Thanuja Simmons, operations controller at Brewgooder, shares her life-changing experience of being made redundant and finding a new path in the same industry.

I have been in the world of drinks since the 2000s, and in that time I worked for one company in various roles, from customer operations, forecast and demand planning to project and process management. I was a generalist rather than specialist. In November 2020 I was told my role was made redundant and I would be leaving the business in March 2021. Here are three things I experienced:

I questioned my value

My emotions ranged from shock, through anger and grief, followed by my natural inclination when presented with a problem, which is to go into solution mode. I applied for internal jobs, but it was a dark and frightening time. I put on a brave face with my colleagues and friends, and did not share my feelings or emotions. My husband was the only one who knew how I truly felt. That impostor syndrome which always bubbled under the surface was now front and centre. I questioned my abilities and value to the world of business.

I decided I wanted a more meaningful career

Christmas gave me the opportunity to reflect and consider what I wanted for the next chapter of my career. I made the decision that, after 20+ years in the world of beer and cider, I wanted a career that would leave a legacy and align with my diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging values. I believed that to find a purpose meant leaving the world of drinks

The day after I handed back my IT equipment, I was contacted by a former colleague, who had no idea about my redundancy, reaching out to ask if there was someone in my network who could support on a project. The last line of the message was “that they hoped that in these extraordinary times I was keeping busy”, to which I responded about being made redundant. This led to a conversation about Brewgooder, a business he was working with. He believed that the breadth of experience I had would be an advantage to Brewgooder. For me, working for a business whose mission is for a more equitable world where everyone gets a fair chance to thrive, aligned perfectly with what I wanted – to make a tangible difference to people both locally and globally

I realised it wasn’t me that way being made redundant; it was my role

My value and experience are still valuable. I realised how important it is to tell people how you’re feeling and not put on a brave face. This an opportunity to reset – what we wanted 10 or 15 years ago is very different to what we might want for the next 15 to 20 years.

If your business offers you career coaching, CV writing or redundancy workshops, take them up on it. I found it invaluable, and it helped me to drill down into what values were important to me and what my purpose is.

Be bold, be brave and be confident; use your networks, have coffee chats, check if friends have contacts they can introduce you to. If there had been a community like Drinks United, which is driving for a united UK drinks industry where everyone feels safe, included and supported, where there are resources for education and career development, some of the stress I encountered could have been lessened.