I lost my first! Is this the end of the world? 21

[Cutiee]

This is my first job, my first redundancy; I have never imagined I’d leave the company of being made redundant. We’re not picking up any work, over 1/3rd of people have to go, and more than ten people have already gone. In my department they only want to keep the manager, and everyone else has to go, fair enough, all clear and straight forward, but somehow I just can’t accept it. It happened all too quickly.

I have been looking for jobs (again) since I heard the news, I know it’s a good chance for me to finally move on, but so far I have got rejected by two companies and am still waiting for response from many others.

How should I look at myself now? A loser? Although In the past years I have got very good feedbacks from both my colleagues and clients regarding my work, my confidence is slowly ebbing away… I start to doubt my ability... After getting a good class MEng degree I thought I was worth something; now at age of 25 I’m unemployed!

Is there something wrong with my CV? Or my limited experience is holding me back? Or perhaps, I should change directions…?

Help me through the misery please…

x

P.S if a similar post already exist, please let me know and I shall close this one

Thanks


Cutie

 

[KENAT]

Cutiee, generally speaking in private industry, conditions for employees are not as good in most cases, except pay.

Less "vacation" typically 10 days when you start though many places increase over time.

Perhaps slightly more 'holidays' (bank holidays in the UK) but again it depends on employer.

Unless you have it in your contract in many places there are few explicit rules over severance pay/redundancy pay etc. Many states are ‘right to work’ or have “at will employment” which basically means they can let you go with no notice without giving any reason. In practice most engineering firms do seem to give some kind of severance but in many cases don’t have to.

You’ll also likely work more hours, I worked 37.5 in the UK though often an extra couple. In the US it’s usually 40 minimum often with more pressure/expectation to do more.

I stress that it does vary by employer and if you have a contract or it’s a union place etc. but the above are the trends as I perceive them.

I moved here because my wife is a US citizen, not to chase work.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[FreddyNurk]

Having been through a redundancy myself at a similar age, I can also assure you that its not the end of the world. Granted, the economy was in a different shape when I was 'escorted' from the premises, but thats not to say that there aren't any jobs around.

One of the things I discovered is that it pays to both chase up the oppportunities that present themselves, and to know who you're dealing with in terms of the recruitment process.

I gained an interview with a consultancy firm as I followed up the application, the HR department had initially binned my application as unsuitable, but in the follow up conversation I managed to get my details passed onto an actual engineer, and then got the interview.

The bottom line is, the recruitment process can often be filled with hurdles that seem unpassable unless you can find ways around them. Your applications may be in the same category, and unfortunately theres often no way of knowing why you weren't deemed as suitable. If you understand this, then you can work to get around the hurdles, and ultimately, to your next job.

As I recall, your employer wasn't the best at guidance, mentoring or supervision so you now have a great opportunity to dedicate all your time to finding a better one.

Good luck with it all, and remember, its often a far better opportunity than you may think at the moment. Mine certainly was.

 

[ctopher]

<sarcastic> WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

Cutiee,
Don't punish your self.

Most of us have been through it.
Stick in there; you are still young enough to read about this in future history books.

Chris
SolidWorks 09, CATIA V5
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[HamishMcTavish]

Hey Cutiee,

Firstly, since you're based in the UK, it is the job which is made redundant, not the person. I know it's easier to say "I" got made redundant (and i'm guilty of it too) but you mustn't confuse the two!. You are definitely not a loser. "I" got made redundant when i was 30 and whilst it came as a shock (The whole shop floor was told 3 days before the xmas break!) it is NOT the end of the world. In the end it was a good thing for me but you need to remain positive and use the time wisely.

Do you qualify for a redundancy payment, if not then you need to work quickly. If this is a collective redundancy situation (i.e. more than 20 posts, which it sounds like) then by law the company is required to give you 90 days notice, otherwise you are entitled to 1 week notice for every year worked.

If you have been continuously employed for two years by the date your notice expires, you are allowed a reasonable amount of time off during your notice period to look for another job or arrange training to help you find another job
How long you can take will depend on your circumstances. If you attend an interview or two and do not take excessive amounts of travelling time, then this is likely to be reasonable. You should ask your employer what arrangements have been made to allow this.

When i got made redundant they offered us the services of an external adviser for things like CV construction, interview technique (we all get rusty) and sourcing training. Take advantage of any help offered.

Have you considered contract work? - E&I engineers are generally sought after, try contacting some of the agencies like Matchtech or Gold Group (two that i've used in the past) to see what sort of work they might have. Some are prepared to "employ" you under an umbrella type arrangement if you're unsure about setting up on your own.

Use this as an opportunity - and remember (as others have said) that being laid off / made redundant is just part of the landscape now. Everyone is likely to experience it at some point in their lives, there are no "jobs for life" anymore!

Kind regards, HM





No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam

 

[KristianS]

When I was looking for my first job I sent out an embarassing number of applications, had two telephone interviews, and two in person. Looking back now the way I presented myself in my cover letter and CV left a lot to be desired.

I sent out about 80 applications (significantly less than my first job search) before I found my second job. Having some experience and a better cover letter and CV also helped. From 80 applications I was invited to 8 different interviews and 4 companies made an offer.

Now, on my third job search I've sent away 15-20 applications. No one has showed interest yet.

My first two job searches were specifically aimed at the automotive industry, and both were at times when there weren't many jobs on offer.

Don't be too disappointed with not getting a job after sending away two applications. Just do what I'm doing - be persistant and keep sending them out till you find a job. Simple. Depressing? At times. As one of the previous posters said, treat your job search like a 9-5 job and you'll eventually find something.

 

[csd72]

Cutiee,

It is very sparse out there.

9 months ago I had 5 job offers in two weeks, now I am struggling to get an interview.

Because they can, the employers are being very fussy about candidates ticking all the boxes of their job requirements. Make sure that you justify each and every point in your CV or cover letter.

Good luck.

 

[Cutiee]

Thanks again to all of you.

 

[controlsdude]

Another angle you might want to try is all those business cards that you collect from venders and customers. Call them up and network them to see if anyone is hiring. This helped me find my friend a job not too long ago. The point is if they say there not hiring, they might know someone who is hiring.

Or they might know that someone is getting ready to hire and have not put that requirment for an engineer on that street. That way you get the jump on all the competition.

 

[kawh1]

Engineers are treated like migrant workers with a calculator, as someone described on another message board. Had I known this earlier, I would've become an auto mechanic.

Cutiee, don't feel bad about being unemployed due to circumstances beyond your control. The economy is in historically bad shape, allowing employers to have a large talent pool to choose from. Search for jobs, but don't let it consume all your time.

 

[casseopeia]

No it's not the end of the world. I believe that's scheduled for 2012. With a bit of luck and a whole lot of finagling, you can get your unemployment benefits to last that long so you never have to worry about work again.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[corus]

I was told you can expect to be made redundant 2 or 3 times in your working life so don't look on the 1st time as being too bad. The worst is when you go for an interview for your next job and you're asked why did they pick you and not somebody else. Have a snappy answer ready instead of sobbing into your coat sleeves. Say something like 'they decided to leverage their strategic objectives away from your aspirational alignment'. They'll offer you the manager's job for sure.

corus

 

[KirbyWan]

corus,

'they decided to leverage their strategic objectives away from your aspirational alignment'

Heh. That made me laugh. I'll have to remember that one. My favorite answer to a silly interview questions is:

'What is your weakest point as an employee?'

'Well I'm so attractive that I tend to be distracting to other employees'

-Kirby

Kirby Wilkerson

Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.

 

[bradpa77]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Sounds like the economy hit your company hard. .... just like every other company in the world. Try not to take it as something you personally did wrong. Also, the job search is going to be rough for a while as well. Once again, not your fault. The economy blows right now. There's not a lot of jobs out there and more and more people are getting the axe. Unfortunately, the companies that are hiring have a large pool of candidates to pull from and it's harder to get noticed. You got a job in the first place so you obviously have what's needed to land a good job. Keep plugging away at it, something will come up. Also, I have a suspicion that companies aren't going to crucify anyone who's been laid off this year. How can they hold it against you when it's happening to so many people.

 

[mgtrp]

You're 25 and hopefully just got a nice redundancy payout? Sounds like the perfect time to take a year or two off to travel!

The British pound will still stretch a long way in places like New Zealand if you want somewhere english-speaking, and even further if you don't!

 

[KirbyWan]

cutie,

I would like to second a lot of what has been said here. I lost my first job after 6 months. I wasn't laid off, I was fired. This was a blow to my ego, but I got over it. It took me about 5 more months to find a new job, but I did. Being laidoff during a recession holds no shame. So, what's that very british saying, "keep your pecker up"? I think if you said that in the states you'd get slapped, but I've been told it's acceptable on your side of the pond.

-Kirby

Kirby Wilkerson

Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.

 

[ScottyUK]

"Keep your chin up"? Never heard your version - must be a southern thing.


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[FeX32]

I heard "keep your pecker up" before. But only here in Canada.



Fe

 

[rbulsara]

Jon:
Not sure where I got that from, but is very common in my "mind". But me taking credit for the originator were dashed once I googled for it! I may have picked it up from English cricket commentators!

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/216550.html

Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

"Keep your pecker up" is (was) very definitely used down south. Pecker in this case being the nose. I thought it was country wide.

After getting settled in Ontario, my wife was attending a Catholic church and we got to know the priest fairly well. One day the priest was unloading some of his personal problems on her and after a while she told him to "keep his pecker up". The look on his face was priceless. Fortunately he was of British descent so understood what she meant ... and had to explain. Then the look on her face was priceless.

 

[BJC]

Cutiee

How many meals did you miss before you even heard of the company that laid you off?