Welcome to this article on staying positive after being made redundant:-

1. Career. Now is a good time to think about what you might want to do next. Another job similar to the one you’ve left? Further education? Look for something part time? Retrain to change career direction? Start your own business? This could be the key to your future so you might want to put some focus in to this area starting with working out your life goals and understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Some ideas to start you off:- 1. www.myersbriggs.org 2.www.businesslink.gov.uk 3.www.englandsrdas.com 4.“How to get a job you’ll love” by John Lees from www.amazon.co.uk 5. www.kolbe.com 2. Networking. Many jobs aren’t advertised and employers do like to recruit people via recommendation. Keeping in touch with contacts can also help with input on some of the other items above eg identifying skills, giving support etc. When talking to your contacts, ask them for contact details of 5 people who they would be happy for you to approach about job opportunities. Keep your conversations fairly low key – just tell them you are looking for work, what your top skills are and ask them to bear you in mind if they hear of anything. Also, make use of online networking – try www.linkedin.com or www.ecademy.com 3. Skills. Make a list of all the skills you have. This will help keep your confidence up and also, give you food for thought on what you might want to do next. Don’t restrict your list to things you have learnt at work in recent times, think about other areas of your life. And if you can’t think of at least one hundred, ask 10 people you know well what 10 things they value you for. You may be surprised. 4. Support. Don’t feel you have to cope on your own. Make a point of sharing your feelings each day with someone close to you. Tell them you are not necessarily looking for answers, just someone to listen. And if there are times when those around you are affected by the situation, seek out someone not directly involved who can listen objectively. 5. Experiences. Experiment with new experiences which will help keep your confidence up and open your mind to new ideas. You might find it easy to come up with a few things you’ve always wanted to try but those that don’t cost too much money will take a bit longer! rnTry www.do-it.org.uk for ideas on volunteering or www.toastmasters.org- a great place to not only hone your presentation and public speaking skills but also to network and be educated by what other people talk about. rnWhen you have been made redundant, it is very easy to rush headlong in to looking for a job similar to the one you have just left. However, if you take time to review your options, look after your wellbeing by ensuring you get ongoing support, you will give yourself the best chance of making the most of this experience. rnAre you doing enough to make this a positive experience?