Legal Recruitment

Help I’ve Been Made Redundant – What Do I Do?

The first thing to do when you are informed by your employer of an impending redundancy or the prospect of an immediate redundancy is not to take it personally. In the current climate, people are being made redundant all over the world by lots of different types of companies and firms for pretty much the same reason which is that there is no business to support their continued employment. This is being seen across the spectrum, from very senior professionals down to junior members of staff and the grounds for redundancy can almost always be the same.

How employers go about making the redundancy is another matter entirely and in particular, how they decide which of their employees is going to be made redundant varies quite widely.

So the first thing is not to panic and take it personally.

The second thing is to immediately think of it as an opportunity to do something either concerning your career, your life or your future. Being made redundant can be a very rewarding experience as it can open new doors to you that would not otherwise have opened. In my time as a career coach and as a recruitment consultant, I see many CVs for senior and junior executives dating back to the early 1990s when similar market conditions meant that there were a large number of redundancies. When you look back and see what people have done after their redundancy is very interesting as often they have moved into a completely new field either in the same specialism or changing to something different.

Some of them have redundancies that span five or six years and that they find a new role and get made redundant again as the new company struggles to attract any business in the climate. This again has not stopped that person from carrying on and they have moved onto yet another role and they continue to do this for some years to come.

For a lot of younger workers, the whole issue of redundancy is fairly new as over the last ten years we have seen prosperity and expansion rather than redundancy and recession. This means that some professionals are not equipped mentally to deal with the prospect of redundancy and it is important to get through to those people that redundancy is not a hindrance to a career but rather a benefit and must be seen as that otherwise it can have a really detrimental effect on a person’s outlook on life.

The third thing to do is to take action and not sit back. If you are told of an impending redundancy or that you are being made redundant with immediate effect, it is important to take action and think through your options. Do not under any circumstances sit back and wait for the whole thing to blow over. If you do this, you may find yourself out of work with no income and in difficulty both mentally and financially.

The fourth thing to do is to talk through your options with someone. Talking through options can be very beneficial as it will enable you to get a independent view on your circumstances and possibilities and this is exactly why career coaching can be so useful and beneficial. Talking to a career coach can give you practical possibilities, improve your prospects of employment and enhance your career plans. Career coaches and consultants see many people of all shapes and sizes and have a lot of fresh and original ideas on opportunities that you could consider. For example, it is no use looking at establishing a business if you have no interest in entrepreneurial activities or being your own boss. Similarly, it is no use looking at a career that will not afford you any chance of displaying entrepreneurial skills and someone to solely work as an employer for the benefit of someone else. It all depends on your personality and your life circumstances. Only somebody impartial can give you this sort of information.

Jonathan Fagan is Senior Career Coach for JB Fagan & Associates, career coaches for executives and professionals, http://www.jbfagan.co.uk He is also MD of Ten Percent Legal Recruitment and a qualified solicitor and recruitment consultant in the UK. He writes on recruitment issues and lectures to post graduates on preparing CVs and interview training. Jonathan is also the author of the Guide to Writing a Legal CV and the Complete Interview Guide