What do I do if I’ve been made redundant?

“I’ve been in my organization for 5 years in an executive role and have just been made redundant. I love my job at XXX XX, but a recent restructure has shifted to a matrix style instead of the clean vertical structure we’ve had since I started. I get the redundancy, but now I’m stuck with an 8-week notice, and a pretty meagre pay-out. What’s my best move?”

- Michael, QLD, 46

Redundancies over the past 12 months have skyrocketed. And in reality, job seeking facing a redundancy is just the same as job seeking while you’re unemployed - just with a little more warning and potentially more money.

Being made redundant, particularly when you didn’t see it coming just sucks and there’s no two ways about it.

If you find yourself in this position, as an executive there are two really simple pieces of advice that I’d give.

1. Job-seeking - Don’t throw out the head-start you’ve been given by spending it on a career break.

In all honesty, my advice would be to start applying for a job straight away and pocket the pay-out. Don’t give yourself time to stop and chill out unless you absolutely need it (leaving a company going through downsizing tends to be pretty stressful, you may need a couple of weeks to recoup but I’d recommend 3 weeks of intentional resting at most!). Keep in mind it could take anywhere from 4-8 weeks to be in a good position again - at a minimum. If you need a break, consider unpaid leave once you've landed the next gig and use your spare cash then.

2. Interviewing - As you go into interviewing, you’ll need to have a really solid grip of why you were made redundant that doesn’t paint you as an underperformer / dead wood. Hit this head on, upfront. Get to the question first. Don’t let your interviewers have time to formulate assumptions and rehearse your answer.

Facing a redundancy, in the broad scale of things, unfortunately is only a touch better than being fired, no matter how much it’s dressed up as a gentle ushering-in of the next season of your career.

Don't fall into the trap of using your pay-out to rest and then starting the hunt once it's used up because unfortunately it just doesn't work out well most of the time.

No matter what your role was, the second you step into the unemployment market, your equity takes a big hit and it may take a little longer than you are used to to land the next spot.

Good luck!