Redundancy Diary - Week 6

Two weeks ago I put all my efforts into making job applications, which got me 3 interviews. I have a second interview lined up next week, so I’m hopeful that I may get a job offer soon. The background work I did last week on researching and planning for my own business is ongoing. I have set myself a deadline of 1st April: if I haven’t accepted a job offer by then, I will set up my business and accept that I will be earning less (hopefully only temporarily!) until I can increase my customer base. I guess it would be a case of living with short term pain to get long term gain.

I did get a bit carried away in making job applications, applying for anything that seemed to have a tenuous link with my skills and experience. That was good as it generated a flurry of phone calls from agencies, but I did spend a lot of time preparing for jobs that I just couldn’t accept even if they were offered to me, for example because the job was based too far away.

I had forgotten how exhausting job interviews are! Thinking back over the 3 interviews, this is my summary of what I have learnt:

1. Research the company and products. I rang up one company anonymously to enquire about their products, a mystery shopping exercise, so that I could get a good feeling for what the products were – this helped me to demonstrate my knowledge in the interview.
2. Take time to think through the detail behind your CV. I was asked in one interview for very detailed financial figures from a job I did 10 years ago, and it threw me when I had to ‘guess’ them.
3. Don’t try to prepare a script for your answers. I think I over-prepared for one interview and instead of giving answers from my head, I tried to remember ones I had written down. As a result I came across as giving well-rehearsed answers rather than genuine ones.
4. Write your questions down. Although I thought I would remember the key questions I wanted to ask, I did forget one and regretted it afterwards.
5. Catch up on sleep. I stayed up till 2am one morning preparing for an interview but my tiredness meant I wasn’t as good at giving clear answers
6. Don’t go to an interview on an empty stomach. I didn’t feel like eating before one interview, but I am sure that I didn’t concentrate as well with my stomach rumbling!

I have got hold of a great crib sheet with some suggested answers to frequently asked questions in interviews – do contact me if you would like a copy.

The hardest part of searching for a job after redundancy to me seems to be that you never get a break or switch off from it. It’s not a 9 – 5 occupation; you think and worry about it all the time as you can’t switch off from the pressure of the need to get an income. I have found myself making dinner for my children and looking for the latest jobs on the internet at the same time. I feel I can’t afford to read for pleasure, only to read to find a job. Last weekend I decided I had to get away from it, and I can really recommend it. Do what you need to do to relax, which for me is fresh air, exercise, visiting new places and spending time with my friends. When I came back to the job search from 2 days off I had far more energy and a much more positive attitude.

I have found that writing this diary at the end of every week has been really helpful. It forces me to review everything I have done each week, think about what went well and what didn’t, and to plan for the week ahead. I sometimes feel like I haven’t achieved much in the week, but when I think through all my activities I feel pleased with the progress I am making and driven to do more!

I genuinely have no idea what next week’s work will involve, so watch this space! I’m guessing that I may have to make some tough decisions, so will share that.

We have postponed the Change Event I mentioned 2 weeks ago – we have had more interest than we anticipated so will be taking more time to plan and will announce full details when they are available. Thanks to everyone who has offered their support. We are inviting anyone who is facing a change in their job situation and providing free support and advice from experts and local services. Full details will be in next week’s column.