Five Ways To Pick Yourself Up After Redundancy

The UK jobs market is bouncing back and unemployment is now at its lowest level for more than six years. But just because the economic climate is more benign, don’t assume redundancy can’t still happen to you. Whether it’s being told you’re surplus to requirements just as you’re sitting down to your Christmas Dinner, or BP shedding roles amid tumbling oil prices, losing your job is still very much a possibility in today’s volatile workplace. Here are five ways to dust yourself down and pick yourself up. Try not to take it personally OK it’s hard; after all you’ve just been told you’re losing your job. But unlike being fired, which can be distinctly personal, redundancy is about a company cutting a role or a position. Of course, the fact you’re the person currently filling that role makes it feel all too raw and personal, but it is important to recognise redundancy is just a numbers game. Organisations often do it because they need to reduce their costs or restructure the business and that’s a process driven by far bigger, impersonal economic or financial imperatives than simply because your face somehow doesn’t fit. Recognising this will be a first important step in helping you to let go and move on. Take time to grieve Having said all the above, do recognise being made redundant can, emotionally, feel like a bereavement. We often invest a lot of our emotional energy, even our identity and how we feel about ourselves, in our work. Suddenly having that cut away, especially if the announcement has come out of the blue, will take the wind from anyone’s sails. So do allow yourself some space to grieve – recognise and accept it’s going to hurt and you will probably go through the five common steps of bereavement before you get to “acceptance”. Give yourself space to think Your best-laid career plans have just come crashing down around your head. And that’s precisely why now’s the time not to apply in a fit of panic to the first thing that comes up. You need to carve out some ‘head space’ to think about what you’d like to do next, as opposed to what you think you ought to do. There will, of course, be practical pressures that come into play here – the loss of a monthly pay cheque, for one. How much time you feel able to give yourself to reflect will probably depend on what sort of pay-off you’ve been offered and how much of a financial ‘cushion’ you feel you now have. Nevertheless, however quickly you have to move in practice – even if you have no option but to start job hunting immediately – the key is also to take some time to step back and use this enforced breathing space wisely. Prioritise the practical Right from the moment you’re called into that scarily serious meeting with your boss you need to become fiercely practical. So don’t settle for vague promises, get chapter and verse on what’s on the table in terms of your redundancy offer, outstanding holiday pay or other benefits, any pension and what the timeframe is. If you’re a member of, or have access to, a union, get them involved right away to fight your corner. Pin down, too, the process for things like securing a reference. Then, once the deed is done and all public, yes clear your desk, but don’t burn your bridges. Recognise all the people you know, all those professional relationships, are now career gold dust. They could open doors to a new position, maybe freelancing opportunities; they’re potentially going to be the most powerful tool you have at your disposal in the jobs’ market. So try to be calm, professional, even outwardly cheerful (although not too ecstatic as that will probably send the wrong message). Your aim is to leave the building having made the best, most positive parting impression you can. At home, sit down and do a careful, practical financial audit. Work out what your outgoings really are, what sources of money you’ll still have coming in and how long, realistically, you’re going to have before you hit financial meltdown. Assess what bills or outgoings you might be able to trim back on, and what are going to be your priority commitments (with any mortgage or secured loan probably top of the list). This, clearly, in itself isn’t going to make any more money come in but it’s part and parcel of the process of taking back the day-to-day control of your working life that’s been so suddenly torn from you. Make a plan, and make a ‘job’ of it If you can afford to, don’t feel guilty about taking some time out before throwing yourself at the mercy of the jobs’ market. You will need time to emotionally regroup. But also recognise that, even if you’ve got a financial cushion to fall back on, the longer you’re out of work and out of sight of potential contacts, colleagues and recruiters, the harder it’s likely to be to get back in the frame. So make a plan. You should have a strategic plan – for example, “I’m going to use this knock-back as an opportunity to open new doors or re-invent myself and my career”. And you should have a tactical plan – for example, “I’m going to get up each morning, ensure I’m properly dressed and ‘work’ 9-5 attacking the jobs market” or “I’m going to spend this week polishing and promoting my CV/social media profile”, and so on. Picking yourself up and bouncing back from redundancy isn’t easy, and it probably won’t happen overnight. But if you can break things down and focus on the practical steps you need to move yourself forward, you will eventually make progress. Who knows, it could even galvanise you to find a job you love!