Being Made Redundant
If you are going through redundancy, it is essential to remember that you are not on your own, and there is help out there.
Remember that it is not you personally who is being made redundant – rather it is the role which has been made redundant.
Many people take being made redundant personally, but we want to remind you that it is not a personal decision, it is an unfortunate fact of the business’s current financial situation.
Mental Health charity Mind has created some helpful information and resources to help people currently dealing with redundancy due to the pandemic. They cover knowing your rights, how to cope with uncertainty and coping with the emotional upheaval that losing your role brings. You can find the information by clicking here.
Aside from the emotional stress caused by redundancy, it can also be a worrying time financially.
If the reality of redundancy has created financial problems for you, there is also specific guidance out there to help.
Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, has created a detailed guide on how to manage your money through Covid-related redundancy, with advice on how to apply for monetary help, managing debts and your mortgage and your legal rights. Click here for the guide.
Processing the fact that you have been made redundant can take some time. Remember that redundancy is one of the most stressful life events a person can go through, and be kind to yourself and give yourself time to recover and regroup your thoughts.
In some cases, if your role is being made redundant, you might be offered a role swap within your organisation – let’s now look at how to approach this situation.
Role Swap
If you are being made redundant, at some point during the redundancy consultation, your employer may discuss the possibility of a role swap within the organisation. These opportunities will be limited and will depend upon the size of your company and the number of redundancies that are being made.
Opting for a voluntary role swap if one is offered can benefit you in two ways.
1. It will help you avoid redundancy altogether, although the new role might be in an area you had not previously considered.
2. It could be the chance to try a new role you have previously been interested in, and the start of a new career path for you.
If you are faced with the decision of accepting a role swap in your current company, you should think carefully about what you will get out of the role, and ultimately, if you think this is the best decision for your career.
With your line manager, you should be able to discuss what you are going to get out of taking this new role, and they should be able to provide you with a development plan.
If, as I mentioned, the role swap will provide you with a position in a department you have been interested in exploring, then you can view this as fortuitous career development. You might be offered a job in the Sales department after previously being in administration – the scope for career development here is huge.
Think about how the role offered to you will benefit your personal and professional goals.
If you are sure the new role you are being offered is not suited to you, then declining and working on finding a different position with a new company is advised instead.
Once you are in the position where you know that looking for a new role in a new company needs to be your next move – what are the steps to take to put this plan into action?
Next, we look at how to upskill yourself for the current job market.
Upskilling
An incredibly proactive step you can take right now is to upskill yourself in an ability you know you need for the future of your career.
This is advisable if you are certain that you know where you want to take your career and is a great strategy for anyone who wants to build on the skills they already have.
Later in the report, we will go through how to identify and use your most useful transferrable skills to give yourself the best chance of landing a new role.
But first, let’s look at how you can build your existing skillset.
For example, someone with experience in administration could take a digital media course so that they have a broader range of the now commonly needed office skills such as social media, digital communications, photoshop, or design.
Think about your most recent, or most longstanding role – what are your three main strengths? Write them down.
Now think about how you could build on these skills to make you a more attractive candidate. For example, you could join and become an active member in online communities on LinkedIn or Facebook (there are plenty out there). Being able to put on your CV that you are an admin or an active and prolific member of an online community will make you stand out from the other candidates.
As well as enhancing skills within your current area of expertise, there is always the opportunity to retrain a new area, and the pandemic might be the perfect
opportunity for you to do this.
Training
With the job retention scheme officially coming to an end, for those returning to work after this, their furlough period could have lasted up to seven months. This is a significant amount of time which will have an impact on your role and your career whichever way you look at it.
Many furloughed employees have undertaken training while on furlough, as this was one of the stipulations legally allowed by the scheme.
For lucky employees, their employers might have been proactive with setting up training; others will have been left to their own devices.
If you have been on furlough for some months, you might have been able to undertake valuable training then, but if you haven’t - it’s not too late.
Recent research found that significant numbers of people in the U.K. are upskilling and reskilling to get ahead in the job market.
Online courses in teaching, programming and people management have surged in popularity.
The Open University provides a number of free courses, which you can view here.
Future Learn also has a variety of free and paid courses, which you can browse here.
If you are facing redundancy from a large employer you may be eligible for help from the government’s Rapid Response Service – this is an excellent way to take advantage of a range of free training courses and can be accessed through the Jobcentre.
While the Jobcentre can provide help and advice, their services are limited, and they will not be able to provide a tailored job search for you based on your skills and abilities – this is why it is always best to work with a recruiter too.
Retraining might not be what you had in mind for 2020, but it’s time to view the positives which can come from a change. You could use this time to explore getting into a sub-sector or to a learn a craft you have always been interested in.
Making such a significant change is not something to be considered lightly. As recruiters, we are on hand to discuss your future career options with you to help get the best results from what is currently a very challenging time. Get in touch with us here to speak to one of our experts.
For access to the full Recruitment Report (Redundancy: Training, Recruitment or Role Swap), click the link: https://www.magpierecruitment.com/redundancy-options.