Keep calm and carry on....

South_coast

I'm free....

Work stuff returned to work, my stuff returned to me, and I'm done. Not sure how I feel yet 😐 Bittersweet really, happy to be going but sad about what I'm leaving behind. Had lots of lovely calls and messages from my team on Thursday and got quite upset again, but at the same time I've never had something cause me so much lack of sleep and generally feeling upset so much of the time, so I'm glad to be putting that behind me. Half the team seem to think I'll be able to give them a new job somewhere else, which would be lovely but I need to find that somewhere else myself first!

BF spent yesterday building a picnic table for his garden, so we sat out there with a bottle of prosecco (and ice bucket 😀) yesterday evening before it started raining, and his mad neighbours came round to admire his handiwork. They have approved of it as being "good for fat ars*s" 🤣!

So I guess today is the first day of the rest of my life....🤔😮

greenbee

Congratulations! I suggest you give yourself a few days holiday, and then start to think about job hunting as your job (but only part time!). I've started by asking people to write me LinkedIn recommendations - not just for my current role, but also previous ones where it would be useful. And I've been in touch with an ex-colleague about how he negotiated his exit - so I know what tricks they try and what to look out for I'm letting a few people know but considering not telling my family for a bit as I know my mum will worry. I'd rather have a few more things in place first. The people I've spoken to have given me some useful contacts so I can explore ideas around new directions. And I've also spoken to an ex-boss who has 3 potential roles for me.

It might be worth going to someone for a CV review and some job-hunting advice. Ideally someone relatively local and who knows your industry. There are lots of redundancy/job hunting webinars etc. being advertised on LI at the moment, so have a poke around. Update your profile, maybe expand your network and start joining in discussions. It all helps  

But give yourself a break first. You've got a little wiggle room and both work over the last few months and the redundancy process will have been stressful. Think of this as an enforced break!

South_coast

Thanks greenbee. I'm not even on LinkedIn (hence BF yelling at me). I got this job through word of mouth, and the one before that (in 2006!) was from responding to a newspaper ad 😮 I've updated my CV and spoken to a recruiter I've used a lot through work who is making some speculative calls for me, but think I just need to (wo)man up about LinkedIn. I am THE worst person for a) self-promotion and b) staying in touch with people, so the idea of a job-based social network sounds dreadfully cringey and unnatural to me ☹

Hazelnutty

Good luck, SC, and just to second greenbee's suggestion for a few days' off before you launch yourself into a job hunt

Grogged

I'd second LI, just use it as a store front, it doesn't have to be FB.
You'd be surprised how many recruiters search it for roles that they have.
Fingers crossed for you, but do take a few days your self first.
Edited due to weird auto correct choices...

South_coast

Thanks both, we had another squabble about it yesterday, after which he concluded "maybe it's not the thing for you" - so hopefully that's earned me a few days' breathing space! Being nagged is one of the things I hate most in the whole world (the other is being misquoted), so his approach is not helping and more likely to have the opposite effect!

Going to see my parents today, so will be buying petrol for the first time since 19 March (still can't quite get my head around that!) Actually, I could probably make it there and back without filing up, but would only have about 10 miles left in the tank. As the car counts the range down in 5-mile increments and home is 3 miles from the petrol station, I don't need that drama in my life right now! Plus the car will get angry with me. Being German, it efficiently offers to navigate me to a petrol station as soon as the light comes on, then crossly counts down the range at double the pace when I decline. Never been told off so much in my life until I got this car - when my phone battery gets to 30% it's telling me I should charge it - it does not help with my issues around being nagged!

themadvix

That sounds like ours - an Audi by any chance?!

 Have a good day, enjoy the novelty of buying petrol!

South_coast

Indeed it is Vix 🤣!

julicorn

All the best for your job hunt! I absolutely despise LinkedIn and although I was "bullied" into setting up a profile when I first started my current job (for "networking" or whatever), I've managed to stay off it as much as possible. I actually think it's fairly overrated for both networking and job search, and it's never made a difference for our hiring decisions, but I suppose it really depends on both the industry and kind of position you're looking for. 

(When looking up people on LinkedIn, I tend to treat it more as their online CV to be honest, which I don't really need for someone who's already applied for a job - then I've got the CV in front of me. The endorsements mean basically nothing unless they come from someone I know of / industry leaders, then it's a bit of a different story. But tbh, I just really really dislike LinkedIn, so am probably the worst judge of it )

greenbee

I've got my last couple of jobs through LinkedIn, as that's how I've been contacted by people about them. And my network is hugely valuable to me in my day-job from the point of view of the discussions that come up and the articles they link to. I'd miss so much stuff otherwise. But then I spend a lot of my working day on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (I have a separate work profile) following links and tracking down information.