Here’s what changed everything I thought about job security

When I was 9 my Dad got made redundant. That changed everything I thought about job security.

He was a bookkeeper at Mays, a transportation company round the corner from our house. It was the first office job I remember him having. Before that, he’d been lots of things: mechanic, a long-distance lorry driver… He did what needed to be done.

Then he went to night school to get qualifications for an office job. Mays was fancy – dad wore a shirt and tie. But one day he come home and he didn’t work at Mays anymore.

The truth about ‘secure jobs’

On that day, I learnt that jobs are uncertain. You can work hard but sometimes they end before you are ready.

Deep down I know things can end. Anytime.

Low paying job. High paying job. Manual job. Degree level job. Junior position. Senior position.

It’s all the same.

My family used to talk about secure jobs. Teaching, nursing, Government jobs, doctors, lawyers…

Yet I know teachers who have been made redundant. The NHS is looking shaky as hell, doctors are burnt out, and lawyers are bored to tears by billable hours.

5 people I know in my personal networks, across different industries and sectors, have been made redundant this year.

How to create a job safety cushion

We have to rely on ourselves – develop an ability to problem solve, learn and apply new skills, and build powerful networks.

That’s why I talk about building your career like an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs see opportunities and solve problems. They create opportunities for themselves and others. They build what they want to see in the world.

I realised that an ability to create my own opportunities was my safety cushion. My super power.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I’m adaptable and can create opportunities. I have the receipts. I’m friends with other people who do that too.

The power of a side hustle

I watched my Dad dust himself off… He became a bus driver and worked double shifts, and on the side he started investing in property.

He’s retiring this year after a quarter of a century at Transport for London.

His side hustle means he’ll have a comfy retirement. Being a landlord is long but I respect the opportunities he created for himself.

It’s my joy when people tell me my newsletter has helped them think through the next steps in their career and life. When my Career Pivot Pro students share the transformations they’ve undergone by the end of our work together.

I want you to win.

And have the tools to make lemons out of lemonade. To build the skills and networks that create your own insurance policy. To make the most of what you already have and understand how to use them if needed.

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