How to Bounce Back From Redundancy
Many things in the world occur in their peculiar manners. But at the same time, these things at some points will become unnecessary and less important. An example of such is letter writing. Before the advent of mobile phones and other high-tech devices, people had to write letters, post them and wait for about a week depending on the distance. Sometimes, the letters may be misplaced and the addressee would never get the message nor reply. It became less needed when people could talk to their family living a hundred miles away just by tapping numbers. The invention of phones makes letter writing redundant. But that does not make letter writing obsolete nor does it make the post office to be irrelevant. It only reduces the influx of letters to be posted.
In this same manner, you can get redundant in your workplace. It is good to remember that every corporate where you work employs you so that you will make money for them. In a bid to make money, they must require that you have a skill or skills. These skills are what make you marketable in the labor market. If presented very well, they would get you to the best employer.
Importantly, the dream of every employer is to maximize profit. It means that employers try as hard as they can to reduce expenses and increase more profit. To achieve this aim, he has to look at all his expenses and see if he could cut down some of them. Meanwhile, your salary is seen as an expense to the employer. This is private but a typical nature of a capitalist. Therefore, if he sees a way of increasing his profit without involving you, he would do that without qualms. The best thing that he would do for you is to pay you off and hand a pink letter to you. You are rendered redundant! What do you do?
Just like any other human being, there would be massive feelings of sadness. You will feel very bad and rejected. In most cases, you will start recounting how much you have contributed to the success of the company and how dedicated you were that you do not deserve the reality. If fed for a long time, you may start nursing some hatred for the employer. And you may also feel cold feet when thinking of working under a person again.
But that is not the end of the world. There are thousand and one ways to bounce back after being redundant. Remember that most post offices still generate money from stamp duty. But innovate, post offices accept courier service across the globe. Courier service is the same as posting letters and is quite indispensable. They make lots of money from that. So, they are still in business. Also, you can bounce back and these are some of the ways to bounce back from redundancy. These ways range from personal to professional actions to take.
1) Change your perception of the situation: You need to understand that redundancy is not personal. It could be a result of artificial intelligence or a poor economic outlook. It is never the goal of your employer to make you feel rejected. It is just the situation of things. Knowing that the fight is about profit generation and relevance will calm your nerves and make you less aggressive about the situation. It will focus your attention on what matters.
2) Be patient with yourself: Presently, that you do not have work, you may feel a bit agitated when you are left at home while others go to work. It is normal because most people identify themselves with their jobs. Nevertheless, you have to be grateful for the job experience you have already. You also have ample time and money to reinvent yourself. You do not have to rush things.
3) Re-evaluate and reassess your position: This is time to look at your skills and compare them with the global need. Assuming you were a secretary in your previous organization, you need to evaluate your mastery of Ms word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other similar packages. You have to understand your level of proficiency and compare it to your perceived competitors.
4) Update your skills and expand your horizons: You would not have been on the list of redundant employees if you had data analysis skills even as a secretary. Therefore there is an extensive need not only to increase your proficiency in Ms packages but also to incorporate them. Find related skills to your current job and update yourself. The world keeps changing and anybody who does not change with the world is left behind. The good thing is that you have money to foot your bills. Do not take it for granted.
5) Connect to recruiters and former employers: Starting with the latter, your former employers know you better because they have worked with you. They have also built a strong personal relationship with you. They may be empathetic enough to find you another befitting work. Even if they do not, they can push you forward by writing some recommendations for you. Their recommendations will certainly go a long way to helping secure another job. In the same vein, you need to connect to your former colleagues. Since they are still in the field, they are more likely to know another opening than you. Do not shy away. Remember that they know that this can happen to anybody. As a professional, you do not need to back strongly on emotions. You need a recruiter to help you to update your curriculum vitae. He would advise you on how to add your recent experiences and increase your chances of getting a new job.
6) Be positive and open to opportunities: You will attract what you think. After you have done what is expected of you, be positive enough to receive good things from mother Earth. Submit your CV to as many companies as you can with the help of your recruiter. But also be open to a career change. What matters most is that you are back to work and that you will enjoy your new jobs.
To avoid redundancy, always stay abreast of happenings and be proactive. Do not forget to tell yourself that you shall overcome every situation.
