Surviving a redundancy

I was recently made redundant from a job I was passionate about. The entire experience wizened me, it made clear that we cannot control the outcome of situations. Sometimes organizations need to restructure to survive or are unable to plan their resources effectively or are in uncharted waters like the COVID-19 crisis we’re all making our way through.

I am approached daily by people who are going through this phase. Hence I’m sharing my experience so you can take away whatever helps you in your unique situation. Here’s what helped me: -

Stay curious

Research the market, understand which companies are hiring large numbers, which industries did well last year and are expanding vs those that have stagnated. Check out Glassdoor reviews on organizations you are targeting. Look at the employees and their career trajectory, what keeps them there?

All these answers will lead you to making a more informed decision about companies and industries you should be targeting for your next move.

Focus on learning

Use this opportunity to complete the course you’ve been putting off due to lack of time, speak to your peers to recommend a course that would benefit your future job search. Candidates with self-learnt skills score major brownie points with us recruiters. It shows initiative and a go-getter attitude which, let’s be honest, everyone loves.

You could also upskill yourself to the next level at work, taking up a project management course or business analytics course could increase the scope of your offering in the job market.

Work out your schedule

Create a routine that works for you, build your calendar as you would while you’re working.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to job seekers who are very frustrated with not hearing back from recruiters and feeling helpless because they’d spend all their time in applying for jobs. Take a break from the application process, it’s time consuming and draining. Don’t make your day only about one task, pace yourself.

I’d block out time from 10 – 12 noon and 3-5 pm to be active on LinkedIn, apply for jobs and network with recruiters. The rest of the day I spent learning new skills, going to Yoga or the gym, reconnecting with friends, reading, cooking etc. (You can still do all these things at home; I’d recommend Yoga with Adrien on YouTube)

Reboot

We are accustomed to planning forward or looking backwards but try to make time to live in the present, reboot and enjoy the time off as well. It will make you positive and this will come through in your interactions/ interviews.

Gain visibility

Dubai has a great line up of events you can participate in through meetups, professional groups, universities, events and exhibitions. I consciously enrolled myself for discussions and professional development meetups and was pleasantly surprised by not only the leanings but also the opportunity to meet people across different industries and expertise. (These meetups could be online in the current scenario)

I hope this has not come across as too preachy, the aim was to be succinct about my experience and what worked in my situation. I would be humbled if any suggestion struck home and you go away feeling like you can get through this phase as well.