Rebuilding confidence and navigating the job hunt 

Career Leaders

NABS offers practical advice on how to build your confidence, look after yourself, and deal with the practicalities of job-hunting post-redundancy.

Redundancy can severely knock your confidence – even if (in fact – especially if) you’re a longstanding adlander with an established career to be proud of.

These feelings are often intensified when you’re made redundant after a number of years at one company. Your feelings of success and security can be shattered in far less time than it took to build them up.

Having to turn your mind to the important matter of a job hunt when your confidence is low is no mean feat.

If you’ve spent years building your reputation in one place, suddenly having to sell yourself can feel very uncomfortable. In a tough market, this can feel even more challenging. On the NABS Advice Line, we often speak to people who haven’t had to look at their CV for years. Suddenly, with redundancy landing on them, these people find themselves launched into an active job search.

So, how best to build up your confidence, look after yourself and deal with the practicalities of job-hunting post-redundancy?

First of all, an uncomfortable truth

The most common issue reported to us by jobhunters is ghosting. Not just reserved for dating apps, ghosting has become the norm throughout the job-hunting process. Rejection is one thing, but silence is another, especially when it happens after completing successful applications and interviews. To hear nothing back but silence can be exhausting and upsetting, and it takes its toll.

Being on the receiving end of silence can make you doubt yourself: your relevance, your ability, your work identity. It can mess with your mind , too. One person we supported told us how emotionally draining it felt to sit at their laptop, refreshing their inbox in the hope of a response after one particular interview.

What helped this jobseeker wasn’t doing more applications but stepping away from their desk. They built in regular walks to regulate their emotions – time to break the circuit, reset their nervous system, and come back with a clearer head.

So, be aware that you will probably get ghosted, not just once, but a few times, and that none of this will be your fault. Have some strategies up your sleeve to handle ghosting when it happens.

Regular walks are great, as trailed above. Another helpful tactic can be to call the NABS Advice Line when it happens. We’re in your corner and here to chat as many times as you need.

Factors that lie outside of your control

Roles that are put on hold, especially after multiple interviews; communication stalling  between HR and recruiters; and simply the number of suitable roles available to apply for in the first place.

None of the above is a reflection on who you are or what you have to offer. You may be more inclined to take all of this personally when your confidence is low. If you can, try to take an objective step back to remind yourself of the reality: the tough aspects of job hunting are to do with the process and not you.

That said, there are elements to the job search that are within your control. Being clear on these can help build your confidence, as well as your sense of agency and perspective.

Making the choice to support your mental wellness throughout the process is positive, empowering and indeed necessary. Take time to think about how you will look after yourself through the rounds of applications until you get your next role. You could choose a handful of non-negotiables to support yourself during this period.

Tactics that have been shared with us by jobhunters include: keeping to a regular schedule; starting the day with some fresh air; time blocking so that you can match your energy to your job search (ie if you’re a morning person, block out hours in the morning to focus on applications); making sure you have time for exercise; building up your skills for free, for example with NABS’ training or YouTube videos, so that you can keep yourself current while exercising your brain.

Tips for job searching

The question of how to actually search for a job is, of course, a huge one, especially if you haven’t been in the job market for a few years. A few tips to get you started:

* Reframe your CV and profile to focus on your expertise rather than your experience. Where have you added value? Demonstrate where and how you’ve made a positive impact.

* How to approach LinkedIn – it’s worth taking the time to watch one of the many excellent LinkedIn tutorials online to see how the experts do it. Don’t feel as though you have to go it alone; there’s a lot of information out there that’s worth exploring.

* Combine confidence and skills-boosting with a workout for maximum efficiency. The NABS Podcast has much expertise to share, from dealing with redundancy to getting to grips with AI. Every episode features inspiration and support from an industry leader: check one out with your morning coffee and walk.

* Your network can be invaluable, not just for job leaders, but also to lend support. Speaking to others who’ve been through redundancy can help to normalise what you’re feeling, and to give insight into how they successfully approached the process.

* Working with a coach can give a sounding board and a fresh perspective. You may be able to access coaching through NABS; give us a call to find out more.

Steve Rowe is the lead senior support advisor at NABS. Need confidential help with redundancy? Get in touch with NABS today.