When your job ends unexpectedly after decades, the change affects far more than just the job search. Three professionals and a career coach share what it is like to pause, make sense of one’s skills, and rebuild direction at a moment when nothing feels certain.
Not all changes feel good, at least not at first. At turning points in your career, you may lose sight of your direction for a moment – as well as any certainty about what will happen next. Yet some of these experiences later turn out to be turning points that lead you to something new.
Three experienced professionals, together with a career coach, describe what it is like to rebuild direction – and why these steps reveal more about a person than any title.
When you have spent decades working for the same employer, finding a new direction is not just a matter of looking for a new job. It is a journey to your own professional identity and sometimes to rebuilding it.
Often, the first step is not forward
Barbro Teir often meets her coachees in situations where the direction is open or unclear.
“Many come to coaching in a situation where their self-esteem is being tested. Often, the first step is not forward, but to pause for a moment,” says Barbro.
Barbro understands what it feels like when the ground disappears from under your feet. She has experienced it herself. Perhaps that is why she knows how to listen in a way that does not require explanations and speak in a way that gives hope for the future.
"Coaching is not about finding quick answers. Instead, it involves exploring questions that we are not always accustomed to consider: what am I capable of, what motivates me – and what might the future hold?"
According to Barbro, after a long career, it is not just a matter of looking for a new job, but of redefining one's professional identity.
When you have spent decades working for the same employer, finding a new direction is not just a matter of looking for a new job. It is a journey to your own professional identity and sometimes to rebuilding it.
It is rarely a quick process – and rarely one that becomes clear without another person.
A new direction from invisible skills
Mats Nyman had worked for the same employer for over 25 years. When his employment ended, looking for a job felt unfamiliar. It was surprisingly difficult to put his skills into words.
“The first feeling I had during a coaching session was that someone really cared. Without that trust, the whole process would not have worked.”
After a long career, it is not easy to put your own skills into words. Many people have done their job well for years, even decades, without ever stopping to think about how they could describe all their accumulated experience to an outsider.
During the coaching, Mats began to identify skills that he had not previously thought of as expertise: self-direction, teamwork skills, the ability to work in demanding shift work environments—things that had accumulated over the years without him noticing.
An unconventional CV, created together with the coach, highlighted what his long career had taught him. Ultimately, the coaching led to a completely new direction: studies in a new field.
“No one gave me a ready-made path, but I was given the tools to build it myself. That made the process meaningful.”
After a long career, it is not easy to put your own skills into words. Many people have done their job well for years, even decades, without ever stopping to think about how they could describe all their accumulated experience to an outsider.
A pause that gave the courage to say no
Keeping all your options open does not always make the situation easier. Sometimes it even increases uncertainty. This was also the experience of Katriina Aresalo. For her, the change offered a place to pause. After a long career, she wanted to understand what she really wanted next.
“The coaching helped me identify skills that I hadn't been able to fully utilise. It gave me the courage to narrow down my options and focus on those that genuinely interest me.”
In moments of uncertainty, the coaching offered practical ways to process disappointment and strengthen confidence in one’s own direction. At the same time, the job search began to change.
“I didn’t apply for everything possible, but more specifically for positions where I knew what I had to offer – and that really interested me.”
Now, job hunting no longer feels like an uncertain transitional phase, but a clear process that strengthens confidence in my own direction, Katriina smiles.
I still have a lot to give
When Nina Granvik’s 26-year career with the same employer came to an end, her future seemed uncertain for a moment. She began to question her own skills and place in working life.
“I feel my work was left unfinished. I still have a lot to give. My biggest concern was whether I would find anything at my age.”
Career coaching gave Nina the opportunity to see herself in a new light. The discussions and exercises helped her see her strengths that had become invisible over the years. Her confidence in her own worth began to return.
“Age is just a number. It’s not a problem if you don’t make it a problem.”
For Nina, the coaching was more than just support in her job search. “It was an experience that preserved my human dignity even in the midst of uncertainty,” Nina recalls, adding, “It gave me the feeling that I was being seen as a person, and not only because of my situation.”
When an organisation handles change with dignity, they leave a mark that they can be genuinely proud of. It is in these moments that responsibility is transformed from words into action.
How you handle the starting point leaves a mark
Each interviewee expressed gratitude that career coaching was part of the termination of their employment. They highlight something that is easily forgotten: the employer's image is also built in the initial stages.
“When people feel that they are valued even in an exit situation, it creates trust and often even gratitude,” says Nina.
The impact of career coaching is not limited to the individual level. It is reflected in how the former employer is remembered – and what kind of message the organisation sends to those who remain.
“When an organisation handles change with dignity, they leave a mark that they can be genuinely proud of. It is in these moments that responsibility is transformed from words into action.” Barbro summarises.
Hanken & SSE supports organisations in situations involving change negotiations and adjustment. Career coaching is not a single measure, but part of a whole that helps to bring about change in a controlled and humane manner. Find out more about transition security here.