There has been much talk lately about people struggling to find jobs in the current jobs market (e.g. the recent BBC Panorama programme Finished at Fifty?). Much of this is accompanied with a sense of hopelessness and despondency from TV, radio and other media messages. Of course the job market is tough at the moment. If you are one of those struggling to keep enthusiastic and motivated, here is the first in a new series of articles based on real people's real stories that might inform and inspire you to keep going or to try something new.
Anita-Clare Field is Managing Director of Round Peg Learning and Development, a training company specialising in Media, Sales & SME marketing & development. Anita-Clare set up her company just one year ago and now describes doing so as "the best decision I have ever made, sometimes it's been challenging but I have got here and now I am living my dream". In that short time Anita-Clare has build up a business from scratch, developed a great reputation, written a book, and acquired a client base. Sounds fantastic doesn't it? You may well be thinking "well that's OK for some people but..." and here you can probably fill in your own blanks. Anita-Clare is a fabulous example of someone who experienced redundancy (not once but twice), experienced great difficulty finding suitable new jobs, and did something creative about it. Furthermore, I find Anita-Clare's story to be such an inspirational one because she embarked on this journey to realise a dream in the face of considerable obstacles and difficulties.
Anita-Clare has been generous enough to tell me her story and to allow me to share it with you:
I was made redundant after working for my company for 5 years. It came as a bolt out of the blue. I had been given a stunning appraisal only weeks before and had achieved my company's end of year targets... My redundancy was not handled particularly well and there was no consultation, it just happened one afternoon and I left the same day. As a result of the bungled meeting I was awarded a fair payout and decided to take some time off. I had had two days holiday in 10 months that year.
After a couple of weeks I was bored. The effects of my redundancy were starting to appear too: anger, disbelief and immense feelings of rejection. The money helped pay bills and enabled me to do things but having worked 80+ hour weeks most of my adult life, I felt like a fish out of water.
I decided to get back on the horse and started going for interviews. The landscape was very different as the recession had really started to bite. I was at director level and Publishing companies had stripped that layer out in an attempt to save costs. I found myself getting through to final stage interviews and then being told I was too experienced.
At that point Anita-Clare was taken very ill with chronic bronchitis and ended up in bed for 3 months.
It was at that time that I started to think about working for myself, I thought up the entire concept for Round Peg Learning and Development. As I started to regain my strength I thought more about it but my redundancy money was ebbing away and I started to panic about paying bills and my mortgage, this was 5 months on.
Anita-Clare resumed her job searching and also signed on at the JobCentre; something she hadn't previously done as she'd been living from her redundancy money. She found this experience unhelpful:
They really didn't know what to do with me, I filled in all their work books each week and they didn't really bother about me, they didn't even show me any of the jobs available. They complained about being over worked and one even said "We don't have a clue what to do with people like you".
About a month later I accepted a role which was less than my experience and was plunged head long into a situation which was singularly the worst working situation I have ever encountered in 23 years. I found myself firing people day in day out for months and the day I returned to work after a few days away in Sept 09 I was told that my job no longer existed. I left the same day with a month's salary.
This was a very different experience. I was actually ill when I left and ended up on anti-depressants and having counselling. The actual redundancy was almost a relief, but the months of stress had taken their toll.
After months of recovery, Anita-Clare was back on the interview round and again being short-listed for very senior roles only to be told that she was too experienced. Eventually, and with the support of her friends and family, she came to the conclusion "that it was time to stop and do what I had dreamt of doing for so long".
Round Peg was created in April 2010. But even then progress was halted one month later when her mother became seriously ill and then again in July when Anita-Clare had an accident which led to her having major surgery in the summer. August 2010 was completely written-off.
I was actually starting to believe that maybe this was not meant to be and was seriously contemplating returning to the corporate existence I had been used to all my working life. I discussed it with my family and there was a resounding NO. So I have persevered, built up my reputation using social networking, re-designed my website and have written blogs that my web stats say the audience like. I have written a book and won three new consultancy jobs in the last three months. I am enjoying every aspect of my projects and the thing that is best is I get all of the fun and none of the stress.
I have just finished one launch project after three weeks and am about to start on two event projects. I have bookings through to November and things are certainly looking very healthy.
I think Anita-Clare's story vividly demonstrates the importance not only of having dreams and goals, but also of resilience and perseverance in order to keep going in the face of obstacles, and to overcome them. This story also pays tribute to the enormous importance of being supported by friends and family, and in my view, a very healthy willingness to accept that support.
What about you? Do you have career dreams? What are you doing about them?
Huge thanks to Anita-Clare for sharing her story.
If you have an inspirational careers story I'd love to hear it and welcome your comments and ideas.
© managingchange 2011
Sarah is a career coach and coaching psychologist at Managing Change, based in Cambridge, UK.
T: 01954 718037
E: sarah.jaggers@managingchange.org.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6220981
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