It used to be that redundancy was like being fired and carried a black mark with it. It still feels personal even when you might have wished for that redundancy payout that set you free to move on with a nice cushion.

Of course it depends on how it is done. If there are a number of redundancies and a restructure then you are in the same boat with others and don’t feel quite so picked on. The down side of this is that you are out there competing with former colleagues for similar roles.

It is probably most difficult for those who have been in one company for the large part of their working lives to restart a career after redundancy. Progression and promotion, culminating in a very responsible role seems to count for little when you go back out on the job market. All those years of learning and gaining experience are reduced to ‘just one job’. The more senior the more difficult it is to find a similar level job or even one lower down the scale and you can be seen as ‘over qualified’.

Outplacement organisations do help to refocus people and they provide help in lots of ways. Nevertheless it all boils down to attitude. If you are depressed and hurt by your redundancy, or bitter about the way it was handled that will come across to whoever you are talking to about your next job. If you are really pleased to have an opportunity to make a fresh start in your career and are really keen to get working that is good, but too much keenness can reek of desperation. All of these attitudes effect how you are viewed by a prospective employer. Everyone knows that it is easier to get a job when you are in a job and the simple reason for this is attitude. A sense of confidence and clarity of focus is part of it.

Perhaps we should have classes for attitude – perhaps run by acting coaches who work with ‘method’ so that you can capture the attitude and project it and overcome that career hiccup?