I’m often surprised to find when working with people facing redundancy or massive organisational change, that many have not undertaken any professional development for years, if at all, over the course of their working life. And for many, the reality of what that may mean begins to hit home when they consider competing for positions against people with qualifications or relevant, recent training in particular areas. When people are facing potential job loss or job change, they do question their “employability” outside their current area of work and organisation. My message to people in this position and others wondering if they “should” do something about their professional development is this: (1) it is never too late to undertake professional or personal development (2) it isn’t an optional extra in our working careers but a must-do (3) failure to develop professionally will make us less valuable to an employer/contractor (4) the mind shift needed is to think of ourselves as self-employed, as consultants – and ask ourselves frequently if we have up-to-date knowledge and experience; whether we are highly employable; and whether we can truly “add value” to any organisation we are in.