Am I nuts for considering VR in the current economic climate?

I currently work for a large IT organisation amd am some what disillusioned with the lack of progress in expanding my career and salarty due to corporate red tape and the constant cost restrictions imposed by the quarterly financial cycles of a large American company.

Assuming the price is right I intend to take the wedge and look for a contract or permanent role in the Midlands but being honest I’m a little worried at the thought of being unemployed & seeking new employment.

I know a few people over the last couple of years who have done this and all have landed on their feet; it’s just having the confidence (and a good CV) to make the jump.

Do you have any redundancy insurance at all?
They would be unlikely to pay out, I would suspect the dole etc would be the same if you effectively resigned

What exactly do you do?

I’m a BA, and did exactly what you’re considering. Never looked back.

Caveats: 1) it was 6 years ago, and things were different, 2) I have a wife who was earning good money, which takes the pressure off.

I know of one person who took VR a couple of years ago. Had a year in a “play job” while looking for the next move, then as you say, landed on his feet.

I reckon it’s a great thing to do, but I would recommend the “play job” bit if you can. Find something to do, even part time, to fill some days and give you something to do while looking. Maybe work in a bike shop if they’re hiring. 🙂

A number of my colleagues have done it in the last 2-3 years, based in the South East. Never had the balls to do it myself, plus never been offered the wedge.

I get the feeling out of my experience the more senior people do better (i.e Architect level folk). not sure if this is because developers can be sought through global sourcing?

It is certainly one way of finding out your market worth, you may be surprised how much people think you are worth. I was taken aback by some of the speculative figures put in front of me last year.

Depends on your circumstances. If you are relatively financial stable (wife earning decent wage or savings) and willing to travel or relocate to london, I would go for it, still plenty of work out there.

I’m not going to say definately do it, but taking VR was the best decision I ever made- though some folk thought I was nuts, considering my industry was collapsing. But I was back in work in a nonpermanent role in just a couple of months (despite treating the first month as a holiday) and then moved quickly on to a permanent, more senior, higher paid role than I had before. Total win really.

jota180 – Member

Do you have any redundancy insurance at all?
They would be unlikely to pay out, I would suspect the dole etc would be the same if you effectively resigned

Repayment cover isn’t likely to pay out for VR, but you’re entitled to sign on.

Take a look in your area see what jobs are about. I was unsure about my current job (Sys Admin) and was surprised at how easily I got interviewed and soon after a job offer. It’s worth putting up your cv and having a look seeing what kind of response you get.

Whats the (ahem) package ?

I got offered a pretty good one, 2 months salary for each year of service.

I think if you have good skills and interview well, have no dependents etc and some good service built up in current job then go for it !

I took VR and it has its pro’s and cons. I went straight into another permanent job (bit of a pay cut) but you learn alot about yourself and its the opportunity to re-invent yourself. Also walked away with a good deal that has opened up other opportunities – i.e. buy a better house.

As long as you are ‘IT technical’ and prepared to travel to wherever, you should be fine – if you are Management, don’t…

i took VR a year ago, got a decent enough payout considering i was only at the company for 6 years. spent 6 months playing, and not really trying very hard to get a job. started contracting for the NHS in november, then today i’ve just landed a permanent role with a great salary package in another industry entirely, moving into service management from desktop support. definitely worked out for the best here!

Depends on the package, your confidence in finding a new job and you dependants/liabilities.

I have a friend who worked for a large American IT firm. Joined as a graduate, took the starting bonus (£10k), worked for six months (£15k), took voluntary redundancy at 6 months pay (15k). Made a mint out of them, went travelling around the world (Flashpacking gap year) then came back to train to be a teacher which is what he decided he wanted to do anyway.

If you’ve got a mortgage, wife and kinds to support then it makes decisions harder.

I’m a Project Manager in the outsourcing space – mostly infrastructure and transformation projects.

The package is likely to be somewhere around 30K (it may not seem like much to some but being offered a year’s net salary is very appealing, particuarly as I’m 31 with a very long way until retirement). We could survive on my Fiancee’s salary but it would make things tight until I find another job (the aim of the game is to save the redundancy payment and use it in time to buy a bigger house)

Aside from the well know websites (Jobsite, Jobserve, Monster, CW Jobs etc) are there any other good job boards on the web that anyone has had success with?

I can see the next few days being spent looking for roles in Brum, Bris’ol and the surrounding areas, moving to London isn’t an option due to my other half’s job I’m firmly planted in the midlands.

do it 30k at 31 is a great settlement.. ask yourself just one question are you genuinely good at what you do ?

If the answer is yes then you will be fine . PM’s are allways in demand , im sure you have current prince or Six sigma certs.

allthough in an unrelated industry i have been in three jobs in the last year and each time i chose to move and ended up better off.

If your good at what you do and believe in your skills you will never struggle for work !!

P

Did this pretty much exactly a year ago; it was a good choice.

I was offered a good package to leave (over a year of salary). In the end, i figured that if it took me 12 months to find a new job, i would still easily be quids in, so would it take me over a year to find a new job?

I also had the following other things: Wedding and honeymoon coming up; wanted a break (to go riding lots of course…); and a lack of opportunity in the new slimmed-down firm if i did stay. No kids here either…

I took the package and left – I was in a new job in 4 months, having had a great honeymoon and some time in the alps as well as working lots on my part-time degree. Slight payrise too, although i did take a job in London rather than outer south-east.

I guess only you know how long you might be out in the cold for, and what other commitments you have, but i will say it was very liberating as much as anything and i know if i had to i could do it again. That’s worth quite a bit.

Should find a job in Bristol, also look in glos and Cheltenham thanks to GCHQ theres a fair few IT service companies in the area like capita and detica

If the current employer is Big Blue then the general noise around is that you had better take the VR now as in a year or two you won’t even get that as you are shovelled out the door. Admittedly things could change but the writing on the wall (under the curent senior management “team”) is that this is the direction they are going in unless you are directly in sales or middle management.

Plus what makkag said.

Wot makkag says. Good PMs with transformation experience are always in demand, contract or perm. Get your LinkedIn up to date and take the cash!

next doors an accountant with nhs they offered it to 30 of them at easter 25 took the cash she didnt and has already had a promotion..

Take a good look at the numbers

How much do you need to live per month/Payout
That is how long you have to find a good job.

Get looking now no harm on being on the books of a few good agencies etc explain your situation and timescales.

If your looking at freelance get the ball rolling too.

I quit to move out to Oz with my GF (timed badly so no VR) – she is earning the money and 2 1/2 months in not having a job is tough going, there is only so much riding you can do in a week.