How to Pick Yourself Up After Being Made Redundant

Chances are, most people will face redundancy at some point in their lives. It's only a lucky few who will never find themselves suddenly unemployed. Sudden redundancy can happen in a number of ways; it could be just you that's let go; an entire department could be axed; or the whole company may collapse. The reality is that it's a tough and lonely place to find yourself. You may never have experienced that shock before, or this might be a second or third time unlucky. However many times you've been there, it doesn't get any easier or less painful.

But you can and will bounce back, with time. The first thing you need to do is be kind to yourself. Whatever the reason for your redundancy, it's hard to go from a busy working day to suddenly having nothing to do. Trawling the jobs boards can be a hard and unhappy task, so look after yourself for your mental and physical health.

This is, in effect, a grieving process. If you'd lost someone, you wouldn't be hard on yourself, you'd take the time to process what had happened and come to terms with it. Grief makes people react in many different ways, so expect there to be a whole range of emotions from sadness to anger.

Start to think of this as a chance to hit the reset button, by giving yourself the space to think about your career and what you want from the next stage of it. If you can afford to, take a couple of months out of the jobs market to assess where you've come from and where you're going.

Were you really happy in your last role? Is this even the industry you want to work in? Do you want another permanent position, or should you safeguard against redundancy by going freelance or setting up your own business?

Once you've decided, make a plan and turn realising it into your full-time job until it happens. And it will happen. With the right mindset, you will bounce back stronger.