Testimonials

“My joining Another Door was driven by panic and fear. Anticipating redundancy and being fearful of the future is a lonely place to be. My friends were all trying to calm my very real fears of potential redundancy by dismissing them. I chanced across Another Door at a desperately low point and at exactly the right time.

I think what has helped me most has been the normalising of redundancy.

It happens to the best of us. It can be an opportunity to grow if you let it be. Discussing issues and fears and hearing different plans from other professionals has been fantastic - a huge help in steadying my little boat. I have also been blessed that I have found support in real life too - the online community gave me confidence to reach out in the real world, too. Unexpected golden support, which has been hugely important in helping me stay afloat emotionally.

Never underestimate the power of a community sharing and discussing. Listening to the plans of others helped me think through my own needs and understand my own tolerances. Hearing discussions of potential solutions, potential people who could help further, becoming exposed to an ever widening community of support - all opened my eyes to a world beyond my own.

The modules gave me a structure to deal with the shock of redundancy, initially focusing on how to ensure that I looked after myself. I learned that what I was feeling was normal. In later modules I learned to step back and let my brain think gently about next steps. I learned new tools to aid decision making. New articles and self help books were offered as potentials to help get me and keep me moving forward.

I learned that we are never the final product - we are always learning, always changing, always moving forward even when we feel we are moving backwards. I learned to start to embrace this.

Having only one salary makes me scrutinise spending every penny, and spending money on something like this feels like a luxury, especially at a time when you are losing your income. However, what I have also learnt from this community is that emotional well-being, listening and learning, lending support, and receiving support at a time when your world is upside down is absolutely critical to surviving well, and even enjoying this time.

A luxury to spend money on yourself? It depends on individual circumstances, but now having experienced the support, I would say for me, this was a necessity. I can't recommend Another Door community and Eleanor herself highly enough. If you are at a cross roads in your life (whether redundancy related or otherwise), this community will help you enjoy exploring your next steps.” Susan

”When I took VR, I wasn’t under an illusion that I’d immediately walk into another job – but it has proved more tricky than I thought ! One of the things that really appealed to me about Another Door was the offer of support through redundancy ; having exited a large organisation, it was great to feel I had a new network to help me when I was stuck, and a library of resources to call on to help me make sense of where I wanted to go next.

To be honest, when I read the wealth of help available on the website, I’d expected a larger business that had been going for some time ! I’m actually really glad I didn’t get that, it has been great to be part of something which is so fresh and vibrant and is still actively pushing the boundaries. That really gets me fired up to follow my own plans in return. And the resources on the site are even more expansive once you start getting into them – there are plenty of really interesting paths to follow !

 The community is one of the key elements to Another Door – being able to chat to other members, share ideas, and help each other out is a great facility, and I’ve met some brilliant people already. I love the Monday ‘touch base’ calls, which are a great open forum. Personally, I’ve used these to help me plan my upcoming actions each week, and to keep me disciplined – as I know I’ll be reporting back on progress ; but there’s no compulsion to do it that way – it’s all around what works best for each of us.

 I’d recommend Another Door without doubt, reservation or hesitation. There’s nothing else I know of out there that is geared up to offer anything similar, and it has been a real help to me in my journey so far. Not only has this opened my eyes to far more ideas and possibilities than I had ever imagined, the coaching and supportive challenge from Eleanor has bolstered my confidence, and made sure that I stay ‘on track’. So many different ‘Other Doors’ out there – it’s fantastic !” Phil

“I was introduced to Eleanor when I had just finished a contract role as a senior PR & Media Manager, our conversation definitely came at the right time. I found Eleanor’s concept and business idea very interesting and one that would help me to see a clearer career picture moving forward.”

“Eleanor has a great character, is supportive and amiable and I found our session very helpful.  Eleanor teamed me with various practical exercises to work through to help align my thoughts and choose the right path and next step in my career. “ 

“I couldn’t recommend Eleanor’s programme enough- either as stop gap refresher or as a way to unblock and consider your career options.”

“It’s nice to take a little time to think about your career and whether or not you want to change direction or just make a few changes to what you want in the future. I learnt that I wanted to stick with internal communications, but the workshop helped me prioritise what I wanted, for example a job with opportunities be a mentor and also volunteering. The biggest realisation is that I just need to be myself on my CV, on my LinkedIn profile and in interviews so that I can get a role I enjoy and am good at!”

“Eleanor’s inclusive, friendly and can do attitude came across and helped people open up and join in the discussion at the workshop.”