‘Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you were in the wrong job in the first place’
Hal Lancaster spent thirty years at the Wall Street Journal and dispensed his appealingly common-sense observations on the world of work (like the quote above) in his weekly column ‘Managing Your Career’ during the 1990’s, in what were then unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty across corporate America.
Less salty, but just as relevant to the current climate, is the work of Jos Akkermans, who I first heard of while training in career coaching last year. Akkermans focusses on three areas; career sustainability, career shocks, and employability. A ‘career shock’ is defined as “a disruptive and extraordinary event that is, at least to some degree, caused by factors outside the individual’s control, that triggers a deliberate thought process concerning one’s career”.
It doesn’t have to be getting fired. Perhaps you graduated during the pandemic and employment has not turned out as you had hoped. Maybe you missed out on a promotion, or got promoted and are struggling. Perhaps you sense your priorities are changing, and the work that drove you in your thirties doesn’t get you leaping out of bed in the same way these days.
It’s probably impossible to go to work without experiencing some kind of career shock. Whatever the challenge, I would welcome an opportunity to connect and discuss whether I can help you use the shock as a platform for professional growth.
Please message me directly and we’ll go from there.