Being retrenched is both affecting your financial and social standing. You may feel really down, but the stigma of being redundant is less today. This is because, more and more company retrench there staff as part of their corporate restructuring, downsizing, outsourcing and cost-cutting exercises.
The main issue is to get the next job. Most will find it difficult to tell interviewers and potential employers about it as they have the impression that employers are viewing the retrenched staff unfavorably. Employees are actually concerned about the reasons of the retrenchment. No employers would like to employ a poor performer or one with attitude problem and become a source of conflict.
Some job seekers also believe that once a potential employer knows that they are currently unemployed, they will lose their bargaining power and be offered a far lower salary than if they were still employed.
However, if you choose to hide the information, the effect can be worst off.
This Is a Small World.
With the advance in information flow, it is not difficult to know the status of the applicants and the reasons for exploring new position. If the applicants choose to hide his real status, it may create the negative impression on the applicants, as it appears that they are truthful about vital data. This alone makes the candidates look suspicious, and the employer may draw negative conclusions about his departure from his previous job.
So, the issue is, how do you tell the potential employer that you had been retrenched without giving a negative impression on your eligibility for a job?
What can you tell interviewers so that your job status is a non-issue?
These are the suggestions:
1. Get an official statement
When staff members are notified of an impending downsizing exercise, there is usually an official statement or story from the company's senior management.
Affected employees should speak to their direct superior or human resource manager to get more information.
Common reasons include cost-cutting measures (where entire teams have been disbanded), the relocation of operations to lower-cost sites, the outsourcing of a function to a third party or the cessation of certain jobs altogether.
Repeat the official story to potential employers in a matter-of-fact tone, without any trace of bitterness.
2. Pre-empt the question
Candidates will invariably be asked why they are looking to change jobs.
When asked, those who are still employed will typically state that they are looking for new challenges or new growth or a better environment in which to excel.
If you are an unemployed candidate, it is okay to tell your potential employer that you have been affected by a restructuring exercise.
It might be even better to tell him the facts before being asked, thereby getting it out of the way early so everyone can focus on the key objectives of the interview — how you, the candidate, fit the role requirements.
3. Offer referees
Another way to erase any doubts about your performance is to offer your potential employer the chance to speak to a referee.
In this instance, the best referee is obviously a direct supervisor or someone fairly senior who has worked closely with you in the recent past. It does not matter if the referee has also been affected by the restructuring.
4. Highlight pertinent details of the restructuring
Give the interviewer important information such as how many people were affected by the restructuring, which location the operation has been moved to, how the former employees' responsibilities have been divided up, what the new structure looks like and so on.
Such information points to the fact that your exit from the company was not performance-related.
Moving Forward
Look on the bright side. Being in transition gives you several other positioning advantages.
This can be an opportunity to venture into a new field. You can be very direct and open about the fact that you are pursuing many other job opportunities and are currently speaking to several potential employers. This can be used as an effective negotiation tool.
Being in transition also does not mean that you should succumb to pressure to lower your salary expectations.
If you have a solid track record, it is possible to maintain or even increase your salary because of the value you will bring to the role and the market forces of supply and demand. .
Sources:
ST/ANN
* Article by Chee Sze Yen, senior consultant, DBM Singapore, a global human capital management firm that provides transition services.
Extracted from Thestar published on 3 nov 2010
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