Two weeks in…..

I’ve been officially redundant for two weeks, so it’s a good time to pause for a second and see where things are.

Am I closer to finding a job? Well, yes, but there’s still a long way to go. 

I’ve completed my CV and its uploaded to all of the usual suspects. I’ve made contact with industry-specific agencies, although I’m still waiting to hear back. After two weeks I’ve applied for five jobs (that I thought I’d have a fair-good chance with), had two rejections and heard nothing from the other three (I’m considering them rejections.

I’m also trying to widen the range of jobs I could apply for. I’m halfway through an AWS training course which hopefully will lead to accreditation, and I’m a third way through a course on HTML and CSS.

There’s still lots to do, but the ball is rolling, and a few lessons have ben learned.

• Technology has moved forward since the last time I was made redundant. Its easier to put a good CV together (I’m using Novoresume). The job boards are more straight forward to search through and filter on, and it’s easy to reach out and get out there from my desk.
• There are very few jobs around at the moment. I’m hoping that’ll this is due to Covid19 and things will pick up again.
• There will always be a voice telling me to down tools and take part in some online gaming. This voice should be ignored.
• Keeping busy is a crucial thing for me. I’m looking for jobs, going through some training and looking after a few things like this website. I’m busier now than I was when I was employed. I’ve got a new routine that works, and following it makes me more productive and helps keep the ‘oh crap, I’m unemployed’ jitters away.
• I’m still finding it hard to tell everyone that I’m redundant. A couple of people have asked me how things with my job are, and I always find it embarrassing to have to tell them that I’ve been made redundant. I dread questions like, ‘oh what do you do’.
• I’ve made sensible cutbacks with my outgoings, and I’m spending considerably less each month. My quality of life hasn’t changed, so looking back, I’m starting to think that I may have been a little frivolous with my outgoings.
• Homes under the hammer can become addictive if you watch a couple of episodes.