fbpx
0203 289 8910
info@imnotdoneyet.co.uk

20 Jul 2017

Career wane – losing your identity and purpose

Over the last two years, whilst setting up www.imnotdoneyet.co.uk, one of the most frequent questions I have been asked is how to deal with career wane.

Career wane is the moment that you realise your career has passed you by. You can no longer get the opportunities that you are used to, your expertise is not sought as frequently and you start to wonder why a once viable career no longer has its sparkle.

There are generally three times that this may occur:

  1. Redundancy – you find that your role is actively removed
  2. Retirement – your age determines whether you should do the role
  3. Re-appraisal – you or your company decides that the role might not be for you

I have found that it generally tends to hit around the late 40’s and 50’s though I have spoken to much younger people who are experiencing career wane.

Three tips on how to deal with career wane:

 Don’t beat yourself up

The most important thing to realise is that this is very normal. Many others tread this path – so it is not just you. Without any doubt beating yourself up will be counterproductive – it will not help you move forward and will pull you back.

Be honest with yourself

Your tendency will be to do more of the same rather than to step back and consider where you are dispassionately. Be honest with yourself but importantly try to accept that you are just where you are.

Start thinking about changing your future

Key questions to ask yourself are – What needs to happen and what will be important to you in moving forward. As Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”. By stepping back, we can use different thinking to find a new path to the future.

Whilst it may mark the end of one stage of your career it invariably means the start of a new and potentially exciting chapter.

If you feel that www.imnotdoneyet.co.uk could help you or your employees in dealing with career wane – do contact us for a chat.