Times of crisis call for more than an updated CV! Have you been made redundant?

It’s hard to ignore that the World is in the grips of a crisis. Times like this, when there is mass uncertainty and economic instability, often lead to people experiencing redundancy. Many of us will have experienced losing our jobs in the past. In fact, around 34-44% of us will be made redundant at some point in our career (according to CEO Magazine). 

Have you been made redundant during the coronavirus pandemic? 

I’ve been contacted by a lot of clients, old and new, who have been made redundant over the past few months. Usually, the first thing people do when made redundant (once they’ve worked through the emotions of shock, panic and fear), is to dust off their CV and urgently try and bring their LinkedIn profile back to life. But is that enough? NO! Far from it. 

We’re in a crisis so we can’t just behave as normal when it comes to our careers.

 First, you need to realise that you are not alone. 

Back in April, a poll by People Management found that 1 in 4 employers were anticipating making redundancies as a direct result of coronavirus. That number has increased dramatically as coronavirus has wreaked havoc. In June, the number of people on payroll in the UK dropped by 600,000 (according to the BBC). 

As a result, the job market has shrunk. Job vacancies have fallen to their lowest in three years, and only pandemic-related roles are expanding (think delivery drivers, caring and healthcare roles, telecoms and logistics).

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the job market. 

Over half of UK employers expect their hiring levels to regain momentum, and to be back at normal levels by June 2020 according to a survey by the Financial Times.

How can your career bounce back from coronavirus and being made redundant?

If you’ve been made redundant consider whether the role you have been doing in your sector is in demand. If not, it is likely you will be competing with large numbers of people for a limited number of roles. Instead of becoming despondent, it’s time to get creative. Perhaps it’s time for a career change? It’s in times of uncertainty that innovation thrives. Could you be using some untapped resources in a new way?

Ask yourself…

• What did I enjoy about my past roles?
• What did I not enjoy?
• Outside of work, what makes me happy, gets my juices flowing? 

Transferable skills are key to career resilience during coronavirus. 

How many of the following transferable skills do you have in your back pocket, that you might have forgotten the value of? Transferable skills (sometimes called ‘portable skills’) are the key to staying relevant in an ever-changing job market – particularly now.

Grab a pen and paper or your tablet and take a moment to write a list of the transferable skills you have. Here are just a few to get you started: 

Communication	Creativity	Critical Thinking	Decision Making
Delegation	Driving Innovation	Execution / Delivery	Flexibility
Goal Orientated	Influencing	Information Gathering	Leadership
Mentoring	Organisation	Persistence	Problem Solving
Relationship Building	Quantitative Analysis	Strategic Thinking	Team Working

If you’re interested in learning more, read more about transferable skills on the Career Ambitions blog! 

Once you’ve identified which transferable skills you have, think about which you enjoy using and where they could be used. I have some clients right now who are coming up with an amazing breadth of skills they are repurposing to tap into the current market.

Redundancy is not an easy thing to face. Once you’ve climbed the Change Curve and ridden the ‘coronacoaster’, you’ll come to see it as an opportunity rather than a coronavirus-disaster. It’s far easier to take control when you know how.

If you need help getting through redundancy-induced emotions and deciding where to start getting your career back on track, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.