Ive been pretending its not going to happen but I have a meeting with the boss and HR first thing tomorrow

The company is knackered

They are just not gonna be telling me how hard I work

Im finding strength from the posts on here from people saying how theyve moved on

My GF and kids depend on me earning money

Its not good

🙁

that's not good but there's always hope just keep looking and calling and walking the rounds, don't wait for the job to come to you, hope you find something soon.

happened to me a few weeks ago for the second time, like you I had a fair idea it was gonna happen but it still came as a bit of a kick in the teeth. I'm trying to see it as a good opportunity to move on from what was a pretty dead end job. Just make the most of the extra spare time while you're job seeking, don't feel guilty about getting a few extra riding hours in!

sorry to hear that. good luck.

My GF and kids depend on me earning money

I'm sure they'll understand that you haven't got a magic wand ….. not everything is within our control.
I don't get the impression that "the company is knackered" because of you.

You need to accept that too……..and move on.

Good luck.

You'll deal with it, good luck – can't be fun.

sorry for not following up the post

it went as i expected

the job market around cambridge isnt good for me

the folks are being great

im enjoying rising my bike too

🙂

sorry to hear that, happened to me back in march. Had a short temp job since then.

take a couple of days to re adjust, but get straight on to the dole and get that moving along, as they only start it from when you contact them.

I rode my bike more when I was unemployed than at any other time. Enough to get me 18th place solo in a 24 hour race (Mountain mayhem I think) and second fastest singlespeeder, which was nice.

That was the good bit. The bad bit was I rode it to some bad places. Quarries, the sea, busy roads. I'd just sit there thinking how easy it would be to end it all.

The main reason wasn't that I was unemployed or that I had no money, it was the bastard unemployment office staff.

"What won't you take this shelf stacking job"?
"Because I'm an IT professional, can't you see that me finding a job in my profession means I will earn 4 or 5 times as much as a shelf stacker so it's beneficial to the country that I find something more suited to me?"
"So you're saying you refuse the shelf stacking job? That will mean we will reduce your benefit payments"

What an appalling system. Plus they seem to choose the nastiest looking, mealy mouthed, patronising little **** straight out of school they can find to man the desks.

Anyway, the gist is, try not to let it get you down. Yes, it's horrible but it's not the end of the world and there will be a future for you, you just need to knuckle down now I'm afraid and wait it out. If you're struggling to find work then be innovative and creative in the way you apply for jobs or look for work. As an employer I'd hire a creative person ten times over some gink with lots of letters after his name. I need people who can think both inside and outside the box.

Hope this helps.

Try and have a holiday. best advice given to me when made redundant. Gives you time to get your head in gear, something to put a smile on your face and you come across much more relaxed and less needy to prospective employers.

EDIT: I know we all have financial pressures and it is a hell of a worry, and completely counter intuitive, but it does work. A week doing LEJOG isn't going to cost to much either.

Feel for you mate. All the best.

Sporticus… Cambridge? What market are you in? I can put some feelers out if you want me to.

I think my mail address is in my profile.

Been there and it feels crap. Remember that it's no reflection on you and slowly try and move on.

I found retraining helped and gave me a desire to want to learn again. I can now use a chainsaw legally and do various fencing/outdoors jobs. I'm working part time as a ranger and a vegetable gardener which I would have laughed at 2-3 years ago. The best thing is………………

……………..I'm happy for the first time since leaving Uni 13 years ago.

Get out there and make something happen in the short term to earn a bit of money and get your pride back. Then work out what you want to do, how you are going to get there and make it happen again.

Head up and start smiling as it's a big old world out there.

Tim

:O)

hey timbur, that's inspiring.
sporticus, all the best, chill for a while on the bike, that's what its there for.

I didn't ride my bike at all when I was out of work for 2 months. Too nervous! I felt like I was being foolish cycling when I should've been looking for jobs..

Unfounded of course – there was no reason I couldn't have done both.

Advice to take a break is a good one allow yourself a week or so to recharge get out on the bike, do what ever feeds your soul. It will put you in a much better position for interviews etc.

Make sure you get to the dole office and citizens advice bureau to make sure you are getting all you are entitled to in terms of benefits, tax credits etc. It supporsed me how much I could claim, makes you wonder why I bothered working really.

And then get out their looking for a new job, the more random your job hunting the better, talk to everyone you know, look for any business that is expanding doing well in these times.

I was made redundant this time last year was out of work for about 2 months before I found a new much better job than the last one, everything since I ws made redundant has been good.

Keep your chin up and keep positive.

Bigsurfer.

It happened to me a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a shock, but I tried to view it as an opportunity. I took a week before starting the search for employment.

Fortunately for me, I've now a new job lined up so the summer 'off' worked out quite well in the end….

Keep trying to find something, some days will be easier than others.

Samuri Wrote:

I'd just sit there thinking how easy it would be to end it all.

The main reason wasn't that I was unemployed or that I had no money, it was the bastard unemployment office staff.

I never got to that point, but the only times I felt down were after visiting the "Job Centre Plus". It can't be a desirable job to work there, but the people who do so are a very odd bunch more used to dealing with challenging people who can either just about write their name, don't speak English, have never worked in their life, have just been released from Strangeways or a combination of these.

Just sitting waiting to be seen in a line of the great unwashed unemployed is fairly unpleasant too -Take a book to read, it'll make it obvious how different you are to the others too.

Make sure you get to the dole office and citizens advice bureau to make sure you are getting all you are entitled to in terms of benefits, tax credits etc. It supporsed me how much I could claim

Of course, if you have actually saved some your money in the time that have worked, you are entitled to 65quid/week, which, to put it into context, is less than the cost of a tank of diesel.

-Presumably, once you have spent your savings, you can then claim the other benefits.

I went through the same thing at the beginning of the year. First day back after xmas and our whole office got laid off. After I worked New Year's Eve for them as well!

As others have said, have a few days to straighten your head out, then get the wheels in motion with benefits and jobsearch. Don't be surprised if it takes a while to get anywhere: took me three months to get a job (which I think was pretty lucky) and that was my fourth interview. But I then got offered five interviews in the next week!

Take a book to read, it'll make it obvious how different you are to the others too.

Or, like I used to, sit there in full lycra and overshoes. Not sure I looked like the right sort of different to the casual observer.

"What won't you take this shelf stacking job"?

You weren't playing The game
You go for the interview wearing full camo, a bandana and say you don't like kids and black people cos they make you angry "innit"

Job centres just don't know how to deal with unemployed 'professionals'. This recession is the first time they've experienced them in any numbers.

I have to say that the Jobcentre Plus (plus what?) can be the most demoralising experience known to man. Utterly depressing. However I was lucky enough to happen across the one member of staff with an IQ in double figures. They sent me on a course with a headhunting firm specifically for unemployed professionals. Run by a city headhunting firm. It was extremely beneficial. Some great pointers about the evils (and I really do mean evils) of the recruitment industry. They're worse than satan!! Find out if you can get on one

They then of course told me as I was still listed as a company director (my business having gone bust) and therefore technically 'employed'. So… despite having 2 kids and no income, and being foolish enough to pay tax all my life, I wasn't eligible for a single penny in benefits. I'm still not. That was 6 months ago

Thanks for that!! Hurray for the welfare state!!!

I could be in this position in a few months time. I was TUPE'd across to a new company in April which it turns out is in a pretty perilous state financially and as the area of work I'm involved in is government funded I'm fairly certain that I'll be out of work in the next 3-5 months. As I work in the business support sector its fairly ironic that the bodies set up to help businesses are disappearing one by one.

Given that the work situation in the area I live isn't great I'm already starting to look at alternative career choices and trying to get to as many industry events as possible to chat up potential future employers. I was unemployed a few years ago for a period of five months and it was totally depressing having to go into the job centre and prove to them I was applying for work. They stopped asking me to provide evidence after I dropped a lever arch file that was overflowing with application letters onto the desk. It made quite a noise!

Job centres just don't know how to deal with unemployed 'professionals'. This recession is the first time they've experienced them in any numbers.

Nope they've never been able to deal with unemployed professionals, it was the same in the early nineties the first time I got made redundant. I had to go to the excutive job club which was a total waste of time and money (had to pay for the bus each way). All they had were a few clapped out PCs and a terrible dot matrix printer (everyone else was by this time printing their application docs out on laser printers). No help, no advice and no access to vacancies.

Anyway like the others said it's horrible but:

Each time it's happened to me (3 times) I've eventually eneded up in a better and higher paid job, it was the kick I needed.

Things to remember:

The company losing you was rubbish, not you, try very hard to maintain your self esteem (difficult I know).
Take the holiday, especially if it's been stressful for a while at work, have a guilt free period of time to get yourself relaxed.
Don't feel guilty about having time on your hands, set yourself some targets for job hunting, i.e. apply for 5 jobs a week or spend at least 2 hours per day hunting. Don't believe the idiot professional advisors who tell you that you should consider job hunting to be your new full time job, it's not that simple.

And remember eventually you will get straight. My wife starts a new job on Wednesday after 15 months out work, it will happen, there are jobs out.

Oh and screw the benefits system as hard as you can, you've paid in, it's time you got something back.

I never had a problem at the Job Centre, just printed out my inbox (to show job applications), 2 mins in-and-out every other week.

Maybe it was because on the first visit the guy took my P45, looked in amazement (he said I'd already paid more tax than he earned pa) and then went to show it to the Manager. She said hello on every visit.

I (and them) were always very polite – and I realised they've a job to do.