Jenny Rogers - Facing Redundancy: Surviving And Thriving

COPYRIGHT

McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill House

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England

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First published 2014

Copyright Jenny Rogers, 2014

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN13: 9780077158286 (pb)

ISBN10: 007718288 (pb)

eISBN: 9780077158293

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Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to represent any real individual, company, product or event.

Praise for this book

Rogers Facing Redundancy brings a deep level of honesty, insight, and most importantly practical support, for career transition in the 21st century

Katherine Tulpa, CEO, Association for Coaching

This is a stunning book: easy to read, very informative, packed full of common-sense good advice derived from years of experience. The case studies are short and interesting. Its not an exaggeration to say I couldnt put it down. Highly recommended.

Carolyn Gray, Group Director, HR, Pensions & Sustainability, Guardian Media Group

CONTENTS

Why redundancy hurts and how to shorten the time to adjustment

How and why it is so important to protect your reputation and well-being during the immediate process of being given the news. How to exit with grace

Finding a range of helpers and getting the most out of them

Understanding why redundancy has happened, including what individuals may have contributed

Working out where your money is going; implementing a Scrimpers Charter

Why it matters to see yourself as a brand. Assessing your whole life not just work, identifying what a dream job would look like

beyond your taken-for-granteds

The importance of not getting stuck on fixed ideas about your next job. Where and how you might compromise

Getting past unhelpful myths about job search. How to understand and exploit the informal jobs market; using social media

The role of a CV in job search. How to construct a CV that has impact

Demystifying the job interview; understanding the process from the employers perspective; managing nervousness; preparation that counts

Exploring new types of career and life: freelance, interim and portfolio working

Cary L. Cooper

W e are living in turbulent economic times, and for many people who suffer the indignity and feelings of rejection by being made redundant, they may experience hopelessness and a fear of the future, let alone a worry about their financial security (Weinberg & Cooper, 2012). As Machiavelli wrote in a different 16th Century world in The Prince, in the face of great change many people have believed and still do believe....they cant do anything about it and have no way of protecting themselves. As a result they may decide its hardly worth making an effort and just leave events to chance (Parks, 2009). Given the scale of job loss in Europe over the last seven years, with very high levels of unemployment not seen since the 1930s, and with youth unemployment ranging from 25 to over 50% in many EU countries, resilience has got to be the watchword of the future. We need to encourage people who lose their job to take control, to see that there are opportunities out there, which may be better and more rewarding than what they did in the past.

Although being made redundant is an emotionally rejecting event, it can also be one in which the individual can use it to consider a range of options in life, to find another path to a more fulfilling work life, getting greater balance and having more control, in essence, enjoying greater job satisfaction and meaning from work. As Leonardo da Vinci once wrote every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgement. Go some distance away, because work will be in perspective and a lack of harmony is more readily seen. Working in the same job for many years can have this effect, and although losing a job is very stressful, it can also be an opportunity to think of new challenges.

The author of this book offers practical ways to help those who have been made redundant to answer some of the following questions: how do I keep my dignity and self-esteem through the process of being made redundant, and get the best deal I can? and what is the best way of seizing the opportunity to redesign my life and career?. Being positive and taking control are the answers to dealing with redundancy, and this book has plenty of energising tips on how to do this. This is the beginning of the process of change, as Mark Twain once quipped If you always do what you always did, youll always get what you always got!

References:

Parks,T. (2009) The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. London: Penguin.

Weinberg, A. & Cooper, C.L. (2012) Stress in Turbulent Times. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cary L. Cooper, CBE, is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, UK

J enny Rogers is one of the UKs most experienced coaches. Her clients include chief executives in central and local government, banking and finance, professional service organizations, ambassadors, senior scientists, senior executives in the BBC and other broadcasting organizations, the arts and marketing. She also works with people in middle- and junior-level jobs who face career challenges. She has successfully coached many hundreds of people through career crises. She has published books on how to create a powerful CV and how to be successful at a job interview and has been a frequent contributor to BBC Radio.

As well as running her own coaching practice, Jenny teaches and trains coaches internationally. She is a full member of APECS, the UK accrediting body for senior coaches.

www.jennyrogerscoaching.com

Twitter: @jennyrogers10

T o my clients : Im well aware that you take a chance in trusting a stranger with what are often difficult emotions and major life-questions. Thank you for taking that risk and, going back to my earliest days as a coach more than 22 years ago, for letting me practise on you and for appearing to forgive the mistakes that even the most experienced coach will make from time to time. Some of you have become dear friends: you know who you are. This means I cannot be your coach but the friendship is even more enjoyable.

To other thinkers in this field such as John Lees and James Innes: thank you for doing so much of the thinking and for keeping pegging away at career coaching topics for too long the Cinderella of coaching. Special thanks to Richard Bolles whose magnificent book What Color is Your Parachute? is a wonderful resource and a good example of how knowing your life purpose shapes and simplifies everything you do. Thanks too to The Coaches Training Institute in California for being the first to synthesize so many ideas about coaching itself. Your book Co-Active Coaching inspired me and many others to become full-time coaches. And thanks to all those distinguished social psychologists such as Michael Argyle whose student I was while doing a post-graduate Diploma at Oxford in the Sixties and who first alerted me to the intriguing and infuriating nature of human perception and psychology.