This is a space for folks to post details of resources that they have found helpful or not. Please put up anything you think might be helpful but remember to stay within the normal rules of engagement. So nothing abusive, inaccurate or unlawful would be a good starting point.
RPS
Resources for redundant public servants 
11 September 2010: There’s an excellent piece in today’s Guardian Work section (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/sep/11/career-contingency-plan-redundancy) by Mark King. The article covers all sorts of ground from spotting the early signs of corporate trouble to what to do when the worst happens. Definitely worth a look. RPS
I take it that it’s OK to recommend individuals/services in this section? It seems fairly obvious to me that the scale of the cut backs means that most of us are just not going to find jobs doing what we’ve always done, so we’ll need to completely reinvent ourselves. I’d like recommend a coach I’ve just recently worked with who helped me think about what I have to offer in a completely different way – based on identifying my core strengths – and talking through what I might do with them. His name is Robert Franklin from Metis Consulting and Coaching: robertncfranklin@msn.com
Clare – you’re exactly right this is a space to share knowledge and experience in a ‘we’re in this together’ spirit. But I will weed out direct marketers when I see them.
I was lucky enough to work with a coach a few years back and it was a great experience for all the reasons you mention.
RPS
If you are struggling with your CV I know exactly how that feels. In an idle moment in Staples, the well known office emporium, I came across a piece of software called Teaching – You: CV writing skills produced by RosBro a career advisory and counselling service. It cost £9.99. I found it useful as a starting point in organising my career history into a sensible format. And, because, you can store and reuse your content in many different ways it has been a time saver too. It also allows you to export the content into a Word document or text file to play with. Lots of other features are included including a video tutorial to explain each bit of the process. The tutorial may irritate you after a while but it has some useful stuff in there. RosBro’s website is – http://www.rosbro.co.uk/About_us.html.
Shirley Ayres (who writes about communication and equality issues in the care sector) pointed me in the direction of http://www.recruitmentreviews.com/default.aspx.
It’s a handy website that enables you to post reviews of agencies you have used and read about the experiences of others. Looking through it certainly explained some of my experiences and left me feeling a bit better. At least I’m not the only one getting this sort of treatment.
It also made me determined to stick the boot in when I get service that isn’t good enough. If we all post then quality may improve. But remember to use an anonymous username when you register – just in case.
Shirley can be found at her own website (http://shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk/) where there’s lots of good stuff too. And just in case you wondered I have no connection with either Shirley or the Recruitment Reviews website. I just think good content deserves an audience.
RPS
Go to the job centre and ask to be reference to “The Icarus Project”, which is a FREE CV rewriting service… it’s available for “Professionals”, I use that term likely as my background doesn’t really put me into that category.
Don’t let CV writers and Recruitment Agencies use and abuse people in this most horrible of times.
Dear Rick,
Thank you for the tip – I’ll flag it up in case people have missed it.
RPS
RPS,
I came across your site and just wanted to say thanks for the mention. I set my site up around a year ago to help people in situations like yours. I’m glad you’ve found it useful and any suggestions on how I can promote it to help others would be great!
All the best
Oli
Thanks for the mention RPS. Another great article from the Guardian: You’ve been quangoed: what to do when an organisation is abolished and a link to Getting More for Less from Public Bodies: 10 key lessons for other public bodies facing merger or abolition
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/06/what-to-do-when-quangos-abolished?CMP=twt_gu
I also recommend having a look at http://www.alison.com who offer a large number of free online courses which include IT Literacy, Languages, Health and Safety and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of my favourites and in the spirit of the “Big Society”
How to Start Your Business or Social Enterprise – The Stone Soup Way
This free interactive online business course covers entrepreneurship. Taking as its inspiration the book: “Stone Soup – The Secret Recipe for Making Something from Nothing”, this course takes you through the 26 ingredients needed.
http://alison.com/courses/Stone-Soup
Shirley has also pointed me in the direction of the Sirona Says blog (http://blog.sironaconsulting.com/) run by @andyheadworth. The blog has interesting insights into how social media is being used by recruiters. Andy has given permission for me to put up his LinkedIn for beginners guide.
LinkedIn is a powerful resource for recruiters and those of us who want to be recruited. But it looks daunting to start. So the tips in Andy’s guide are an excellent starting point.
You can find the guide at the following link – https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2j64-3VhAoiYWE2ZmY3ODYtYThhZC00ZGJhLTg2YWEtNzdjOWNkODdjMWJm&hl=en&authkey=CJbPnWQ
Thanks RPS. Andy and I are passionate about helping people to understand the power of social networking. People may not yet be convinced that twitter is the new information network but it is worth having a look at The Beginners Guide To Twitter Video hot off the press from Andy http://blog.sironaconsulting.com/sironasays/2010/10/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter-video.html
The ‘cheese’ book I mentioned in the blog is ‘Who moved my cheese?’ by Dr Spencer Johnson. He’s the author of the ‘One Minute Manager’ and other management titles. It’s available through Amazon (and other book retailers) for less than £5.
The guts of a book is a parable but don’t be put off because beneath the surface there’s a powerful message about thinking differently about your situation. Some of the assumptions and writing elsewhere in this little book are pretty ghastly and I’m not endorsing them.
What spoke to me was the point about changing thinking when your context changes. It’s that part of the journey that’s been hardest for me.
It reminded me of what a successful sports coach I once met said, ‘getting better results is almost always about thinking differently. Change your thinking. Change your behaviour.’
The book is published by Random House (www.rbooks.co.uk) and its ISBN is 978-0-09-181697-1.
CSR 10 and Redundancies – read our eight handy tips! Interesting post from the Learning Pool
http://www.learningpool.com/blog/csr-10-and-redundancies-read-our-eight-handy-tips/
Best advice when you lose your job is to take time thinking about what you would really enjoy doing next – finding the thing that motivates you to get up in the morning. In the midst of worrying about how to pay next month’s mortgage that can be harder than it seems! When my husband was made redundant a few years ago, a friend recommended What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/ as a manual for working through ideas. I’ve recommended it to others in the same boat and it seems to work. Good luck with the job hunt.
Dear Penny, thanks for the comment. I’ve had that book recommended to me too. I’m going to get a copy. Thanks for the good wishes, RPS
First and foremost can I say that I think what you are doing here is incredible. If I can help in any small way then I’m more than happy to. I’m not a professional service, but I am a private sector HR Director with the best part of two decades worth of experience working for FTSE100 companies.
If anyone would like me to look at their CV, or provide any individual views or thoughts then I am more than happy to do so as an open offer to all (for free) as long as you can put up with dealing with an anonymous individual!
You can contact me here: http://myhellisotherpeople.com/about/
Dear thehrd, thanks for the comment and the offer. I’ll make sure it goes up on the resource page and I’ll spread the word via twitter. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of takers. Best wishes, RPS
@nakedCservant has been in touch to point out an interesting article that deals with making the transition from public to private sectors. It’s full of interesting advice and pointers to other resources worth checking out. One of these is a series of free career clinics being offered by recruitment consultants Badenoch and Clark. These start in December but you can register your interest now on their website.
All details below
Best wishes
RPS
Article – http://bit.ly/c3YMJL
CV cinic details – http://www.badenochandclark.com/news/Nationwide-career-clinics
A little while back Janet Davies from http://www.newlifenetwork.co.uk got in touch to let me know about her site. She started the site back in 2005 with Andrew Taylor. He had written about his redundancy and job hunting experiences in the Sunday Times. Reading the article prompted Janet to get in touch and the rest is history.
Janet’s book ‘Rebuilding your life after redundancy’ has had great reviews from readers on Amazon (I noticed as I was ordering). The website has some great resources on it and plenty of sound advice. I’ve spent a lot of the last week prowling through it often clutching my head saying ‘Doh!’ wishing I’d seen some of the content sooner.
Anyway I thoroughly recommend giving it a go as you work on your our redundancy survival plans.
And just so you know I’m not linked to Janet’s site or on any form of commission. Doh!
Best wishes
RPS
Don’t Waste Time with Time Management
Great post and insights from Bill Liao. I am inspired to try his top tips!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-liao/dont-waste-time-with-time_b_774798.html
Following on from the discussions about the value of LinkedIn an interesting article about “how your online identity is already starting to eclipse your traditional resume”.
Career Advice: Why Your Next Job Might Come via LinkedIn http://ow.ly/3fNxu via @UndercoverRec
The article also includes a link to the LinkedIn Answers Forum where several recruiters have publically noted their search methods and gives a birds’-eye view on exactly how YOU might be found and recruited on the site!
Dear Shirley,
Thanks for this an excellent link particularly in light of what some of my colleagues on the Guardian Q&A were saying about using social media to your advantage.
Best wishes
RPS
Job Seekers, Forget About LinkedIn: The Ultimate Guide for Your Twitter Job Search
Great post from Neal about the increasing importance of twitter. LinkedIn is still an essential part of the job search but he advises people to start thinking about investing more time in utilizing Twitter.
http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/12/10/job-seekers-ultimate-guide-twitter-job-search/
I read an article this morning about Flight Centre who are now inviting job applicants to submit links to their LinkedIn profile, twitter and blog rather than a CV.
I “adopted” @NealSchaffer along with @andyheadworth and @liaonet to help me understand the potential of social media. They have been extremely generous and supportive along the way and great people to follow on twitter along with you, of course, RPS!
Dear Shirley,
Thanks for the link – looks good.
RPS
Pingback: A guide for care organisations developing a social media strategy | Be Inspired! Shirley Ayres Consulting
At Veredus we recently decided to make our job hunting manual available openly (rather than just to people who came to our seminars). It’s here:
http://veredus.co.uk/Assets/Pdfs/Job_Hunting_Manual_2010
Hope some folk will find it useful