Thursday 28 May 2015

Redundancy

What a boring title! Sadly, for those going through it, it's not a boring situation.

If you worked through 2008/2009, it's likely you knew 1 if not more people, who were made redundant or were placed at risk of redundancy, it was a very scary time and I was one of those placed at risk, I retained my role but seeing so many colleagues and friends have to leave the jobs they'd worked so hard in through no fault of their own was heartbreaking at times, and i'm not exaggerating.

Redundancy happens all the time, its a way for companies to keep costs down, loose excess headcount and slimline a burgeoning business in tough times. Its never pleasant but it happens and it may happen to you, I just wanted to write a post on it to highlight a few things to keep in mind if you're put in this position and how to remain positive and proactive.

1 - Every cloud
I don't mean that to sound flippant but it may be that this is the best thing that has ever happened to you. If you're fairly new to the business, well, who wants to stay in a business that is making people redundant, its not the greatest of signs so perhaps its best to get out early. If you've been there forever then all the more reason to celebrate, perhaps you were stuck in a rut, afraid to get out, happy in your comfort zone, well now you HAVE to move, you have to do something and this could be the push you needed to find something bigger and better. It won't always be that obvious when you're worrying about your bills but do keep it in mind, it will help you through the tough times.

2 - Dust off that Cv
It may be that you've been using the same CV for a while, or not, either way this is a good opportunity to really take a long hard look at how you're selling yourself, after-all your position is a bit different now so you need to really understand how you can present yourself in the best way possible and get in front of that new hiring manager. Are you clear, concise and able to demonstrate your expertise, whatever that may be? Of course cvukwriter can help you with this if you're not sure....!

3 - Don't dwell
There's no two ways about it, even if you were quite hoping for redundancy for whatever reason, its still not a great place to be and for 99% of the population, if you're going to leave a business you'd rather do it on your own volition. But don't dwell on this, try and keep your head up, dwelling on the negative will only stall your efforts to a more positive future. Motivated people will do more and be more, unmotivated people who dwell on the bad times will more likely be the people sitting watching Eastenders of an evening rather than tweaking their CV for that role they just spied on Indeed. Easier said than done buy it's often a case of mind over matter

4 - You're better than you think
So you've been made redundant, try not to take it personally (yeah right). That made sound like a daft statement but it's the case, self confidence can go a long way (although when it tips over into arrogance then no one can save you!), just because you've been made redundant doesn't mean your skills won't be valued elsewhere, doesn't mean you won't thrive elsewhere and it sure doesn't mean that someone else won't hire you. They will, you just have to keep the faith and as per post 3, don't dwell on the negative.

For further reading these articles might be of interest:

Aimed at the over 40s but valid points that can apply to many people regardless of age; http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/finding-work-redundancy-40s-tips-for-success

Good tips that hopefully your employer would have covered anyway; http://approachthemarket.co.uk/10-tips-to-help-you-cope-with-redundancy/

The serious side of redundancy, know where you stand, another useful article from the Guardian; http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/jan/20/how-to-cope-with-redundancy