Redirecting.work

When cost pressures led the company to offer voluntary redundancies, he recognized it as the right moment to exit. Though the terms were amicable, it was still a professional inflection point: a signal to step back, take stock, and define his next chapter.

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The Pivot in Progress
Six months into this new phase, Dirk is candid: “I’m glad I chose to leave.” Rather than jumping straight into job applications, he’s embraced a more deliberate approach, anchored in Never Search Alone, Phyl Terry’s book that reframes the job hunt as a process of building self-awareness before reentering the market. The methodology begins with identifying who you are, what you want to do, and how others see your strengths.

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From these insights, candidates create a “Candidate Market Fit, ”a statement akin to product-market fit in marketing. This leads to targeted job descriptions for LinkedIn or networking conversations. “It makes you precise in what you ask for, and your network can be more helpful,” he explains.

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Equally powerful has been the Job Search Council, a peer support model central to Never Search Alone. Assigned to a group of six, he quickly volunteered as moderator, drawing on his love of facilitating and teaching. Weekly meetings balance emotional support with practical guidance, helping members refine their goals, share networks, and hold each other accountable. “It builds confidence,” he says. “And you realize you’re not in this alone.” The model’s reach has grown rapidly, with thousands of councils worldwide, all volunteer-driven.

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The confidence building comes from following the Never Search Alone process; because rather than applying and hoping someone will like you/see you; it centers you on being targeted and self-directed.

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What the free Job Search Councils do is: 

1. Hold you accountable

2. Provide emotional support

3. Create a close-knit community with whom you can talk and who know exactly what you’re going through/trying to do. It’s open and honest

4. Allows you to support others and therefore feel like you are creating value (in a moment when you may wonder whether you have skills that are valuable).​

 

To complement this, he experiments with co-working sessions via Zoom—structured, silent accountability time with fellow Job Search Council members to ensure focus on meaningful tasks rather than distractions. “These are really going well,” he reports.

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What He Aspires To
While some peers rush to secure new roles, Dirk is building carefully. His expectations: at least half a year of exploration. Already, opportunities are surfacing. This summer, he joined a faculty candidate workshop with DCM Insights, a high-level research and teaching organization. “I loved every minute of it,” he says of the experience, which evolved in his first client could evolve into contractor work covering a significant portion of his desired income while leaving room to consult independently. His first client engagement has now been confirmed.

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Teaching, moderating, and facilitating are threads he wants to carry forward. Alongside that, he sees generative AI as a game-changer in HR, either reducing HR to process transactions or elevating it to the trusted center of organizational decision-making. With his background spanning investment banking, World Bank operations, corporate research, HR leadership, startups, and people analytics, he feels prepared to shape this emerging conversation. “I can talk to executives anywhere,” he says. “And I can help frame how AI should be integrated with HR strategy.” Interestingly, the only thing that doesn’t surface is his central focus on HR, because the clients aren’t seeing HR as a plus.

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The road ahead likely blends consulting, teaching, and workshops—starting small, perhaps with three clients, and building outward. “I’ve not been a solo entrepreneur before,” he admits, “so it’s scary. But the discipline I’m learning gives me confidence.”

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Advice to Others
For those facing a similar transition, Dirk offers practical guidance:

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• Prepare before you exit. “Once you decide to leave, gather your work, emails, and contacts within legal bounds. Your network is critical.”
   

• Don’t search alone. Group coaching, he argues, is today where executive coaching was a decade ago—powerful, affordable, and transformative.
   

• Balance reflection with outreach. Know who you are and what you want.

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• Don’t let your network go dormant. Leverage weak ties. The outer circles of your connections are where many opportunities arise. Dirk has since added, to “step back and get to know (again) who you are, at this point in your career, what you want, and which of your skills/expertise the market/employers value. But don’t let your network go dormant. Leverage weak ties. These are those contacts beyond friends, who you’ve connected with in the last 12 months and who know something about your work.”
   

• Apply selectively. “Don’t apply unless you’re at least somewhat excited. Repeated rejection chips away at your confidence.”
   

For now, Dirk is both navigating uncertainty and crafting possibilities. “I need to package what I offer in a way the market values,” he reflects. But his optimism is clear: with each step, he is shaping a path aligned with his skills, values, and the future of work.