Take a look at yourself

By ANGELA McCARTHY

Being made redundant means your job has gone, but your skills haven't, says Reece Notton, executive director of DBM NZ Human Resources Consultancy, an outplacement and career transition service for companies. "It is a matter of taking control of your career again after someone has momentarily taken that control away."

Although Tonette Jones, a Telecom Retail HR co-ordinator, knew redundancy was imminent, she was horrified when it happened six weeks ago.

"I realise now I was reacting to losing the habit of the job. Redundancy put me out of my comfort zone and that has been good for me."

She has decided not to panic yet. "I'll see what happens after three months." Instead, she sat down with DBM to work out what she really wanted in a job.

"This might be the only time in my life I have this opportunity. I've a list of criteria and I'm looking carefully at roles and industries, not just grabbing the first job."

Her wish list? An HR adviser role in a large company in an industry that excites her with a strong focus on customer service. Location is also important. "I'm not one for sitting on the southern motorway for an hour. I'd rather spend that hour in the gym."

Jones was pretty sceptical when Telecom offered outplacement at DBM.

"I couldn't see the point, but once Reece began talking about approaches such as networking, I thought, 'Of course'."

She finds that someone always knows someone working in places of interest, and they are usually happy to connect you. People love to help.

Anna de Valk, Job Connection occupational consultant, says the link between work, status, expertise and identity makes it difficult for some people to view redundancy positively, particularly if, like many of de Valk's ACC clients, they have had to leave their jobs.

"People often grieve job loss. When this isn't recognised, people can become depressed if they don't have the opportunity to deal with it."

People offered outplacement by their employers tend to cope better, possibly because they don't feel so personally responsible, says Vivienne Tobin of Career Reflections, who does career transitioning for company and private clients.

She starts the process by talking through the emotions around redundancy then exploring options, preparing and planning.

Career exploration includes figuring out strengths, working style, career drivers, values and job satisfaction levels.

"It is amazing watching people put headings and verbs to actions they have been doing all their lives, in paid and unpaid work, and realising they have those skills," says Tobin.

Take the engineer who felt he had no interpersonal skills yet taught children to sail in the weekends.

"He gained a lot from recognising he had those other skills."

De Valk encourages people to think laterally - not just take a conventional approach. "We will look at ways of accomplishing the goal, starting with the ultimate and working back, then assessing how realistic it is. If I have a person who has been a labourer for 16 years and wants to pursue graphic design I encourage it wholeheartedly."

An important step is researching and networking to gather information about organisations and positions, says Notton.

"We point out that 60 to 70 per cent of people find jobs through some kind of networking."

New options need reality checking against factors such as family obligations, if there's a need to relocate or do further study. Obstacles such as lack of qualifications need to be assessed.

"We encourage people to think these issues through carefully because some organisations will view ability and experience favourably even if you haven't many letters after your name," says Notton.

"It is about knowing how to package yourself. It is about your personal commercial: 'This is what I am, this is what I do'."

Attitude is critical when it comes to applying for a new job, advises Chris Robson, recruitment manager for Frog Recruitment.

"When someone who has been made redundant approaches us we make sure they have worked through the situation and will refer them to a career counsellor if required. In a job interview you need to be able to talk about your previous job confidently and objectively, highlighting your responsibilities and achievements.

"You don't create a good impression if tears well in your eyes when you describe a recently lost position."

The good news is that redundancy isn't considered a negative by employers, says Robson, who sees on average one redundant person a month.

Just leave with your dignity intact, suggests Notton. "New Zealand is too small for slagging off ex-employers. You never know when you will associate with them again."

Temping is a popular transition move because you can experience an organisation's culture without committing permanently.

Frog provides advice on resume writing and job interview preparation. "Some people get no support in these areas and may have been in their job for years. We will work with them to introduce new employment opportunities."

People wanting to change direction may decide to get a similar job while building up skills in a new area, says Tobin, and this works best when done to a plan.

Mariette Beesley's planned transition from market research to commercial real estate has worked a treat. "I saw it as a great opportunity to do something completely different. It was time after 15 years of working in one company."

It also made her reassess her work-life balance, which had changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. Having survived that, Beesley feels she was open to new possibilities.

"Because life was nearly taken away from me I see opportunities more."

Realising redundancy was on the cards six months ago, she took a proactive approach and attended a career planning seminar run by her employer, ACNielsen..

Through the seminar she realised she missed the people contact of earlier advertising and marketing roles. "I genuinely like meeting and assisting people. I am also highly self-motivated and organised so I started looking at using those skills."

On researching the job market, Beesley realised real estate might meet her requirements, so she enrolled in a part-time real estate course while she was still working at ACNielsen.

"That got me interested in commercial real estate, which is more about investment and real estate as a product and has less emotion than residential."

About this time ACNielsen sent Beesley to DBM's outplacement programme.

"Working out my values and skills and how they related to each other was the most valuable aspect of DBM.

"It also helped me to see my skill gaps, which for real estate were listening and negotiating. So I did a lot of reading and took an evening course in successful selling."

Having decided she wanted to work near her home and previous workplace, Beesley went cold-calling on real estate agencies around the North Shore. A follow-up call last month led to a job offer.

"I won the job despite my lack of real estate experience. I think they liked my commitment."

Redundancy doesn't have to be a bad thing, says Beesley, particularly if you get redundancy pay.

"I spent some of my redundancy on a mobile phone, laptop and promotional material. It also gave me the security to investigate and make real choices."