Trying to remain positive in the face of redundancy

Dated: 06 Oct, 2020

I have spoken to a number of people recently who have unfortunately faced redundancy.  This can be frightening at the best of times but if you switch on the news it can magnify that fear way beyond where it should be.  Personally, I steer away from watching too much news as it seems to suck every last inch of hope from me.  With this in mind I thought I would put a few tips from an employment perspective and if this helps even one person then it was worth me posting.

1. Things are not nearly as bad as the media portrays, yes unemployment has increased, yes it is prevalent but the end of the world is not nigh; there is hope, there are companies that are doing really well, there are jobs bubbling away, there are vacancies out there and if you have been made redundant you will get a job, it may not be today but you will.
2. Plan for each day on ways to tackle job hunting
3. Make it known on linked in what you do and that you are looking for work – This works, it really does!
4. Put your CV onto job sites such as Jobsite, Totaljobs, CVLibrary, Monster, Indeed
5. Send your CV speculatively to companies who might take someone like you on – decision makers are easy to find on linked in
6. Keep posting on linked in but avoid negativity, swearing etc. Keep it professional
7. Make sure your social media is portraying the right image (have a look at your pictures for things like WhatsApp)
8. Just remember we are pretty much in this together to varying degrees
9. Don’t get stressed over things you simply cannot control e.g. paying bills, if you don’t have the money talk to your provider, they cannot take what you haven’t got.  Try and release as much financial stress as possible as this will allow you the breathing space to make good career and job choices and allow you to remain focussed.  This may sound easy but try and create a filing cabinet in your head and chuck in stuff into the ‘can’t do anything about that’ drawer!!! It’s a brilliant drawer to have!!!
10. Remember if you are trying, you will get a job, try not to get stressed, the world isn’t having a party that you are not invited to although it may seem so; the world is in the same boat, but everyone is dealing with things in their own way
11. Try and stay positive, keep to a strict daily routine, exercise, good food and a couple of hours job hunting, then kick back and enjoy this time as you may not have it again for a long time.

Some people may think my thoughts on this is over simplified and things are generally more complex; whilst I would totally agree, in my opinion I believe simplifying more complex issues can provide some clarity and assist with navigating through them.