Tag Archives: facing redundancy

Employers dealing with redundancies

Unfortunately we are faced with redundancies all the time and it is hard to break the news to otherwise unsuspecting employees – what adds to the difficulty is when you have people who have worked for you for over 10 years and have no idea how to approach writing a CV or how to go about applying for roles.

At The CV Righter we are accustomed to dealing with such situations and have a tailored service which can help the transition of your employees back out into the world of job hunting.  We are always open to creating a bespoke service to our clients but one framework we used as a starting point is suggested below:

  • Assessing the situation as an outsider, gathering information about the people requiring the service. By understanding everyone’s position we can then look at the most effective solutions.
  • Dealing with large numbers – sometimes there may be a workforce of 40+ who need assistance – in this instance we look at breaking down the sessions for smaller groups and ideally all to be done over one or two days to ensure we are not dragging out the process.
  • Small seminars where we address the candidates in a less formal approach to give time for questions to be answered and individual feedback on CVs.
  • Running through a workshop on how to construct an effective CV whilst providing examples of good and bad CVs to be able to really help the candidates understand what is required in the current marketplace.
  • Handouts of CV templates and CV writing documents to back up all the workshop discussions.
  • Talking through how to apply for roles and where to look – giving effective recruiter inside information on how to find those roles and what to do once you have found them.

Having a wealth of experience in recruitment and also having worked on the Job Centre Plus framework to provide careers assistance with the unemployed for hundreds of candidates we are experienced in dealing with those who are lacking motivation and confidence and we have worked with factory operatives, management, professional services and all industries.

Get in touch today to see how we can help you with your redundancy transition – we are happy to negotiate costs to meet your budgets and we care about the people who need our help, as much as you do!

Employees facing redundancy – 7 things to think about

It is never a good time to hear that your job has been put under threat of redundancy, most of us have been there at some point in our career and just when you think you are doing a great job the news hits. One thing to remember is that this could be the change you need to make a positive move forward – how long have you been thinking that you would like a change / more money / progression / a boss who really appreciates all the hard work? By being forced out into the cold you have to take action and this is a perfect time to really take stock of your career to move into a new challenge.

Some things to assist you in your transition are listed below:

  1. It is not your fault – it is easy to take things personally when you are faced with redundancy. However, no matter how good you are in your job there are always other factors that management need to take into consideration for the good of the business and as such departments are removed. Especially when it comes to project management, how many projects are still realising their benefits? Are the right people running them? How can we improve outcomes and cut costs?
  2. Take stock of your skill-set – performing a skills audit and writing a list of your accomplishments to date will help you re-evaluate your position, feeling kicked to the curb means you lose sight of you as a professional and running through your achievements and abilities will help you get back on track mentally.
  3. Make a plan – take a good look at how you can tackle your circumstances, research the market for roles which meet your abilities and create a spreadsheet to list job boards and start noting down roles to apply for. Remember now is time to look for something which will meet your expectations in terms of progressing, whether it be in seniority, money, potential for progression and/or training.
  4. Work on your CV – make sure you use your list from your skills audit and also look at the job descriptions, what are they asking for? If you have done these things have you articulated them in your CV?
  5. Keep motivated – remember it is not you; the business has to make changes for whatever reason. Now it is time for you to demonstrate to others how good you are, harsh but recruiters and employers do not like to hear and see candidates down in the dumps.
  6. Keep up momentum – your plan should have clearly marked out sections to tackle such as xx hours on job adverts, xx hours searching company websites for direct applications to employers and also other routes such as looking for opportunities which aren’t advertised. Keep to it – make sure you set aside a good few hours a day and really work on each application; applying for everything rarely works but a good tailored application to fewer roles really does harvest results.
  7. Seek help – if you are finding you are yielding little results from your approach it may be time to seek help, your CV is a first port of call. Get a free CV review, talk to others about their approach to finding a role and see if you are missing anything.

Once you have been notified of your redundancy payout you should look to structure how to use it effectively, after covering your mortgage and bills for a number of months you should look to see if you need any additional training, a professionally written CV and careers advice on applying for positions and interviewing can be a very effective investment too.