Redundancy
Can we have a word…
EOGHAN McDERMOTT gives advice on how to cope if the worst really does come to the worst and you find yourself out of a job.
It never seemed possible, but it’s now moving from possible to probable in many companies. For many surveyors, every day brings the real dread of a request to “have a word with the boss” and the certainty that the conversation will not be about an exciting new project, but rather about the reduction of days worked or, worst of all, termination of employment. It’s devastating when it happens. Personally devastating. Even though each individual affected knows that a) they didn’t cause the problem, and b) can do nothing to solve it, it is experienced as a personal blow. Surveyors who have been productively employed for many years face, not just the loss of the day job, but the loss of the circle of colleagues, friends and activities implicit in the day job. That represents a cumulative challenge which, at first glance, seems insurmountable, particularly when the wider context is taken into account.
The figures Economically, we are in the doldrums. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) predicts that unemployment will soar to an average of 8% next year, compared with a figure of 6.1% estimated for 2008. The number of people in work is expected to have fallen by 14,000 by the end of the year and by a massive 47,000 in 2009. There were 6,513 redundancies in building and civil engineering alone already this year. In the metal manufacturing, engineering and other manufacturing sectors, some 6,588 redundancies have happened. While, in other areas, particularly the lower-skilled and part-time sectors of the economy, the people losing their jobs have been mostly female, in the construction-related sector, more than two-thirds of the people made redundant were male. Simply put, people are losing their jobs when they never expected to, and finding it tougher to get a new one.
16 SCSREVIEW
The recruitment market The market has done a complete 180˚ turn since this time last year. It has moved from a buyer’s market to a seller’s. In ’06 and ’07 candidates would fire their CVs off to a few recruitment companies and then sit back and wait for the offers to roll in. Now this has all changed. In 2008, candidates need to get hold of every opportunity that they otherwise would have let pass them by. This means working hard at the other things too. Good networking is not about meeting tons of people, each of them desperately hunting business. Good networking is building and using an informal web of people who you actually have a relationship with and who can vouch for you and give you a hand. When looking at going into different roles or organisations remember that Ireland is a village and people you know should be the first port of call when you’re seeking an opportunity. People like friends, ex-colleagues, relations. They love to be asked for advice and help. But the manner of asking is important. When a friend is approached in a panic, with the naked assumption that they might have a job to offer, the friend is likely to feel guilty and avoidant, because they simply can’t help. When a friend is approached in a coolly professional way with a good CV and asked to keep at the back of their mind the possibility of recommending the CV’s owner, should the opportunity arise, they are empowered to be genuinely helpful.
Use professional help Professional help is important too. A deflationary approach to one’s own career (“I can’t afford to pay a professional”) is not a good idea. If you’ve been a surveyor for many years, the one thing it’s fair to suggest is that you probably lack job-seeking skills and the capacity to re-position yourself in the