The best advice is to plan for redundancy

BY JULIE MIDDLETON

Whether your position is likely to be made redundant or not, it's never too early to prepare yourself for the likelihood.

"Start thinking like an independent contractor, consultant or business owner. Think Me Inc," says Auckland career counsellor Fran Harre.

"This way, you start to build the attitudinal muscle that will enable you to thrive on a redundancy should you get landed with one."

And if you never face a layoff, she adds, you will still be in a better position because of the skills and self-responsibility you will be developing through taking on this project.

Start a conversation now with your partner or a trusted friend or colleague about what you would do if you were made redundant.

"Prepare Plan B now," says Harre - or plan R, as she and her clients term it.

"Often, talking about Plan R opens up the possibility that the time may be coming where you want to explore another career direction entirely, or self-employment of some sort," she says.

With a contingency plan in mind, a redundancy "that might otherwise have blown the roof right off will turn out to be just a stiff breeze".

And remember that careers involve far more change than in the past.

University researchers Michael Arthur, Kerr Inkson and Judith Pringle found that over a 10-year period, three out of every five workers ended in an entirely different career than the one they started in.

List your skills. Knox recommends that people do a "SWOT" analysis (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) of your skills, which will throw up areas you can highlight, or conversely, areas which need work.

She says mind maps on skills, or for planning possible business ideas are also useful - see www.mind-map.com for tips.

Keep a list of achievements and supporting documentation, such as good sales figures, congratulatory memos and emails.

Many people's self-esteem is tied up with their position in a company and the recognition they get from their work colleagues.

"Taking steps to broaden out the source of your self-worth through widening your network is part of redundancy-proofing yourself," says Harre.

"If your circle of friends has been mainly work-related, then expanding your social contacts is an important strategy."

One way to do this is to take on some voluntary work, but approach it as you would any paid position.

Identify your interests and specific skills so you can match your volunteer work to your career objectives, and be prepared to tell organisations that interest you why you are interested in volunteer work, what skills you are able to offer and what you are looking for in return.

When job-hunting, ask about your would-be company's policies on redundancy and find out what their record has been over recent years.

Ask how often restructuring has happened. "If questions about this topic give them trouble," says Harre, "then take that as a warning sign."