Dealing with Redundancy

Initially it can be difficult to believe that you are being made redundant and you may be tempted to hold out hope of a reprieve. The quicker you accept the reality of the situation the quicker you can take action to move on to the next stage in your life. Remember redundancies happen for a whole variety of reasons (most of them revolve around saving money) so don't take it personally. It's your job that's being made redundant, not you.

Potential employers want someone who is energetic, enthusiastic and capable of exceeding their expectations, not someone who is negative and feeling sorry for themselves. Whilst it is difficult to stay positive when you are worrying about money and your future, if you dwell on this too much instead of looking for the next challenge you will not be giving out the right signals to potential employers. Depression can hit at various points during the redundancy process so get some strategies in place to help you through it - set yourself daily goals, get fit - take up exercising, use your support network of friends, take time out with the family, go back to college and learn new skills or take an advanced course to increase the knowledge you already have.

Initially it's understandable for your pride to be dented and for you to experience feelings of shame, but this can make it difficult to talk about what has happened. If you tell people about it they may be able to help with contacts for future employment or even just offer moral support. There will be times when you start to feel angry at what has happened, but use the energy it generates to spur you into action. Think how great it will feel to get that new role, and if you find something better than you had before then they may even have done you a favour!

This is an opportunity to evaluate where you are in your life and time to decide what you want for the future. Viewed positively, this can be very empowering and you may be excited and possibly surprised by some of the decisions you arrive at. Remember the more flexible you are the more likely it is that you will find something quickly. Keep open minded and think "What do I need to do to be able to achieve that ….?" Rather than "I've never done that so I can't"

Once you have decided the type of role you are going to look for, set aside specific times to look for work. If you discipline yourself to view job hunting as a career in itself then you avoid the trap of letting time drift by without achieving anything.