Last week I was laid off.

Last week I was laid off.

On Wednesday last week, I was told that my job was no longer necessary. I guess the truth of the matter is that my position was made redundant. That’s different from being fired. Just to be clear: I wasn’t fired. Here’s an interesting statistic: over the last 27 years, I’ve been told that my job was no longer needed no less that 5 times. Let that sink in for a moment.

I’ve been retrenched 5 times in my working career.

Reminds me of that quote from Robin Chase, the co-founder of Zipcar (the largest car sharing company in the world), "My father had one job in his life, I've had six in mine, my kids will have six at the same time."

In situations like this, I like to remember that ‘if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.’ This is something that Dr Wayne Dyer enjoyed saying. And I often reflect on it. For example; instead of thinking I’m no longer relevant, I can take this opportunity and find the next exciting chapter of my rich career. I’ve literally learnt so much in the last 3 years about creativity, design, leadership, collaboration, agile and google design sprints that you could say I’ve now graduated top of my class. Let’s look at this situation in that way. See? It’s changed.

The other important piece of the puzzle is to adopt a learning mindset. Which is simply this; when faced with a challenge, take a moment to pause, reflect and ask yourself 4 questions; What happened? What did I do? What would I do differently next time? and, What have i learnt from this? Know that all these experiences add up to your unique personal brand. It’s the difference between a  growth mindset and fixed one.

So, whats next of me?

First. Coffee and contemplation. This is the time to pause and reflect. What do I want to do? What valuable skills have I learnt over the last 4 years? Where would I like to apply those skills? Get real specific.

Second. Network. Hopefully you’ve been smart enough to invest in your network continuously and not wait until you’re between gigs to start developing one. Now is the time to make those discreet calls to everyone and buy them coffee (or beer). You need to get out there and chat to everyone that will share industry insights.

Third. Polish your resume and portfolio. Again, if you’ve been smart enough, then this shouldn’t come with a heavy burden. It should just be a matter of updating the last few weeks or months. Keep up to date with your social media channels and make sure your personal brand and dialogue reflects exactly who you are, what you’ve learnt and where you want to go.

In my experience, every time i’ve arrived at this fork in the road, the opportunities that have presented themselves have been ones that have allowed me to add tremendous value to the environments I attracted and grow in ways that I would not have dreamt possible. At times this can be scary, but also very exciting. Like I said, if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

You'll find me sitting at House of Machines with a coffee contemplating my next move.

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In my next post, I’m going to take some time to reflect on what an exhilarating and wonderful 3 years i’ve experienced.