by Colm Cavey, Professional Career Consultant.
A comment on some less obvious issues relating to jobs and career change activity.
– Are you a dissatisfied HR Executive?
– Is job satisfaction diminishing or non-existent?
– Has a company restructure put your job at risk?
– Just not getting those new opportunities as they arise?
These are sentiments often repeated to me when I meet clients. Not necessarily in that order but the views that prompt these comments all hark back to the fact that the employing company is not doing well and a possible restructuring is on the cards.
Despite a very healthy employment market with lots of opportunities, it’s a fact of life that closures with redundancies still happen and with devastating consequences for the employees and their families.
Not meaning to sound like a prophet of doom, the realities are that every day, every week there are job losses in small amounts here there and everywhere, and added together they add up to a substantial amount. They don’t individually make the news, so you don’t hear much about them. You only ever hear about the big ones. Company downsizing comes in many shapes and sizes
Again and again, I hear people say ‘ah sure we knew it was coming’ or ‘business has been on the slide for ages’ and yet despite this nobody makes a move in advance. They wait until the day of the bad news. Then there is a rush to the door and you, along with all your colleagues will be chasing precisely the same jobs at the same time and in the same area. All this activity adds up to tough competition that you don’t need at this time of your life.
If you’re in this situation, anticipate and start your exit plans well in advance of any announcements. But be well prepared for when redundancy does strike. No matter how well anticipated it may be it always comes as a terrible shock when the day arrives, and you are told that your job is at an end.
Throughout the following days and weeks of worry, the most important thing you should do is to recall in your mind all your experiences, skills and achievements you have had. These are your areas of expertise, and they come with you; you are not leaving them behind. You are the very same talented person today as you were last week. So think through your achievements and successes, slap yourself on the back and tell yourself well done! Remind yourself of everything you did that’s worthwhile, write it down as an interview exercise and tell any interviewer that might ask, how you helped in the success of your last employer’s growth during better times. Never forget it.
It is also worth mentioning that over the last while there have been many news announcements of new businesses openings and creating new job opportunities all around. New opportunities mean that those wishing to progress their career will also be in the queue for advancement, thus adding hundreds of applications for every opportunity presented.
When redundancies are announced depending on the company and their resources, career change assistance may, and should be a part of the exit package. With some companies experiencing extreme cash shortages the exit package may be the statutory payment and no more.
If you have not been actively job searching for any length of time, then it is recommended you contact a Career Consultant for an initial discussion. Over the last three or four years, the whole job selection process has changed dramatically. With the advent of the Social Media and Job Sites like IrishJobs, Recruit Ireland, LinkedIn and many others, employers can find you as easily as you can find them.
A good Career Consultant will provide a structured or tailored programme that will look and advise on the main topics to address. Your career direction, your C.V., tags, codes, introduction messages, your presentation, interview practice, the who, where, when and how you should approach the job market are all the essential elements for a professionally conducted, personalised and supportive, career change programme. So like with any service where you are not well practised; get advice.
By searching the web for ‘Career Consultants Ireland’ it will produce a sizable list, one of which could be – and yes you guessed it, the Jobdoctor at; www.jobdoctor.ie
Make a few phone calls; choose the one you like the sound of, also one with experience and a good record of success. Make an appointment for an initial discussion which should be at no cost, outline your concerns and get a quotation for the assistance that you want. Do not be railroaded into services that you believe you do not need.
It will probably cost a lot less than you expect so do regard it as money well spent when you compare the income you will derive as a result of a speedy redeployment against not working at all.
Good Luck.
