Made redundant 4 times

Chinup

Hi

I'm one of these people that believes the more the Press and Media publicise the "doom and gloom" of the recession, the more worried people become. The recession is real of course but, I have a little story to tell:


I'm a 32 year old male and In September of 1993, I was made redundant from a Factory that more or less went belly up and moved sticks to the USA (my first ever job). I decided to go to college and suffer 3 years of hardship, hoping to come out the brighter side. On leaving college I managed to secure a job with a logistics company and worked there from 1996 to 2000 and yet again, the company closed shop and moved to a remote shore.

For someone to be made redundant, twice in seven years is worrying. However, once again I managed to secure employment within a short space of time with another company and basically worked my backside off until the end of 2006 when the company I worked for announced "it was closing" with the loss of 130 jobs. At this stage I was dumbfounded I couldn't believe that this had happened again. Luckily, I decided to diversify and moved to a completely different role and career, and it was the first time in a long time that I had found a job that I loved until October of last year, when yet again and you know what’s coming. The company went into receivership and I was made redundant, again. Some 100 + people were made redundant

To say that I am un-nerved and scared would be an understatement. But, I can't fall into a pit and a never ending stream of pity and self worth because I know it isn't me who's been the one to screw up. I work incredibly hard and always advance in which ever job I have taken, but I am by nature, very very very unlucky. The day that I do stop hoping and do stop caring, then that’s the day I may as well throw in the towel. I am positive and optimistic about the future, and to everyone that may be worried about losing their jobs, it may seem like the end of the world but trust me, it's not

The only way this country and in fact the entire planet is going to survive is to not dwell on "what may happen" but be courageous in knowing "you have no control over it". Worrying doesn't solve anything except give you grey hairs and a couple of extra wrinkles. We need to put the recession to the back of our minds (or as much as we can), what they say on the news and all the doom and gloom that faces us, will only make us worry even more. It is easy for me to say "don't worry" because I’ve been there, done that and its never served me any purpose. Now, I take each day as it comes and know in my heart that the recession will end sooner than later. I'm working away again but I don't worry about my future anymore. There is hope there, and I know it is hard "not to worry". Keep your head held high, the recession wont last forever.

M@21

Totally Agree with you.
Be positive and keep your Chin Up!

People in the same situation have to remember it is not their fault, and if they find themselves in financial difficulties, that they should not panic because the banks etc are fully aware of the current economic climate so have no option but to accommodate people.

sNarah

Thanks Chinup for sharing the story and I love your positivity!
It's nice to read a story in this specific forum that isn't all doom & gloom!

Cheers and best of luck!

jimmycrackcorm

I've also gone through 4 redundancies but I've also change more than that number of jobs. The common thread was always moving on to better and brighter things. I put it down to learning and adapting new skills after each job change whether voluntary or forced. I'm not bothered by the thought of redundancy any more - in fact it would actually finally force me to create my own business if it came around again.

mikemac

You're jinxed, stay out of my company

Ah, excellent post there

tara83

Thanks Chinup - good to hear someone being postive. I am going through my first redundancy at the moment and am finding it a bit hard. Trying to stay positive but have never been out of work in my life before and worried that the next job I get may now be an improvement i.e. what if I end up in a low level poorly paid job. Also as none of my friends or family have been through it I think they can't understand why I haven't been able to get a job yet. Kep saying to myself that this time next year it will all be just a little bump in the road of life

shoegirl

I don't think its anything to do with being jinxed. In the last 10 years I've been let go once (well actually they were winding down part of the business but they didn't tell me that, it was all informal, but it was 1999 and I didn't know my rights at the time). My next company laid off about 10% of our department 2 years later, I survived that one anyway. In 2002 I moved and worked for another company. Within 2 years of starting up they were laying off staff, and I managed to survive again (as it happens most of it closed down in December last year). I moved to another company in 2005, and the same week I handed in my notice they too decided to close my department. I moved to another company which just a few weeks ago cut staff in my dept by half. But I survived most of these myself.

In most of these companies, it was always a short term "saving." Most of them ended up hiring for the same roles again within 12 months and in many cases I think it was a blatant effort to get rid of liability employees who they had mishired. Manufacturing and IT are notorious for this kind of practice.

BostonB

Is the type of role a factor here?

CorkFenian

Great post, generally would be very hard on myself.I need more of people like you around me..Positivity is hard to beat..Looking now since January..If someone had asked me in February if I'd still be looking now..I would have said definitely No...Generally I'm very proactive, getting fit, studying, applying for jobs etc..There can be the odd dark moment of frustration..Which I have tried to say to myself is normal...I take great heart from your post!!

dublinguy08

Love your positive attitude op. Im the same age as you but unemployed at the moment. Finding it hard to get a job.
You mentioned in your post that you had a complete change of career for your third job... Can I ask how you did this?
I would lve to do something different but have no idea how to go about especially having no previous experience.
Thanks again

Chinup

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the great posts, great to see people are so positive and optimistic, ya really can't beat it and that’s the only way to be. Everyday we keep hearing on the news and even when I was in the pub yesterday, a few mates started talking about the recession. The way I looked at it is we have reached the peak and the country is starting to pull out of it, but it will be a changed place before the end of the year. Some will have taken lessons from it, others may not. Personally, I never witnessed the Celtic tiger. I never drove a 08 or 09 car, or had a huge house on a posh estate, so I really don't miss something that I never had and that in itself is comfort

And Tara83, you will be fine and thanks for the post. I'm certain that you will find a job soon, one that you'll enjoy. Time is a great healer, for me it’s always proven to me to fix everything. If it’s personal or professional, time does fix it. Everything happens for a reason and to be honest, I never let things worry me anymore. Life's too short

And corkfenian, thanks for the post. Usually if someone starts talking about the recession, my first answer is always "it’s not going to last forever" and everyone agrees but usually forgets this and gets caught up in the moment and for those of us who go through things like, job losses etc, we always value the next job even more because we know how hard it can get. That’s when we learn the value of something, something that we didn't have for a long time, we then get it and cherish it. I'm one of these guys that will talk about negative things but find the positive, because this is how we fix problems. Problems are a challenge and if we handle them correctly, we can fix absolutely everything that’s thrown at us. Some people are born pessimist, others opportunists and me personally, I'd prefer to be the latter any day. You will get a job because by reading posts on here makes me realise that there’s a strong desire for people wanting to get on with life with odds not stacked against them but obstacles they're well able to overcome.

And Dublinguy08, thanks again for the post. I studied IT when I was at college but I didn't want to stay in it, I felt there was more to sitting down at a desk all day. I decided that I generally am a people’s person and love dealing with people and believe it or not, love fixing problems. I decided to apply for a job with a retail company on minimum wage (and that took some getting used to" and at the same time to study Part time from home, amazing what you can learn from the internet. After about a year I was after picking up all of the backbone for retail loss prevention (basically auditing of stores). I loved it and set a precedent with the company on loss prevention etc (thefts, shop lifting, etc...). I was constantly on the go, long hours, crazy miles but I love it. I'm now after securing a part time role as a tutor at a local college, teaching store managers/supervisors on retail loss prevention

I love it because I'm introducing new skills to people and actually give people skills that I picked up myself and more or less taught myself. Life is about taking chances, I’m not a gambler but believe that if you take a chance with something and you want it bad enough, you will get it. Be tenacious and find out what you love to do, go out and find out how to do it and rely on yourself, more so than anyone else because from my experience, companies and organizations are very impressed with initiative and a lot of companies, sadly lack this. It’s up to you then to provide that missing skill to them.

Hope this helps and well done guys, the more positive people are the negativity tends to fade into the distance

doolox

I bet there is a lot like you out there. Workers need to learn to save a contigency fund to tide them over the bad times.
I felt sorry for myself until I met people let go in the construction down turn still owed 2-3 months wages which they will never get.
At least I can tide over another year of this recession on my redundancy payment. After that its the banjo and cap on Grafton St........
Next boom time we all need to save up like mad squirrels and get some financial space in order to survive the financial sieges which the downturns really are.
If there wasn't some hidden benefit to recessions the powers-that-be would never allow them to happen in the first place.