Finding a new job can be difficult, particularly if you haven't done it in a long while. Here is a guide to help you. Follow the links at the bottom of the page for a complete site-by-step guide to your job search.
Introduction
Finding a new job when you don't want to is one of the most difficult things you'll do in your career. It becomes harder still if you have been at your organization for a long time. The internal job market is nothing like the external one.
Since starting my career in the early 1990s, I have dealt with redundancy three times and counselled many people through the process, so this story gives back some of these learnings.
Redundancy isn't final; it's the start of the next step in your life, and adjusting your mindset from endings to new beginnings is critical to your success.
You have plenty of circumstances to think about, and I have a tool called the Identity Wheel to help you think through those, so please take the time to think about all the elements of yourself going into the process. Get advice, support and listen to lots of stories without judgement and understand the journey you're about to undertake. Then, when you're ready, consider yourself in the right mental space to start your new opportunity.
One of my very good colleagues told me his story:
I thought at one point that when I left the Army, the only job I could do was what the resettlement team were guiding me towards, 'Go and do plumbing, bricklayer, Fibre Optics... They are the skills people want as there is a demand. Or go into Private Protection.' It wasn't until I really sat down and completed a Job Wheel or Skills Wheel that I chose to look at other courses that were not available at the time through resettlement. Once I found them and got approval to do them, I managed to get my head in the right place and focus on PM Certifications.
He is now a senior leader in my project team.
My story is here, but this story focuses on you. If you're facing redundancy, you don't have time to waste, so let's get started.
Switch off Panic Mode
Panic made makes a tough job tougher.
Imagine you're in a plane, and the pilot has to make an emergency landing. It's scary, but it does happen. What would be the difference in your reaction between hearing a calm voice explaining that there's going to be a bumpy landing and one that's screaming, 'We're all going to die!'?
Being forced to change jobs isn't so different. You don't know the outcome and have limited control over it. If you approach the journey with panic, dread, fear, or lack of confidence, everyone will pick up on that, especially prospective employers, the passengers you want to keep calm.
Your family will also notice, as will your colleagues (whom you may rely on for tips or a reference) and your support network, who will back away when you need them most.
You need to switch off panic mode, and as a career program manager, the best way to do this is to create a project: Project Job.
Project Job
It's important to approach redundancy as a project. Whether you do projects professionally or not, everyone has a good idea of what a project is.
In simple terms, a project is an organized set of activities to reach a particular goal. It has a start, a middle, and an end and runs according to an agreed-upon business case. In redundancy, your business case is settling into a new role.
The most important things a project does are:
Providing structure for those activities;
Depersonalizing the emotional search;
Separates the job search from your day-to-day life;
Promotes good mental health;
Legitimizes any investments you make in yourself and
Provides a language to discuss your search with others.
Project Job then has:
A start, a middle and an end - hopefully a quick one;
A business case, which in this case is a set of constraints — salary, location, qualifications, seniority and job satisfaction;
A clear goal , which is a successful transition to a new job;
Organized activities, which I am here to help you determine and
A budget, both in terms of money and time.
So, let's go about creating the project and get going.
Preparation: A week of preparation saves months of search
The preparation phase is the most critical phase, without question. No matter how fast you run, you won't reach your destination if it's in the wrong direction. Likewise, if you run in the right direction but weigh yourself down unnecessarily, you may not reach your destination in time.
We will approach Project Job with a clear process, ensuring that you have considered everything you need to do. The startup steps are:
Complete your Identity Wheel to ensure you understand the impact of this change across all the key areas of your life.
Complete your Job Wheel, which is your guide for assessing every job opportunity you find.
Complete your job hunt checklist, ensuring you're ready for an interview.
If you're in a relationship, consider a Relationship Away Day so that you and your partner are ready for the journey and agree on some of the big decisions you'll likely face.
I have worked with, supported, and seen enough people in the position of being made redundant as a Secondhalfer, and one inescapable fact has emerged. It is that people who are organized and positive about the career change imposed on them are much more likely to find a job than those who are lost souls, bitter or negative. This preparation phase, above all else, gets you prepared with positivity.
This process is not short, but it's very important. We need to be able to move to the next phase at pace, and you've now laid the foundations, you can proceed with the actual search. Preparation is the most critical phase, without question.
So, stepping back before you start is essential for Project Job. We need to be able to move to the next step at pace, and you've now laid the foundations, you can proceed with the actual search.
Click on the posts below to take you through the process, step-by-step. If you have stories about your redundancy, I'd love to hear them, so please do get in touch.
Navigation
Here are all the Project Job posts in order: