The aftershock of losing your job can be very challenging.

 

There’s the impact on your financial situation of course and it can be a considerable shock to say goodbye to work colleagues. In addition, there is pressure to move quickly and find another job.

In this episode, I explain how you can pause and draw breath, review your situation and bounce back with confidence.

Sounds interesting? Listen in and find out more.

 

how you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

 

and how to build a great career along the way.

Finding out you have lost your job can be a considerable shock affecting your financial situation, your relationships with work colleagues and loved ones, as well as your initial confidence to navigate the challenge.

You will most likely be plunged into a period of uncertainty.

Because of this there can be pressure to move quickly, find a job, move on. 

And sometimes, this can be part of the problem. Certainly, losing your job is unsettling but it needn't be a disaster that you quickly and unwisely try to rectify and forget all about.

In today’s episode, I am going to be talking about 6 things you can do to recover from the shock of redundancy and to get you to a place that feeling OK again.

I won’t, however, be covering any of the legal, contractual or administrative actions you need to take following redundancy, but I will put some links in the show notes to some useful guidance and resources that can help you.

So, let’s get started. My aim for you is to create some space so you can draw breath, review your situation and bounce back with confidence.

And, the first thing I want to talk about is your mindset.

Now we talked about mindset in Episode 1 and it might be worth revisiting this episode or giving it a listen if you haven’t already.

If you have listened to Episode 1 you will recall that your Mindset is just a collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your attitudes and how you typically think about things.

 

And why is that relevant? Well, how you typically think about things affects how you feel, and what action you do or don’t take. It impacts how you make sense of the world.

 

So, Your Mindset is actually a big deal when it comes to dealing with redundancy.

 

And I discussed a mindset cluster comprising of 3 parts:

 

•       The Responsibility Mindset – this helps you to take responsibility for how you respond to your redundancy

•       The Possibility Mindset – this helps you see there is something attractive, enjoyable and worthwhile for you next, and

•       The Growth Mindset – this helps you to recognise that challenges can be overcome by planning out your approach and persisting with your action plan

 

So, this mindset cluster is very useful for you right now.

 

And you can also take comfort from the fact that redundancy is not personal, permanent or pervasive. These 3 Ps, often used in a coaching setting, are very useful for adopting a more positive mindset.

 

You see:

Redundancy isn't personal; the role is made redundant rather than the person. Organisations often make redundancy decisions based on business need rather than it being about a personal statement about individuals.

Secondly, your situation is not permanent and is likely to be a short-term occurrence. 

Finally, the 3rd P, redundancy doesn't need to be pervasive touching all parts of your life, as we will see later in this plan.

So, try to think about your situation in a different way - could this be an opportunity for you to reassess your career and either find a new role in your existing industry or change careers altogether? 

Also, many surveys have been done around redundancy, and in each case, most people report that, following redundancy, their lives changed for the better. 

When I worked in a corporate role, it was often remarked that those being made redundant always went on to better things.

So, with these mindset principles outlined …..

- Choose to see the situation in a positive light

- Look for the opportunity in the situation

- Use the situation to reappraise your career

Even though you might be feeling bitter towards your organisation, you must try and leave on good terms. As mentioned in Idea No 1 this is much easier if you accept the change as not being personal.

Leaving on good terms, in a professional manner, makes it more likely that you will receive a good reference in the future and more importantly, your reputation as a suitable candidate in the future will be enhanced. 

Why would this be important? Well, quite simply, some of those in the organisation may move on to new employers and they may be involved in recruitment at some point. They may choose to recruit you or be influential in your success at that other organisation.

In addition to this, networking can be a vital ingredient to career success and reaching out to former colleagues is much easier if you have retained a good link, or bridge, to this network.  So, Remember, don't burn this bridge!

- If you are yet to leave your organisation, treat your departure as a 'mini-project' to be handled well

- Leave on good terms

- Identify those who could give you a good reference and ask for their support doing this

- Strengthen your connections before you leave the organisation

There are two reasons why you should reach out to this group of people.

Firstly, we have already established that being made redundant can be challenging to deal with, as there may be many conflicting emotions. 

Your friends and family, in particular, can be a support network for you. These are your key support network and as such, they will help you to bounce back emotionally from the knock you have taken.

In addition to this your friends, family and connections can also help you to find a new job. Think about all those individuals as your ambassadors seeking out new opportunities for you. 

Each person is likely to be working in an organisation or is connected to organisations where some opportunities are showing up. Also, since you have spoken to these people, they know exactly what you are looking for.

There is also an added bonus if you are looking at alternative careers. As some of your network might be working in or know something of these new sectors you can short cut the learning phase when researching options by speaking to these people.

I also think that it feels good to tell people about your situation. It doesn’t feel like it should feel good, but it does. There is something about unburdening yourself and at the same time getting support when you need it most.

When we get into a deep habitual groove of working day in and day out, we very rarely question how things are turning out. 

Redundancy is a great opportunity to think about what's important in your life and look back on your career with a view to making some decisions about how you want the future to be. 

When we review and reassess our working life there are often aspects we would gladly change. For example, have you been:

- Working long hours leading to a stressful lifestyle

- Putting up with less than satisfactory financial rewards

- Have you not been enjoying work?

- Or not getting the recognition you deserve

- Were you already having a feeling that there is a better fit for your elsewhere?

So,

Set aside half a day to review your career (and life) so far and be honest with yourself about how things have turned out. Are you where you want to, be doing the things you enjoy? 

Has your career been good so far, but is now is a great time to make a shift in direction?

Are the things you have always wanted to have a try at doing but the timing has never been right?

Or, is your current career trajectory good but maybe your job was causing you problems around your health or family commitments. Seeking a similar role with adjustments, such as less commuting or fewer hours, is always an option for you.

Make a list of all the important aspects you would like included in your next job.

OK, so those are the first 4 things you can do to recover from the shock of redundancy and to get you to a place that feeling OK again.

 

The first thing is to focus on your Mindset and see your current situation as an opportunity for you.

Secondly, leave on good terms, 

Thirdly reach out to friends, family and connections and finally, the 4th idea is to reassess your life priorities.

 

But how do we actually turn all these ideas into practical steps in your career? Well, in a moment, I’m going to give you the final 2 ideas to get you started on the next phase of your career.

 

————————

 

Ok, in the first part we talked about 4 ideas to help you to recover from the shock of redundancy.

 

Now, I am going to give you 2 practical ideas to help you get started on the next phase of your career.

 

The first one is to

In Idea No 1 we talked about redundancy being an opportunity for you to reassess your career. 

And, what I have found in my work as a career coach is that we often have a poor understanding of what will ultimately make us happy in our career. 

This is partly because we don’t take the time to understand ourselves better. In fact, we tend to look outside of ourselves for career inspiration. Salary, benefits, status and image are often things that are high on our consideration list.

But what if these aren’t the things that lead to enjoyable work?

And the reality of your situation right now is that you may have the time and opportunity to consider your options.

So how do you identify what your options are?

Firstly, consider the big picture. 

Look beyond your previous career situation and even your work identity, whatever that is for you. With this expansive outlook it is easy to see that you can:

- Look for a similar role to what you previously did

- Look for a related (but different) role

- Consider something completely different

- Move from full-time work to part-time work

- Take a break from work, travel, spend some time reflecting or achieve another life goal

- Return to college or university

So, set aside a couple of hours and start to make a list of all the options that you can think of. 

Try not to grade these, or censure yourself, just capture your ideas.

It helps to do this in 3 columns with the headings 'Similar', 'Related' and 'Break Out.' 

Make a list of all the options similar to your previous role. When you have exhausted those ideas move on to options that have some relationship to your previous role but are different. 

For example, if you worked as a client in an industry, you might consider working as a contractor. Or vice versa

Finally, make a list of all the 'Break Out' ideas. These are the ideas that relate to doing something completely different.

When you have done this work, gather together your ideas and create a priority a list or an ‘interested in’ list. 

Now you implemented the previous ideas the practical steps you can take to move forward are:

Firstly, to use positive habits that support your new vision

Research shows that developing daily habits can be a great way to regain your mojo and bounce back.

Habits such as daily walking or running, meditation, reading or meeting a friend for coffee can be such a boost to your morale. Such activities will give you room to get some headspace and help you to re-build your zest for life.

Habits can also be about not doing something. For example, not checking social media first thing in the morning, not over-eating or drinking and avoiding people that drain your energy. 

If you're not sure where to begin just start small with one new habit, such as going for a walk. Then you can add another such as listening to uplifting podcasts each time you walk.

I also want you to get into the habit of moving you towards the most attractive options you have identified. This might mean:

-       Re-writing your CV

-       Connecting with somebody that can help you with your options

-       Applying for roles that match what you have identified as your best options.

Spend time every day in this way and your ideal options will become real for you with tangible roles that you can move towards.

And, allied to this, the next action-orientated idea is to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

All of your growth occurs outside your comfort zone and this is also the best place to hear the knock-knock sound of opportunity. 

So, when you are looking to find a new work opportunity, spend some of your time outside of your comfort zone. It’s not forever, it’s just while you identify and move to a new role. Trust me, it will be worth it.

So, take action now in the direction of your interests and opportunities. Take action to speak to somebody about a career that appeals to you. 

Take action to start a business on the side. When you move in the direction of these things you are interested in, you will gain clarity, momentum and confidence.

And, this will surely lead to a new, exciting and enjoyable opportunity for you.

- Stay Positive and Accept your situation with a positive mindset

- Don't Burn your Bridges and leave your organisation well

 - Instead Reach out to Friends, Family and Connections

- Reassess your Life Priorities

- Consider your Options

And in the second part of the show, we discussed making your move!

- Get some new habits

 

So, thanks for listening, and

 

Please let me know what you thought about the content

 

As this is a new podcast, feedback really does help me to shape future episodes, and make the content as relevant and helpful as possible.

 

You can email me at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and you can find the show notes at https://www.bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast including all those links Richard referenced and also how to connect directly with Richard.

 

If you are interested in working with me, you can book a free discovery call on my website, here: https://www.bravocoaching.co.uk/30-minute-coaching-discovery-call

 

And to remind you that you can download your free Should I stay or should I go guide at https://www.bravocoaching.co.uk/go

 

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Have a wonderful week and I will speak to you again in a couple of weeks time.

 

Bye for now.