Hi Forum
Me again with an update and a lesson learned.
I had to choose between my dream job and the job I just started. Dream job was a new role in a new industry and (in my view) a risk, whereas job just started I was well suited and knew I could do well. Having just gone though redundancy I was risk adverse and the dream job would have required a house move to a new area (and changing kids schools etc). I spent a month reviewing options and then, basically, bottled it and stuck with what I had.
Tony's advise at the time "If your current employers suddenly got hit with some bad news, they wouldn't think twice about making you redundant. "
well, THEY GOT HIT, THEY DIDN'T THINK TWICE.
So today is day one of gardening leave. Checking LinkedIn I can see the dream job is thriving, but that door is closed.
Lesson Learned: Follow your dreams.
Jeez - what a mess. My parent's generation had it good. My father had one job, fat pension and golden parachute to exit mid 50s. My eldest is just graduating as an engineer. He's smart and street-savvy, he fully expects to be shafted many times in his career and sees it as part of the process.
I'm fit, healthy, have a great family and the mortgage is paid off, so I'm good. Next steps: Double-espresso and hit the job hunt - again.