PLANNING THE EXIT BEFORE SOMEONE PLANS IT FOR YOU

There's a particular career risk that becomes very real at this stage: waiting so long to plan your own exit that a restructure, a redundancy or a health issue plans it for you, on a timeline you never chose. This guide isn't about assuming the worst. It applies the same clear-headed planning to the end of a career chapter that you'd apply to any other major transition, so that whatever happens next, a planned retirement, a deliberate change or an unexpected redundancy, you're ready rather than caught off guard.

• Reading the early signs that a role or industry is changing under you
• Building the financial runway that makes an exit a choice, not a crisis
• Timing your departure and negotiating the terms of leaving
• Keeping skills, contacts and options alive before you need them
• Deciding what comes next, and the identity shift that goes with it