Dealing with Redundancy

Redundancy is becoming a fact of life and, although we all hope to escape it, the reality is most of us will be faced with the news that sooner or later our jobs are being cut and that our services are no longer required. On hearing the news you may experience a range of emotions including denial and anger and you will have concerns about your finances and future career, but the trick is try not to panic and rush into making rash decisions. Redundancy does not need to be a negative experience, many people decide to use this time to re-evaluate their lives, to change their careers, retrain, retire or even start a new business and turn things around.

So what do you do when you have just been told “I am sorry to tell you…”? The best thing you can do is take control of the situation, follow these simple steps and turn redundancy into opportunity.

1. Try not to take the news personally; the job is being made redundant not you
2. Give yourself time to come to terms with the situation. You will experience a number of emotions which is natural, and you may feel betrayed and helpless at first. Losing your job is a personal loss and you need time to process it. (Some people find stress and redundancy counselling helpful)
3. Assess your financial situation – it’s important to understand what is included in your redundancy package, find out about other benefits you may be entitled to, organise your personal or household budget and seek financial advice from a professional
4. Start looking towards the future and begin by identifying what you have to offer - think about your skills and achievements, what you are good at and enjoy doing and what motivates you.
5. Consider how you want to work going forward, this could include consultancy work, part time hours, or portfolio working
6. Spend time researching your ideas, seek advice and guidance from people already doing the type and set up of work that interests you
7. Create a professional CV. Your CV is a sales document and needs to work for you, it’s the first impression prospective employers will get
8. Maximise your chances by using the 4 key routes to the job market :
   1. Advertised opportunities
   2. Recruitment agencies
   3. Personal contacts & networking and
   4. Direct approaches.
9. Make best use of the internet as it’s a fast and valuable source of information e.g. on-line job site, regular job alerts and company information including current vacancies
10. Stay on top of your campaign and create as many opportunities as you can. The more options you have open to you the better your chances will be.