Article by Adrianne Harris
Work place change and redundancy can be incredibly stressful and life changing events, it can be an overwhelming time when finishing up in a job or transitioning to a new role. This article introduces five tips that can help during this time.
- Celebrate you Achievements
A great place to start is to review what you have achieved in your role. When you have been made redundant or your workplace is changing, it is easy to feel as though your contributions are not valued. However this is not the case and you should reflect on the activities you’ve done and the outcomes. Brainstorm a list of things you have done. Start with an action verb list which can prompt your thinking. This list will become a list that you can pick and choose form when tailoring your resume or writing cover letters and selection criteria documents.
More information on capturing your achievements can be found in the article Capturing your Achievements.
- Qualifications, training and professional memberships
Check the currency of your qualifications, training and memberships – are they current and up to date? Some professional qualifications change and you need to upgrade to remain current. Some examples of this include VET courses like the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. It may have been a while since you have studied and think “how will I afford it?”, if that’s the case, you might like to check out the new way of funding TAFE and University courses. There are many courses nowadays to choose from, from a full degree or Masters Program to short courses including graduate certificates that only take a year or so to complete.
More information can be found in the booklet VET Student Loans.
- Your Network
Review your network and connections. If you’ve ignored your networking, now is a good time to reconnect. Write to your network and let them know what has happened and that you are seeking new opportunities. Your network can’t help you if they don’t know you are looking for a new job or new opportunities. Your network includes your potential referees. Even if you don’t think that you will immediately seek a new job, it’s a good idea to stay in touch with some potential referees. This makes it much easier than trying to locate people later. This is particularly important when there are a number of redundancies in your unit and people are leaving the organisation.
You can read more about nurturing your network in this article.
- Your public profile
If you are thinking of applying for opportunities outside of your current organisation, it’s worth reviewing your public profiles and social media. Many employers will check you out on social media, with or without your consent, so if you would rather keep your private details private, it is a good idea to review your privacy settings and what someone you don’t know can see about you on the web including on things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp among others. Also make sure you review the professional image you are projecting on LinkedIn including your photo – how up to date is it and how relevant is it to the future work you are looking for? Ensure all information is accurate and matches the information contained within your resume – employers often check both so they need to contain the same information (and this includes dates!).
A word of warning: I am seeing trends in overseas and some Australian recruitment organisations to request you to make your social media accounts public, or accept friend requests from them. My suggestion is to keep it professional and don’t feel pressured to share your details. Politely declining is better than an employer making unfounded assumptions on you based on what your share on social media.
More information about social media research on potential employees can be found here.
- Get some Help
Often employers will provide some kind of employee assistance program, outplacement support, training or coaching to help you through the transition. You should take advantage of all the support you are offered during this time, not only does it help with your stress levels, it also pays to get help from professionals to support you through the change and working with often short deadlines. Sometimes talking to a career coach can help get you through the stages of change and transitioning to a new workplace, role, career or other opportunity.
Contact Adrianne Harris today to talk more.