The Confidence Crash of Redundancy
Let’s talk about the gut punch no one prepares you for.
You’ve spent decades building your career. You led teams. Solved problems. Delivered results. You were the safe pair of hands when it all hit the fan. People came to you for answers. Your opinion mattered. Your inbox was full of decisions that needed making.
And now?
You’re out. No desk. No inbox. No meetings where your voice carries weight. Just a severance letter and a LinkedIn profile that suddenly feels a bit too quiet.
Redundancy doesn’t just take your income. It messes with your identity. You were someone. The person who knew where the bodies were buried. The one who could navigate office politics with your eyes closed. The expert who junior staff looked up to.
Now you’re explaining your value to strangers who don’t even respond to your CV. You’re sitting in coffee shops having “informal chats” with people half your age who nod politely while clearly thinking you’re expensive, set in your ways, or just too much work.
Let’s call it what it is. Dehumanising. Deflating. And for GenX+ professionals, far too common.
The stats don’t lie. Over-50s take twice as long to find new roles. Not because they’re less capable. Because the system is rigged against experience.
But here’s the truth they don’t want you to remember. You are still that person. Still capable. Still sharp. Still valuable. The skills that got you to where you were don’t evaporate the moment HR calls you into that meeting.
The market might be blind to your worth right now. But you’re not invisible.
Confidence will come back. It has to. Because underneath the rejection and the silence, you know what you can do. Opportunities will come. The right ones always do, eventually.
But don’t sit in silence while you wait. Don’t let the rejections echo in an empty room. Talk. Connect. Share your story. Join our XTC community. Because you are not alone in this fight. And you’re definitely not done yet.
Your best work might still be ahead of you.