do from those of us who don't. And perhaps gratitude is no bad thing, even if we have to learn that the hard way!
Copyright © Sonia Lakshman, One Smart Step, February 2009
At One Smart Step, we are specialists in helping you identify and achieve a really satisfying work direction. We work with you in a creative, practical and highly individual way to get you where you want to be. Read more about our career crossroads and career change programmes at www.onesmartstep.co.uk or email us at enquiries@onesmartstep.co.uk for details.
