New year, new career

In November 2025 I was made redundant after 35 years with the same company. At the age of 62-and-three-quarters I was too young to retire, but too old to re-join the rat-race.

I couldn’t bear the thought of going through the application process only to be rejected time and again for being too old/too quiet/too boring, and the thought of being interviewed by some young whippersnapper filled me with horror. Never one for self-promotion, I struggle at the best of times.

The interview might go something like this:

Whippersnapper: So, tell me about yourself.

Me: How long have you got?

Whippersnapper: Ok, suppose you were stranded alone on a desert island with no access to a phone? How would you cope?

Me: That’s my idea of heaven.

Whippersnapper: Riiiiggghhhttt. Let’s try again, shall we? Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Me: Hopefully, stranded on that desert island.

Whippersnapper: Thank you, er … we’ll let you know.

Joking aside, after being told I was surplus to requirements after 35 years, I felt as if a limb had been cut off and I would need rehabilitation to function again. I floundered, looking for some piece of flotsam to cling to.

Then, that very evening I experienced one of those strange coincidences that happen now and again, usually when we’re at our lowest ebb. It’s like finding a fiver in your coat pocket when your bank account is at zero (if you know, you know.) I got a message out of the blue from an old friend. “Hi, are you still doing graphic design? I have a job that needs doing.”

And so it was decided: I would go freelance. I packed up all my company equipment, bought myself a refurbished Mac on Ebay, registered as self-employed and there was no going back.

Here's a link to my website, if you're interested. https://www.joanne-morley-hill.com

Thank you for your attention in this matter. 😁

Not my photo. Credit goes to the originator.