Friday 2 December 2016

Facing Redundancy at 25...

For as long as I can remember I've been full of ambition and always aspired to be in a job which challenged me and pushed me to grow... I had that job, but then it all changed. I always thought redundancy was something that happened when you got older, not something I would face in my twenties.

Young Dreams

When I was a child I was told that the world was my oyster, but I had my heart set on being a pop star or an actress, as I got older my passions developed and I realised that my love was behind the camera rather than in front. There was something about taking a photo, or making an image, editing it and allowing others to see your visions which enticed me and made me think life was more dimensional than I thought...

Developing the Passion

Along the way I experimented with different forms of digital media & print media which opened my eyes once more. YouTube played a big role in this and I soon racked up a decent following on there with my videos which allowed me to connect with people overseas - Some of which I still am in contact with, even today.

In university I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a director or producer as I loved organising projects and seeing a team work together to achieve a vision, and to be honest, even when I left university I still had that thought in mind.

Entering the Real World...

So why am I telling you all this when you feel like you may know how the story ends? Well, it's because after university I started working in the industry almost immediately, yet after a few months it started to make me deeply unhappy. Even though on paper I was doing pretty much what I had dreamt about doing, it was so unsatisfying and not at all what I had envisioned. I counted down the hours until it was home-time, I was bored out of my mind and I felt so frustrated with the way the company was run. It made me re-evaluate who I was, what I wanted to do and left me wondering if I had spent the last 10 years fixated on a completely unrealistic dream that I actually didn't enjoy. 

I thought long and hard about leaving the company for oh so long, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave - mainly because I felt like I should be grateful for having a job in my desired field, and partly because I felt worthless and like I'd get lost in a male-dominated industry. Even though this job was having a negative effect on my mental health and motivation, I stayed. That was until a new opportunity presented itself and gave my career a whole new lease of life...

A Change in the Water 

I was taken on as the marketing manager by a start up company, founded by two successful guys who were polar opposites of my previous boss. Even though I had done some networking, marketing and social media in the past I didn't have any solid experience so I was quite dubious about the position, but the guys had confidence in me and so I decided to go for it. 

All for Nothing?

9 months of intense, crazy working hours, super tight deadlines, a lot of responsibility and a lot of fun, my boss pulled me to one side and broke the news to me that they couldn't afford me and therefore they had to make me redundant. I was shocked, hurt and pretty gutted when I got the news, especially as I was in the middle of putting together a proposal for another potential client so I was under the impression things were going great for the company. Suddenly, I felt like all the hours, hard work and perseverance I had shown were all for nothing, my world crumbled before me and I felt completely lost. However, that evening I was on my way to Swansea with my good friend Jamie to work on a little side project of ours for Nutty Pear. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, I mean, what are the chances that I get made redundant and on that very same day I have a film project booked for Nutty Pear..

A Different Approach

Sure I was heartbroken when my job came to an end, but having Nutty Pear naturally growing in the background was so reassuring. For months, if not years, I had loved the idea of having my own company, I had come to realise that working for a big corporation didn't appeal to me as much as having full control. So when I was made redundant it was like they were pushing me out of the plane and I could either fall to my death or let the parachute out, looking at the situation as a positive rather than a negative did me a lot of good.

Since The Dust Has Settled 

6 months on and I've still not got a 'proper' job (I hate that term), but Nutty Pear has grown immensely. We've done projects all over South Wales and in the England, we've produced commercial videos, fashion campaigns and charity projects. We're slowly getting our name out there and we also have a lot of repeat clients which we absolutely love! On top of that, I've been blogging more and found a new love for photography. Looking back, I think being made redundant was the best thing that could have happen to me, it pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to sink or swim, and right now I'm enjoying the water. 

This is something that I haven't publicly disclosed before, but I hope my story will be of use to others who are in similar situations and unsure what the road ahead may involve. Please let me know if you can relate to any of this or if you've also come through a difficult stage in your career.

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