Tips for dealing with redundancy
Last week I got the news that no one wants to hear. I learnt that my role at ieso, a digital mental health company is at risk of redundancy. It’s highly likely that I’ll soon be joining the not so exclusive club of tech professionals who have been laid off in the last few years.
Being made redundant can feel like being punched in the stomach. At the start of the day you have a job, at the end of the day you don’t. It’s brutal. Sadly this is not my first redundancy. Having worked in the tech industry for over 20 years, I’ve been there before. I thought that it would be useful to outline some of the things that I’ll be focusing on to help me deal with redundancy, in the hope that it will help others who find themselves in a similar situation.
Don’t blame yourself
Every time that I’ve been made redundant, it’s been because of factors outside of my control. My first redundancy way back in 2001 was due to the dot com crash. My second was when a client pulled out of a project I’d been hired for. This time it’s due to an organizational re-structure.
If you’re familiar with the circles of concern framework (shown below), you’ll know that there are things under your direct control, things you can influence, but can’t directly control and things you have no control over. Sadly, redundancies tend to fall within the last two categories. The truth is that you can be brilliant at your job, and still be made redundant so don’t blame yourself. It’s not you, it’s them.
Understand your rights
If you’re at risk of redundancy, or are told that you’re being made redundant, it’s important to understand your rights. For example, is the redundancy fair? Do you have grounds to challenge? Are there alternative proposals that could be considered, such as a different role within the organisation, or working part time?
Employee rights will of course differ from country to country, and it’s fair to say that employees have more rights in some countries than others. In the UK you can find out more about your redundancy rights via services such as ACAS, Gov.uk and Citizens Advice. It can also be important to engage with a good employment lawyer who can work to get the best possible outcome for you.
Get support if you need it
As anyone that has been made redundant will tell you, it can be tough on your mental health, your physical health, and of course your financial health. As I outlined in my article, Well-being isn’t just for your users, it’s ok not to be ok, but it’s not ok to do nothing about it.
There is always support available if you need it. In addition to charities and public offering advice and support, employers will often have employee assistance programs that you can utilise as part of your redundancy deal.
Reflect on what you want to do next
Every cloud has a silver lining, and one of the silver linings that exists within a big black redundancy cloud, is the opportunity to step back and think about what you want to do next in your career. Do you want a change of career? Do you want a similar role in a different industry? Do you want to take a break to spend some quality time with friends and family before embarking on your next job?
For example, having reflected on where I’d like to go in my career, I’ve decided that I’d like to move into more of a product management role in the future. A role where I can more holistically manage a product, rather than solely focusing on the UX.
Make a plan
I think that you should approach finding a new job as a project, and as all good project managers will tell you (once they’ve finished showing you their lovingly created Gantt chart) if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
A good starting point for a post redundancy plan is to work backwards from your desired outcome (e.g. your ideal job), capturing all the steps and tasks that you’ll need to undertake to get there. Don’t just capture the bare minimum, think about what you can do to maximise your chances of success at each step. For example, how can you best prepare for interviews? How can you create the best possible CV?
Establish a routine
When you no longer have the structure of a job to help dictate your routine, it can be all too easy to find yourself aimlessly drifting from day to day. Job, or no job, I’ve found it to be useful to have a similar Monday to Friday, 9–5 working routine. This helps to protect family time and keeps me disciplined. I even have a Trello board of tasks for each day so that I can keep myself productive.
Utilise your network
A great piece of job-hunting advice I once received was to look for people, not just jobs. Companies don’t hire people, people hire people. If you can utilise your professional network you can hopefully find some of those people that are hiring (or perhaps know someone who is).
As painful as it may be, a good first step is to make your situation known on LinkedIn and to proactively ask your network for help. You’d be amazed at how understanding and helpful people can be. It’s also a good idea to personally reach out to anyone who you think can assist you.
Be open about being made redundant
Given the thousands of redundancies that have occurred over the last few years, it feels like some of the stigma that previously existed around redundancy has now gone. I’d certainly suggest being open about being made redundant on your CV, and when speaking to recruiters and hiring managers. Being made redundant is nothing to be ashamed of and a CV with employment gaps can be a red flag for some organisations, so it’s good to explain your situation.
Don’t rush into your next job
With bills to pay it can be tempting to rush headfirst into the first job that becomes available, figuring you can always find a better job once you’ve got money coming in. The problem with this approach is that hiring managers tend to overly focus on someone’s current job. Therefore, if you’re taking a much more junior, or less skilled job, it can be harder to subsequently get your career back to where you want to be. Sure, sometimes you have to take a step back before moving forwards, but it’s better to wait for the right job to come up, not just any job.
Don’t give up
Being made redundant is certainly not going to be one of the highlights of your career. It can be tough, really tough, but it’s important not to give up. By working hard and by throwing your energy into finding a new job, good things will happen, believe me.
See also
Image credits
Lego business man image by kirill_makes_pics from Pixabay
