Three years ago, I quit my job in risk to travel the world. It seemed as good a time as any to try something different. – I’d been working in the industry for nearly five years and I wanted a break.
At the time, it seemed I’d have no problem getting back in again. I wasn’t even looking for a job, but between 2014 and 2016 I was getting five or six calls a day from headhunters who were desperate to hire someone with my kind of regulatory knowledge.
I quit in February 2017 and had a great 14 months traveling around Europe and Asia. It was everything I could have expected. I don’t believe that humans are made to sit at desks and it was the kind of break I needed.
Since I’ve been back, however, life has been tough. I’ve applied for a lot of jobs in my previous field and I’ve had almost no responses from recruiters. I’ve been out of work for over two years, save a very brief period of consultancy work. Things couldn’t be more different.
I’m not sure what to do. I’m living of my savings, some trading income, and a small portfolio of rental properties and it’s starting to seem like I’ll never get another job in finance. It’s been a shock – I’ve gone from being the person everyone wanted to hire to the person at the bottom of pile and it seems that one year out of the market did that. It’s scary really. It’s like headhunters have 50+ CVs to choose from nowadays and I’m just not seen as relevant.
I’m tempted just to buy a van and go back on the road. Any advice from people reading this article would be much appreciated.
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