Are your family and friends behind you?

I got a lot of comments on my last post, so I thought I would explain a little more.

Once it became known in my network that I was looking for something new, I started to surround myself with people who will cheer me on. Equally, important, I started to avoid people who weren't supportive — and there was more of them than I expected.

You too may also find that among those killjoys could be your parents if you were probably coming of age through the market crash and may never have readjusted their perceptions of keeping their families safe; a few so-called friends and colleagues who will condescend, making you feel even worse; and the occasional jerk who will wonder, to your face or to your back, whether you’ve lost your mind.

Most dangerous of all, there are those who will appear to commiserate and yet will somehow manage to project all their own anxieties on you. It’s tough, they’ll say, for someone in your field... no one wants to hire anyone over fifty.... you’re the wrong gender... you’re the wrong colour... the economy is a wreck... you don’t stand a chance.

Who needs that? Stay away from those naysayers and pessimists if you can. If you’re lucky, your family and close friends will be supportive. If they’re not, contact the people you know who have made similar changes such as our WA family.

Something that I have found helpful is to forge connections with younger friends and colleagues, who may be less intimidated by the implications of change; or seek advice from a therapist or career coach. Better to pay for support than not to have it at all.

Have a successful day everyone.