Ask LH: How Should I Deal With Being Made Redundant?


Dear Lifehacker, I’ve been informed that work will undergo a restructure and my position will be redundant. Apart from reapplying for the new positions, what else should I do to prepare myself to come out a better person after this event? Thanks, Uprooted

Picture by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dear Uprooted,

Sorry to hear that. Unexpected career change is never easy to deal with. We’ve got plenty of advice on how to update your resume, search for a job and work through an interview elsewhere on Lifehacker. In these circumstances, you need to ask yourself some broader questions:

Do you actually want to stay with your employer? When there’s a restructure, the obvious temptation is to try and score one of the jobs that’s still going, especially if you have financial commitments such as a mortgage. However, even if you wouldn’t have consciously made the choice to look for another job, you now have the opportunity to do so. So ask yourself: Do you really like your current role? Will there be opportunities to progress? Will there be more security following the restructure? If you can’t say ‘yes’ confidently to all three, then you should start looking elsewhere.

Have you got enough savings? One reason many people will panic when an unexpected work change looms is that they are living pay to pay. Setting up a regular savings scheme makes the prospect less scary. If you haven’t got one, start now. It doesn’t need to be complicated: pick an online bank and organise a regular deposit, even if it’s only $50 a month. Build the habit.

Are you getting caught up in negativity? Chances are there’s a lot of discussion about future prospects going on in your workplace right now. Keeping up with what’s happening is one thing, but getting caught up in mindless speculation and gossip won’t help you in the long run. Stay positive.

What are you doing that’s not about work? No matter how fulfilling your job is, it shouldn’t be the defining feature of your life. Make sure you have other things going on. Start a passion project. Write a novel. Learn to code. Volunteer. Get fit. But have something that isn’t defined by who currently pays you.

Those steps won’t help you find a new job, but they will take you some of the way to being a “better person”. If readers have other suggestions, we’d love to hear them in the comments. Good luck!

Cheers
Lifehacker

Got your own question you want to put to Lifehacker? Send it using our contact tab on the right.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


7 responses to “Ask LH: How Should I Deal With Being Made Redundant?”

Leave a Reply