'Dusting yourself down and seeking new challenges after redundancy'

Jarvis Cocker of Pulp once asked: ‘Do you remember the first time? I can’t remember a worse time.’ Although the subject matter he was referring to was a little different, the sentiment was similar. I was gutted, but appreciated difficult decisions are having to be made everywhere at the moment.

Fortunately I am someone whose glass is almost always half full, so within a short space of time (six hours) I’d dusted myself down and was determined to make the most of things. I ensured my last few weeks with Princess went as well as possible and then prepared myself for the next challenge.

The first thing that hits you when you’re looking for a job these days is the sheer amount of people who are in your position. At times it’s overwhelming. Of course we’ve been particularly badly hit in travel, but we’re not the only industry that’s suffering - just ask the journalists I’ve worked with.

The candidate overload means it’s difficult to land a job outside of your most recent sector; the feedback from recruiters is that employers can be particularly exacting with their requirements and still receive plenty of strong applications. At the same time, permanent travel PR jobs are few and far between, so opportunities are scarce.