SEEING positive opportunities during times of adversity, taking control of your own choices, and opening your eyes to new possibilities are some of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my career.
Having spent the first 16 years of my career working for oil companies (BP and Amerada Hess), and been made redundant from both of them, I can really relate to the challenges facing many of those employed directly in the industry just now.
The second time I faced redundancy, I decided to embrace the change and made a conscious choice to “take stock” of the skills and experience I had gained and look at changing careers out of the sector.
At various key junctures in my career I have used the career guidance tools in the book ‘What Color is My Parachute’ by Richard N. Bolles.
This has helped me to map out my skills, experience, and just as importantly the kind of environment I would like to apply them in.
I saw being made redundant as an opportunity to explore what else I might do using the skills and experience I had gained.
It also gave me the opportunity to explore the kind of organisation I wanted to work for and what was important to me.
I personally wanted to find a role where I could see the difference I made on a daily basis and not just be a very small cog in a very big wheel! I found that working for Common Purpose.
Every choice you make has consequences, both positive and negative.
In changing careers or direction you have to weigh each of these up and decide what is right for you.
Sometimes the change is forced upon you, for example with redundancy, but at other times, you make that choice for yourself.
You can’t control the unexpected but you can control how you respond to it whether it is on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Is change worth the risk?
I am obviously going to say yes.
The choices I made fundamentally changed my life and career.
They opened my eyes to lots of new opportunities and also broke down the ‘oil and gas’ silo I had been living in – I saw the place I had lived and worked in through a new set of eyes!
Don’t get me wrong, it was not always easy - in my case I halved my salary overnight, but it was definitely worth it.
One of the key things I have learnt is to listen to my inner voice, or gut instinct, as 99% of the time it is right.
Which brings me back to the title of my blog “Feel the Fear and do it anyway” – things are never as bad as you think and by taking control and embracing change you will be surprised at the amazing opportunities which open up to you – the key thing is to keep your eyes and mind open to see them!!