Bouncing back!

The number of redundancies in the UK is at the highest level since 1995 and, with the current economic forecast looking bleak, the number of those facing loss of work looks set to increase, especially in the public sector.

Redundancy is ranked as one of the top five most stressful life experiences, alongside divorce, moving house, death of a spouse or parent, and those who are made redundant may not only face the financial pressures and related worry of losing their job, but also emotional and spiritual concerns. So how can we practically respond to redundancy? The steps below focus on how to find a new job.

1. Think and pray

When your job is made redundant, it is easy to feel as if you are redundant. But nothing could be further from the truth. Our identity as Christians is secure in Jesus Christ and is not affected by our job or salary. There are no accidents with a sovereign God. In fact, redundancy can be an opportunity to take stock of your career and perhaps to do something completely different.

Take some time to ask yourself and pray through the following questions:

* What did I like or not like about my last job? What does that mean I’m looking for?
* What are my skills, experience, and preferences? What am I really good at and what can I offer a new employer?
* What are my constraints? For example, is there a particular location that I am limited to, are there limits to the hours or days I can work and what is the minimum salary that I need?
* What are the alternatives? Options might include setting up your own business, interim work, studying for a new qualification, early retirement or entering a completely new field.

Having thought and prayed about these areas, develop a plan for the future — an idea of what you are looking for. If you are married, talk and pray it through with your spouse. Use a trusted friend in the church as a sounding board, asking them to tell you if your plans are realistic, or if you have missed some of the options open to you.

2. Preparation

Thorough preparation is essential to finding a new job. Therefore, some questions to ask yourself at this stage are:

* What do I need to do to make my plan happen?
* Who do I know who can help me to find out more?
* What further research should I do?
* What steps might I need to take to give me a better chance? For example, further training, unpaid work experience if you are entering a new field, or more information about a business sector or profession.

An up-to-date CV that fully reflects your skills, experience and qualifications is essential. You may even want to prepare several versions with slightly different emphases in order to respond to different employers. Do ask a number of trusted friends to review it for you. And don’t overlook what you may think are the run-of-the-mill activities you help with at church. Helping in Sunday School is evidence to an employer of leadership, creativity, and dedication. Sorting out the coffee rota shows organisational ability.

3. Finding opportunities

As you start to look and apply to positions, the sheer volume of places to look for jobs can seem overwhelming. And yet the number of positions that match your requirements can seem depressingly small. God is still sovereign. He is still in control of your life. However, this may be a testing time, and it is not unusual to have to make literally hundreds of applications, and for it to take many months to find a new job. If this means that you will need to make financial contingency plans, get these in place now. You will need the support and prayer of your church.

Steps at this stage include:

* Finding vacancies through websites, recruitment consultants, local and national newspapers and professional publications, etc.
* Networking, for example through trade or professional groups, your local Business Link, or colleagues. The church is a great network too.
* Speculative applications — if you have a clear idea of what you want and what you can offer, you can approach organisations directly. Such an application will be taken more seriously if it is addressed to a named person, even more so if it is somebody you have had contact with, so do your research and be prepared to phone up to make enquiries.

4. Interviews

If you are successfully reaching the interview stage, then your CV or application has all the right credentials — it is now just a case of seeing whether ‘you fit’ in the organisation. If you are not getting many interviews but have submitted a large number of applications, it may be helpful to think about whether you need to alter your CV or whether you are applying for the right things.

Thankfully, the interviews you face will not be like the interrogation on the BBC’s The Apprentice! And, if they are, would you really want to work there anyway? Some tips for handling interviews are:

* Prepare thoroughly, ensuring that you have researched the organisation that you are applying to (slightly more robustly than an applicant I interviewed when working for a water company, who, when asked what research he had done beforehand, said, after a long pause ‘I drank some water’!).
* Practice — think about the questions you will be asked and rehearse your answers. Your local Job Centre will provide a practice interview and give you feedback.
* Be yourself — as clichŽd as it sounds — and have confidence. Organisations will be impressed by qualities like truthfulness, reliability, honesty and humility. These are attractive character traits that we can take for granted as Christians, but will stand out against other candidates.

5. Settling into what’s next

God has a plan for your future and knows exactly what it holds. He can use your struggle with redundancy to teach you about his sovereignty and provision. He can also use you as a witness to encourage and challenge others. In a nation that will surely be facing unprecedented numbers of workers made redundant, Christians can show the hope and security that they have in Jesus.

There is a plethora of resources available to support you. The following are recommended as a place to start.

* Books:
Working Without Wilting, Jago Wynne, ISBN 978-1-84474-372-8
What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-changers, Richard Nelson Bolles, ISBN 978-1-58008-930-5
Loads of books on CV writing, interview skills, etc. available on Amazon or in the Careers section of the local bookshop

* Websites:
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpandadvice/redundancy/?CMP=KAC-jankw08 — benefits you’re entitled to; help with writing a CV; step-by-step guide on job hunting (including skills assessment tool)
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/redundancyadvice/?gclid=CIXxnIiViZoCFcIUzAodIXEMJg — tips on writing a CV; interview advice
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/index.html — benefits and signing on; support with CVs, applications and interviews

Practical tips on how to find a job after redundancy