Stay where you are - this isn't the time for heroics.
Hi all,
I'd appreciate a bit of advice regarding careers.
I have been at the same company since graduating from uni, joined on their grad scheme and been there 10 years. Due to restructures I've been placed at risk of redundancy, there are jobs to apply for internally so I don't have a huge concern about staying, but I am tempted to take a severance package and see what else is out there.
Obviously timing isn't great, and employment market is very challenging but I shouldn't need to work for a while which would give me some time to find something else. Although no guarantees, I guess speaking to recruiters would be a wise thing to do
I know there are going to be lots of variables that influence one's decision and I can't capture them all here, but can anyone offer any advice that might make the decision easier?
I don't have kids, the growth opportunities internally aren't fantastic - the company is more mediocrity rather than meritocracy, I earn very well for my age but average for my industry and experience. Likelihood is that I would go and work for a consultancy after this (which I'm sure has its own challenges) but not sure how easy / difficult it would be to get into. Sector is financial services and my recent experience is in regulatory programmes (here and based in Europe)
Any advice would be really appreciated!
Cheers
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Stay where you are - this isn't the time for heroics.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
^ I agree, no one can say where this will go, a great severance/ redundancy package only works for you if you are certain you can walk into another job, only then is it ‘extra’ money.
I’m a very risk averse kind of guy though.
Cheers..
Jase
Agree with both of the above. Following the closing out of furlough you will be in a long line of people looking for work.
Just to add. The economy hasn't felt the impact of Covid19 yet. I wouldn't take that package even if I was walking into another job.
You’re in financial services? I’d say if you have an opportunity to secure an alternative role where you are, i’d do exactly that. Banks profitability will be tumbling and investment programmes will be canned to balance the books. Costs will be under pressure like never before in the face of significantly reduced income. Stay where you are imo.
Are you a risk taker? If so, now, without any commitments is the time to do it. Starting job hunting now which will tell you the likelihood of getting another role, talk to the consultancies and find out what sort of job you would get. Be in a position of knowledge when the time comes to make the decision so you know the risks and the benefits.
I did this early in my career, and it was the best move I ever made, but now is not the time. Many, if not most, corporates will have implemented knee-jerk recruitment freezes.
Would also treat any conversation with agents with caution based on my experience, they will inevitably be keen to place you if they can, so may not be quite as honest about the reality of opportunities right now as they could be (apologies to any recruiters if that’s unfair!)
100% agree with the comment on income pressure resulting in costs being one of the only meaningful levers available assuming a return to anything like equivalent profitability is what’s expected - I would sit tight personally but am not a big risk taker
From a FS reg consulting perspective consider how attractive your skills are. If you’ve been coasting and not stayed current it’s not for you.
Banking was changing but this situation has accelerated the fundamental shifts. Stay employed but stay learning. If your employer is a large corporate use the training available.
I haven't personally been offered redundancy so take my input with a mound of salt.
I would definitely talk to a few recruiters first. I recently made my move from non-FS consultancy to FS before the pandemic. While I noticed that I have a lot less messages from recruiters these days I still receive a few, probably because they didn't see that I've just started a new role. Based on the conversation with them, reassess whether it's worth the risk.
In terms of what to do next, from what I've seen a few trading companies and fintechs are doing quite well due to the market volatility. I can't say the same for consultancies as I expect it would be harder for them to find new business due to consultancy budgets being reduced on the client side. I've heard that the Big 4 and other consultancies are reducing hours or taking drastic measures like massive partner pay cuts to keep the business running.
Consultancies have lots of people on the bench at the moment. Most of my work is freelance through various consultancies, but I have not fee earned for the last two months. I'm in IT, but have worked across many regulatory projects.
Consultancies have freezes in place and preference for getting people off the bench (even if not the right fit). Unless they already have the regulatory role for you to slot into it would be a risky move for you. Try and stay put if you can and ride this out for a bit.
To the partnership model bear in mind that the partnerships have enough cash to navigate for 3 months because of the distribution model.
Big four not doing too badly. ( who do you think is project managing the covid stuff on behalf of the government, helping reorganise, understand the tax changes and support available, etc).
I go with the consensus to stay.
I worked in manufacturing for 45 years and right from finishing my apprenticeship redundancies were never far away.
I got made redundant in 2008 during the crash and I was off work at the time recovering from a hip operation.
I signed myself onto job seekers so I wasn't classed as sick but there was nothing about and I can't see the present climate being any better.
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If you’ve a chance of a job at your place take it and look for something while working. Unless there going to give you shit loads of money to go.
With Covid on top of brexit there will be lots of people queuing up for what jobs that are left.
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I work within the field of online recruitment with a global outlook. Expectation is that US could bounce back fast and hard but most of the EU is 9-12 months away from meaningful recovery and the UK is the worst of the lot. Unless you have skill sets in big data/AI or are in business development/sales with market-relevant skills then I'd say finding something new won't be easy based on what we see now. Could all change of course depending on how we ease out of lockdown but I wouldn't bank on it.
That being said a lot of roles were already getting automated and the pandemic is going to speed things up in this regard so it may be a case of 'when not if' anyway (I don't know what you do so can't comment on the applicability to your role). If the payout covers a year's net salary personally I would take the package as you won't be 12 months out of work unless in a dying sector. But any less than that I wouldn't do it personally.
Last edited by ryanb741; 22nd May 2020 at 15:08.
Given what you have posted about your company and that you have been in your first job 10 years you seem quite a steady character. Now isn’t the time to change style and start getting ambitious.
Sit tight is my advice, the ride is about to get turbulent.
Like almost everyone else I can’t see the logic in you making a decision like that at this time, with all that’s going on, which leads me to think there’s more to this than you’ve let on so far. Is it something like you just want a break? Difficult working environment? Is the lump sum that good?
I’ve always worked for myself but I would have thought you’re far more likely to get a job if you’ve already got a job of that makes sense?
Also if you don’t mind answering, what is your specific role and what roles might you migrate to internally? Might give someone here an idea as to how easy/hard it will be for you to find work elsewhere.
I’d say it should be fairly easy to find a role in a regulatory position, even in the present market - but... I’d echo the above comments, and unless you have a cast iron offer which then allows you to take a package, stay put.
It's just a matter of time...
I'd 100% stay put if you can. Now isn't the time to take VR. In normal times I'd say take the money and run but not when the unemployment line is about to go from Land's End to John o' Groates.
All, thanks so much for the replies
To add some more colour, the lump sum is pretty good and enough so that I can live on it for over a year without changing lifestyle but my mental health would really suffer not working for a year.
I wanted this forum and the experiences of others to act as a sounding board, it reiterates my 'head' that says to stay put. Surprisingly many family and friends think that I am mad not taking the cash.
Thanks again - really helpful.
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I'd echo what Ryan said about your skill set (AI/machine learning etc.) depending on what you do. A friend of a friend is an Equity Analyst and has taken a low six figure sum as redundancy, so it depends on what you're being offered. You could use the time to up skill.
Get talking to recruiters ASAP if you're seriously considering the redundancy.
The fact that the cash is tempting you suggests you aren’t that happy. You are young enough without responsibilities to see what else is out there
10 years will turn to 20 in a blink and you may regret not taking the plunge.
A ‘paid’ break of up to 12 months would give you a unique opportunity to reassess where you want to go with your career / life work balance etc etc
I’m coming up to 30 years in same profession same company. I often wonder whether I should have jumped at opportunities that presented themselves
I know I’m in the minority here, but I sense you have enough disquiet about the role you are in to actually want to jump. I think you need a gentle push and I hope this post helps you with that
On a practical front write down what you perceive as your skill sets and chat to a few recruiters in different industries. You may be pleasantly surprised that you could switch to something more fulfilling and be able to use the skills you have
Good luck
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Seems like you have been at the current place for 10 years and have simply out grown it.
Sounds like you may see this as an opportunity, take the money and find something a bit more challenging. I have never heard anyone regret taking Voluntary redundancy !
Edit - pretty much what the guy above is saying slightly more eloquently!
Last edited by Mr G Imp; 22nd May 2020 at 22:19.
It depends upon your skill set, your confidence in finding another position, the amount you have been offered (assume it will take 6-9months to find an alternative job) and finally how unhappy you are.
I have taken VR twice in my career with 6 figure pay out both times. Best decision I ever took.
At the end of the day only you can make the decision, not a bunch of folk on an Internet forum.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Talk to recruiters and see if you land a role quick. You never know you may just get lucky on timing and it works out and you get the money plus a new challenge (this is exactly what happened for me a few months back).
In the current climate it makes sense to stay in paid employment.
Having said that, it depends how many rounds of redundancies your employer is looking to make, or to put it another way how secure your long-term position is.
I don’t know but if it is a case of a first round of voluntary redundancies with generous settlements followed by a round of compulsory redundancies with statutory settlements, then you might regret not taking the generous settlement offer.
You’ll have to assess that risk based on your knowledge of the company and sector.
Your young, jump! What have you got too LOOSE.
Wait for things to get back to something resembling normality
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If you have been there 10 years the statutory redundancy payment is probably c. £5k tax free.
Plus your notice, taxed.
If you have been offered significantly more than that and you can see yourself living without pay for a year - then you should decide, would you be keen to be there in the long term or not? It must be tempting, I can see why it would be. Sounds like your head is already turned and you may regret not taking the lump sum, if it is significantly more than what I mention above.
Having recently had the opportunity to take redundancy or stay with the same company at a location a little further away (with more responsibility but no more pay) I eventually decided to stay.
Initially, I was pretty set on taking the money, enjoying a bit of a break from work and then focusing on finding a new role. Financially, I could have covered a 12 month period for our family. This option sounded pretty appealing, plus the lack of additional pay available at the alternative role being offered, honestly pi$$ed me off and made me think/feel that the company didn’t want me to stay. Redundancies can be emotional!
As the consultations went by and having looked to see what other roles existed in the market place, I slowly came to the realisation that I loved my job and that if I took redundancy and got offered a post comparable to my alternative role, I’d have jumped at it despite the additional travel time required.
It was a slow process but ultimately I think the key for me was to focus on what I enjoyed and to remove some of my emotions from the redundancy process. Suffice it to say, this process ended 4 months ago, and I’m loving my new role with the same company.
Turning to yourself, I’d urge you to do the same, focus on what will bring you the most happiness (remove any emotions from the process itself) and then look to plan your best route forwards. Clearly as others have said timing now isn’t great. Just know that nearly everyone who’s been through a redundancy scenario looks back and sees mostly positives.
All the best
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