I'm a casualty of the credit crunch and being made redundant - what now?!

ShiftDoctor answer

By Kaycareerscoach on 22 June 2008 at 16:55

When people face redundancy they experience a variety of emotions. Here are a few of the more common ones.............
· Shock
· Denial
· Anger - Why me?
· A lack of control
· Lost self-image
· Low self-esteem
· Loss - of possible direction, security, routine and work colleagues

It is totally understandable to feel anxious about this as you have been in your current job for 15 years, a large chunk of your life.

How are your employers preparing you for the redundancy? Have they offered a support package which will help you with your job search, CV and interview preparation? If not, why not? Check with your employers and see what support they plan to offer. Your HR department should have some type of support package for its employers.

I know it is a scary time but think of the positives that will come from this situation: This is an excellent opportunity to do something new, something that perhaps you have always been interested in but have never been in a position to pursue. Ask yourself the following questions:

What would you do if you were guaranteed not to fail?
What did you want to do as a child and were growing up?
What work would you do if money wasn't a concern?

Take this time to take stock and think deeply about who you are and what work would suit you, your values, needs, strengths and skills.
I recommend that you do a skills assessment.

You are a Key Manager for Citibank, a job which clearly involves a high level of skill. Explore all your skills in the widest sense; recognize your strengths and weaknesses. From what I know of your role you will more than likely have excellent people and communication skills, problem solving ability, commitment to strong customer service, commercial and industry awareness, you'll be able to achieve and work to targets and deadlines, leading a team of staff, knowledge of sales, marketing, customer service and business...The list goes on!
You will have many more transferable skills so take the time to analyse your current role and also think of relevant examples.
All these skills are transferable to other job roles. Have you thought about jobs in the commercial sector, sales, marketing or manager/client customer service roles? There will be more career options open to you than you first thought, take it one step at a time, keep the faith, expect some ups and downs and I'm certain that you will find a new job very soon. Good luck. If you would like a free career coaching session contact me on (0113) 2121704 or email