For those of you entering your first recession, who have probably been employed since you finished education, redundancy is likely to be a big unwelcome shock to your system.
It’s not just the money, important though that is (look how often the term ‘breadwinner’ is used to describe those who provide financial income). You no longer have one of the main anchors in your life, if not the main one.
You may feel
- Panic
- Anger or unfairness – “Why me?”
- A weird kind of relief that the suspense is over if you were half expecting it
- Release from a job or workplace atmosphere you didn’t particularly enjoy, so a sense of freedom
- Self-confidence that you’ll find something else swiftly or can now get on with what you really want to do
Your confidence may be well-placed although there are many more people out of work now than there have been for years – you may have to be more flexible and creative than you’ve been in the past.
And meanwhile one of the things you’re probably going to need to do is get to grips with your local Jobcentre Plus – a necessity if you want financial help from the government while you’re looking for work.You may as well find out what you’re entitled to sooner rather than later.
Don’t let any feeling of pride get in the way. Register immediatelywith Jobcentre Plus – that’s the date from which you’re officially in their system and the date any financial help will be calculated from – so even if you feel like curling up in a ball and telling the world to go away, wait till after you’ve registered.
The first stage is either on line or using the free phone number provided on their website (about 20 minutes you giving your details to a machine followed by a further 40 minutes with an operator). Then you get an appointment to be seen in person.
Once you’ve set those particular wheels in motion you have your backstop in place and can get on with doing everything you can to start earning your own way again.