The public sector is experiencing the pain the private sector did a year ago – redundancies are on the increase and civil servants are protesting.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union are planning strikes around the country resulting in the potential closure of Jobcentres for 2 days at a time.

So if you are intending to sign on at a job centre in the month of March, you might not get the support you are hoping for!  Read here for more information on the proposed strikes

For more positive support, why not sign on to the Response to Redundancy scheme in the East of England that gives you access to free career's advice and a training fund of up to £1200?

Contact Recrion on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free for more information.

If you can answer YES to one of the 3 questions below, read on because you are going to need a resilient career strategy:

• Is the company or division you work for restructuring or merging?
• Are you at risk of redundancy?
• Are you very tempted to accept a voluntary redundancy deal – yet something is stopping you grabbing the cheque because you aren't confident your skills are portable?

Clearly the end of a company or a division — whether through bankruptcy, merger, restructuring, or shutdown — is often painful and traumatic for everyone involved. Most of us emotionally identify with our employer so even when our job continues with a new entity, or we get a financial payout, there is still a sense of loss.

Given the reality of work in the 21st century, it might be worth having an "insurance policy".

Consider in advance how you would handle the impending death of your company or division:

• Are there skills that you need to develop to become more portable?
• Are there experiences that will position you for an important role in a successor company or with another business in the same industry?
• Do you have a clear sense of what you would want to do if you had to exit your company? Would you want to reinvent yourself, go off on your own, or continue the same work with another organisation?

Whilst your company might not have an afterlife, the good news is that your career will.

Here are 3 actions you can take to get ready:

• Start networking before you need to so that you have a group of people ready and willing to help you when you need them.  Ensure you have an online and offline networking strategy
• Hunt down free training and skills development funds - there are some generous schemes around until December 2010.
• Take time out to consider what you are really passionate about and start exploring how feasible it might be to turn this passion into a financial venture.

For more information on Career Management Strategies, contact Katherine Wiid of Recrion at 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk.

"It is never too late to become what you might have been – and it is never too late to start!"

The hidden job market is alive and well: 60 – 80% of the jobs filled in 2009 were by employers hiring behind their castle walls.  They didn't always advertise what they were doing, they didn't use recruiters.  So what did they do?

So much of business is done using networking:  building relationships with contacts and finding out what pain those prospects are experiencing so that conversations are meaningful and benefits based.

Yet this can take time. And if you have just been told you are at risk of redundancy then your contact list might not be extensive enough.

I loved this article by Rosabeth Kanter
Four Ways to Attack the Castle — And Get a Job, Get Ahead, Make Change

She likens organisations to "a medieval castle that doesn't want you inside and doesn't want change.  If you attack the castle head on you risk all the defenses going up at once. (Visualise the moats filling, iron bars clanging down, doors slamming shut, and weapons activated.)"

She has some great ideas on how to find a way to go around and underneath the castle with small, less visible steps that don't trigger defenses.

Whether you are facing redundancy or just want a change of  job or career, it helps to have multiple ways to attack the castle.

Recrion specialises in Career and People Management.  For more information on seminars and 1:1 coaching on Social Networking for Career Success contact us on 01780 484910 or visit our website www.recrion.co.uk.

It was interesting to read a recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) regarding the high number of roles being offshored and the steady number of migrant workers in the UK.

The CIPD and KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey found around one in five employers recruited migrant workers in the past three months, with public sector employers more likely to hire migrant workers than private sector ones.

Of the 700 companies surveyed around 40 per cent say they have vacancies that are hard-to-fill and more than half of those vacancies are skills-related with engineer, doctor and nurse positions the most difficult to recruit for.

In seems ironic that despite rising unemployment, employers are still struggling to recruit the people they need and are turning abroad to plug the gap.

So what is the solution?

It is important that companies keep investing in learning and development programmes and resist the urge to cut back too aggressively to save costs.  It is also up to each individual to proactively pursue personal development programmes.

During the recession, many funded training programmes have been introduced that give employees opportunities to re-train in new directions.  The R2R scheme in the East of England offers £1200 to anyone living or working in the region who is at risk of redundancy.

To access support to help ease the burden of redundancies, contact Katherine Wiid Director of Recrion who is actively facilitating the R2R scheme on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk

The recession has changed the way many people seek and find employment and new business opportunities.  Third parties such as recruitment agencies are being sidelined by companies unwilling to pay fees and candidates tired of being treated as a number on a database.

Employers and job seekers are starting to use online networking sites to find each other and start a dialogue.  However, the increased use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can have its drawbacks.

4 out of 10 HR managers in the UK have chosen not to hire a candidate as a result of a negative online profile, according to research by Microsoft.

In the survey of 1000 HR professionals, 64% said they thought it appropriate to search the web for information on a person before recruiting them, and 41% admitted to rejecting candidates on that basis.

The challenge as a candidate is to manage your social media footprint with agility.

Being too formal on Facebook won't endear you to your school / university friends, yet discretion is the key if you want pass a future employer's scrutiny.  Better to opt for LinkedIn, a business social network where you can build a career based profile and learn from peers and mentors.

I am convinced that should Microsoft run a similar survey in 6 – 12 months time, even more HR managers will be snooping online.  Take steps to protect your online profile – there is a big difference between online visibility and online credibility!

Recrion specialises in Career and People Management.  For more information on seminars and 1:1 coaching on Social Networking for Career Success contact us on 01780 484910 or visit our website www.recrion.co.uk.

When facing major career change, most people I coach are most concerned about what the outside world regards as traditional success:  how much you earn, having a degree, not being too young or too old, where you work.  Recruiters who use a tick list approach probably re-inforce these insecurities and suddenly making a career change becomes daunting and seemingly unachievable.

I believe that social networking and technology have changed the traditional traits of success. A lot of people who network online find that:

• There is no specific age or generation bias
• Education doesn’t matter
• Type of employment situation doesn’t matter

So what are the keys to networking success in an online world?

Developing authentic relationships with or as a mentor is a great starting point for kicking your career into high gear.

For example, Janet Hanson the first woman in history to be promoted to the sales management floor at Goldman Sachs New York, found having children and being housebound for a few years incredibly isolating.  So in 1997 she launched 85 Broads so that women in her position wouldn’t feel as helpless as she did.

The "founding members" of 85 Broads were women who worked for Goldman Sachs at 85 Broad Street, the firm's NYC headquarters. Today the network consists of students and alumnae of the world's leading colleges, universities, and graduate schools are invited to join 85 Broads from every corner of the globe and from every possible career path. As a multi-cultural, multi-generational network, 85 Broads members live, work, and study in 82 different countries and work for over 3,500 for-profit and not-for-profit companies worldwide.  These women established an authentic relationship with Janet Hanson and her vision for success.

Continued learning is also a great way to nurture relationships online. Even if you feel that your professional development has stagnated, there are huge opportunities to learn from likeminded people by joining special interest groups and sharing resources.

The bottom line is that creating authentic relationships with peers is smart networking, and that works in the world of social media just as it does in the offline world.

It is key to remember when building relationships that it is all about giving rather then getting.  Ernst & Young’s Director of Social Media, Ken Burbary, specifically used the phrase “pay it forward” when he talked about how he communicates with and promotes other professionals. He says this was one of the things that has helped him to catch the attention of his peers.

Conclusion

Networking online gives you the opportunity to learn from those who are on the fast-track to success in their careers.  You’ll find your own career success  by developing genuine relationships with your peers and mentors, being ahead of the curve in your business sector, and always be willing to pay it forward and help those coming on behind you.

If you would like to develop a powerful career strategy and credible online visibility, contact Katherine Wiid, Career Management Coach on +44 (0)1780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk.

I saw Katherine present yesterday and was inspired by the simplicity of her 'networking' message. I immediately went away and applied her teachings. The very next morning (i.e. this morning!) I was arranging meetings with potential new clients for photography and copy-writing services. Brilliant!

John Sootheran, Owner, www.madaboutmedia.com

I picked up a thread on a forum I belong to about a 1 day event for Leaders and Managers on engaging and motivating people to deliver sustainable business and great customer service.

This has never been more relevant.

Employee engagement is at an all time low as millions of employees emerge from the recession battle-scarred and de-motivated.

“Engaging for Growth” is a 1 day event on 14 April with the keynote address by David MacLeod, Chair of the MacLeod Review. I thought the topics and line up of interesting speakers will make this a worthwhile event to attend – I'll be there!

For more information visit http://www.engagingforgrowth.com/

Recrion is a Career and People Management Specialist who consults on employee engagement and retention. Visit www.recrion.co.uk or call 01780 484910 for more information.

Thank you so much for giving your time and expertise to help our members yesterday.  I know from speaking to them afterwards that you certainly gave all of them something to think about.

For those who are using sites such LinkedIn already it reinforced the message that they were moving in the right lines, and for those who were not it gave them the incentive to get on with it!  Even those that were old hands at social networking gained insights they were not aware of.

Everyone was agreeing that your talk was one of the most enjoyable they had heard – they are not used to audience participation, so the novelty was very welcome.

Thank you again for a most enjoyable and informative seminar yesterday.

With very best wishes, Alan Boyer, Facilitator, Back to Business Club, Peterborough

Would you like to accelerate your career success?  Take a look at www.recrion.co.uk/career or call Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910 for a chat.

After living through 2009 and surviving it with a few more lines and lots more wisdom, I am of the firm opinion that many positive and unexpected opportunities will arise for people in the work place in the near future.

The rules have changed.

The "we have always done it this way" mentality will be frowned upon as businesses recognise the need to be open to change and become more fleet of foot.

Career resilience is often viewed as something to aspire to rather than something that is possible right now in the current market place.  In my opinion, it is a mindset change that is required and an active realisation that there has never been a better time to grab at the numerous opportunities for personal and professional development that abound.

A recent report by the Henley Business School’s Corporate Learning Priorities Survey 2010 reveals that organisations are pouring their resources into employees with the potential to lead them into an "uncertain" future.  It found that developing middle managers’ leadership skills and equipping them to deal with change were among participant organisations’ top priorities for 2010, along with succession planning, attracting new talent and developing a coaching culture.

John Mahoney-Phillips head of human capital at UBS bank re-iterated that aspiring leaders must be continuous learners.

“You need a certain amount of emotional resilience to put yourself in a position that is uncomfortable, difficult, uncertain and unknown and you need another set of skills that allow you to reflect and think how you can change your behaviour on the basis of what you’ve experienced,” he said.

Are you making the most of the development opportunities available to you?

If you are facing redundancy and are currently at risk of losing your job, you may be reading this blog with a sceptical eye.  However, you may be surprised to learn about several free learning and development opportunities that are available to you right now.

• The R2R scheme is available to anyone living or working in the East of England whose job is at risk and will provide you with professional careers advice and access to a training fund of £1200
• The Institute of Leadership and Management is offering 6 months free membership to managers being made redundant

Contact Katherine Wiid, a Career Management Coach and facilitator of R2R funding for more information on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free – your career is in your hands.

Despite the general optimism that the UK is officially out of recession, I am continuing to see a steady number of redundancies in the East of England in both the private and public sectors.

An article by insolvency practioner Begbies Traynor  in Business Weekly highlights the fact that the lack of availability of business finance in the first half of 2010 will put several hundred businesses at risk.

Fortunately there is help at hand for employees whose jobs are put at risk under such circumstances.  The R2R (Responding to Redundancies) scheme offers free careers advice and access to a training fund of £1200 to employees living or working in the region.

To access support to help ease the burden of redundancies, contact Katherine Wiid who is actively facilitating the R2R scheme on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free.