How to Deal With Redundancy on a CV

It has been an unfortunate consequence of the recent economic turmoil that companies have had to make redundancies. This is always a worrying time for the employees involved and many ask us for advice on the best way to reflect this on their CV…particularly if it has happened more than once.

We turned to leading career coach Aimee Bateman for her insight…

“Firstly I just want to say, in my opinion as a recruiter who ‘sells’ people to companies and companies to people, that there is NO stigma whatsoever related to redundancy in this day and age.

Unfortunately companies make redundancies due to falling profits, increased competition and sometimes just poor management and overspending.

I have seen the most talented and remarkable people (some who earn six figure salaries) lose all confidence in their abilities following redundancy but there is no reason to. I appreciate it is easy to slip into negative thoughts but stay positive, focused and surround yourself with good people.

I am often asked ‘How to I deal with this on my CV?’ Well, the best way to deal with it is to be totally open about it and follow these steps…

• Add your contractual end date to your CV. Never make it look like you are still there and then explain you have left when you are at interview stage. This just causes questions about your honesty. Even if you tell them that you just haven’t updated your CV. I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that, but I know so many HR managers and employers who have been put off by this.
• Provide a ‘Reason for Leaving’. I would add a section under the position, which explains why you left the company. I know some career coaches disagree with this, but I promise you this is the first question every employer asks me when I send them CVs of people I am representing. ‘Thanks Aimee but why did they leave that company?’ If you don’t answer their questions, then they will make their own assumptions, which will sometimes be the wrong one!!
• Add a sentence or very brief description of the details surrounding your redundancy. Maybe your department was relocated, or there was a merger.
• Mention if others were made redundant. Was it the whole department? Did the company need to downsize by 100 employees? Ensure the person reading your CV understands the entire situation behind the business decision.

Now if you have been made redundant more than once, please follow the same steps. Continue to be open and honest and do not feel ashamed.

If you wish to address your feelings and explain the situation then you can do this briefly at the end of your cover letter or include it in the ‘About Me’ section of your CV. Please note that you may not need to if you follow all the steps above.

If you do decide to however, please remain positive and make sure you do not come across as the ‘victim’, even though you may feel like one and understandably so. Employers will love your honesty and your ability to keep bouncing back. In fact, say those exact words! Tell them in your cover letter, that you know you have been made redundant twice, three times, but you have so much to give and you are not going to give up. If I read that in a cover letter, it would really impress me!

So that is my answer to that question. Stay open and honest and focused on all the value that you have still to give. Please don’t underestimate the impact this tough situation is going to have on your character. You will be stronger and more self aware than ever before…yeah, tell that to your next employer!!”

Aimee Bateman runs a recruitment and coaching consultancy, and has been the recruitment advisor on a number of TV programmes on both BBCI and BBC3. She is also the founder of Careercake.com – a resource aimed at helping passionate people improve their careers.