Redundancy
Coping with Redundancy: So, you’ve been made redundant – what happens now?
You hope it’ll never happen to you, but how can you best deal with the nightmare in the current economic climate if you find yourself being made redundant. Success coach Adrianne Morris shares her suggestions for dealing with your worst case scenario.
Firstly, you need to acknowledge that you’ll be on an emotional roller-coaster. Losing your job is up there, along with divorce, moving home or losing someone close to you, as one of the most traumatic events that can happen. It is perfectly ok to have feelings of shock, shame, disappointment, loss, anger, sadness and resentment.
You need to start to deal with these feelings or they will niggle away at you. Exercise can often a good starting option to take, so go to the gym or get out for a brisk walk; try hitting a tennis ball or getting into a football match to release those pent-up negative feelings. Anything physical will be a good first step towards releasing some of the bad vibes but of course that’s just the beginning.
Talking through your feelings initially with family and friends is really important even though you may feel like hiding away and isolating yourself. Through talking you will begin to release some of the emotions you are holding inside and realize that you are not alone in this situation.
One of the first things people ask us on first acquaintance is “what do you do?” as our jobs are so much a part of our identity. Our salary pays for our lifestyle, so money and status are tied in with our job. Understandably many of us worry over how we will maintain our life style and status.
Loss of this means to support our life style and status might lead to depression which can have a negative impact on our relationships, thus culminating our feelings of a dwindling positive identity. To prevent this happening it is important not to dwell too long on the negatives and to start to make an action plan.
Sit down and set some short and medium-term goals for yourself.
You need to review your CV and think about what jobs are likely to become available. In the current economic climate, no matter how great you are as an estate agent or banker, if there aren’t the jobs available what are you going to do? Look at your skills from a general viewpoint and consider how these might be transferable: for example, if you have been managing an estate agency, you might have good people skills, a meticulous eye for detail and be skilled at certain IT packages – all skills that might be useful in managing other types of practices.
For many people who didn’t really get a lot of job satisfaction out of their work, this can be seen as an opportunity, perhaps not initially, but in time. Looking at your skills and thinking how you might transfer them to a completely different industry might be challenging but could ultimately prove to be very rewarding.
It is essential that you start to set small tasks for each day so that the weeks don’t just drift by. When you were at work, you had structure to your day, so you need to create some action plans for the days and weeks ahead. Of course, initially you might want to catch up with chores at home like de-cluttering or decorating – things you might have been putting off whilst working. These are good things to focus on for part of the time whilst the goals you have set already are starting to happen. Redundancy pay might have been substantial so perhaps a holiday might be on the cards but beware of putting off making plans and thinking about the future as it is all too easy to fritter away the time.
If you want a new job, this must be where you focus your time and attention. Look for jobs on line, visit recruiters, revamp your CV but also be proactive – meet up with people, do research and get support from a career counsellor, any and all of these things will help to speed up the process of getting a new job. Consider whether you want to retrain or take new courses to advance your skills. Would this be a good time to do this?
Think of who you know who might be able to help you. Who were your contacts in business – would it be helpful to contact them and let them know you are available and looking for a new job? If they don’t know you’re available, they can’t help, so you need to put everyone in the picture. Let everyone you come across, socially, know the kind of work that you are looking for and what your skills are – you just don’t know who might be able to help. According to research around 70% of people find jobs via the unadvertised job market and this means going out there and talking with people, chatting with people at meetings and events, and specifically seeking out people that you can talk with to find out more about jobs that interest you. As you get clearer on the job you want the more people that know, the more they can help you in your job search.
Set yourself some ground rules, for example, no daytime t.v., no popping down to Starbucks for coffee with a friend, unless of course it’s for a brainstorming session about where to go from here. It’s all too easy in this situation when feeling a bit sorry for yourself to want to hide away. Don’t fritter away money on inessentials such as cd’s, magazines or gadgets. Don’t spend hours surfing the net aimlessly – it’s all too easy for 2 or 3 hours to go by without even noticing it and then feel that you’ve wasted an afternoon that could have been put to better use.
If finding another job isn’t an essential for you from a financial viewpoint, perhaps helping out at a charity shop or manning the phones for a help line could be something you’d want to consider. Also don’t just think of yourself, but also look out for ways to be of help to others. Perhaps an elderly or unwell friend or neighbour needs help with shopping or chores and would be grateful for a helping hand.
Let your family know how you are and keep an eye out for them as well. Family members may also feel stressed, wondering if you’re going to be able to pay your bills or continue to help them if that was the situation when you were working.
It is important to keep yourself in a positive state of mind following the redundancy and it will take a lot of energy and stamina to keep going till you get a new job. You will also want to make sure you are in good health for when you start your new job. Try to get a regular programme of exercise in place, eat for good health and get out in the fresh air.
Most importantly, talk to someone about what you are feeling, about your fears and insecurities. If you feel that your nearest and dearest have had enough or are being judgmental, a life coach could be just the person you need to help you get clarity and raise your awareness about where to go from here.
Coaching can help you assess your transferable skills, re-do your CV, brush up your interview techniques and set your goals for the future. For a free session with Success Coach Adrianne Morris call 07956 514714 or see the website at www.alplifecoach.com