The 12th of January 1998 is a day etched in my memory as I did not get any of the roles applied for and was now on retrenchment. I remember coming home that afternoon and an old guy was painting our skirting boards in our home who I had the utmost respect for. He asked, ‘how my day went?’ My answer “yeah, it was pretty shit and I lost my job today’.
He, without looking up or missing a beat in painting the skirting boards , said “oh well mate Don’t let the bastards beat you”.
His comments was what I needed after a pretty ordinary day so I vowed and declared then that, yep, unlike some of my colleagues who really became bitter & twisted I was not going to allow the organisation to win as such so I remained positive and continued working for the organisation until the date approached for my retrenchment.
During this time, other positions were offered but it meant relocating with my family. We decided not to take up these options and as fate would have it my ideal job came up and fortunately I landed the role of helping young and talented athletes in regional areas to develop their sporting potential both on and off the field.
So for me the message I took away from being made redundant and that feeling of worthlessness was simply in my old painter mate words “do not let the bastards beat you”!
Stay true to yourself and realise that as hard as it is, you are just a number and business is business. Treat it that way and continue to look out for opportunities that will help you further your career.
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