Executive PA Magazine’s resident career writer, Jo Jones, got some unexpected news recently. Definitely not the only EA to have been through the redundancy process, she shares her thoughts with us now…
“Redundancy can be a scary word. It’s certainly a situation I don’t think we ever think would happen to us and why would it be? I’m not a believer of thinking glass half full; more that things will be what they’re supposed to be. However, I find now that an unexpected occurrence of redundancy has knocked me sidewise.
The revelation
Whenever there’s a change of leadership there’s always a danger that change will filter its way down, impacting roles and responsibilities. And that’s exactly what happened to me.
I jumped onto my weekly call with my line manager to find the CEO was there. This wasn’t entirely unusual but at this particular meeting my internal alarm bell went off immediately. If you know me, you’ll know I trust that little bell more than anything else. So, I knew something was amiss but didn’t know what.
The meeting opened with: ‘Well Jo, this isn’t probably the conversation you were expecting’. And I’d say the use of the word ‘probably’ wasn’t warranted here. ‘Certainly’ or ‘definitely’ would have been better placed.
So, that was that. There was change at the top and that resulted in my role being made redundant. Sadly, there were no alternative roles suitable – my four years at the organisation were over.
The aftermath
We’ve all heard of the seven stages of grief. I guess I can now say I’m experiencing reflection and reconstruction, making my way towards the acceptance and an upward turn stage.
These stages have been a learning experience for me. I knew I loved what I did but until it was taken away from me, I didn’t really know how much I loved my work.
Reflecting on all I achieved has been both happy and sad. I also started down the path of: ‘Had I done things any differently, would it have changed the outcome of today?’ But as my partner, many friends and wonderful colleagues have told me so many times, this was not about me as a person. It was not about my competencies. It was quite simply (and I acknowledge that being made redundant is not simple) the direction of the organisation, where it’s headed right now.
Coming through stages five and six is teaching me not to let this knock my confidence. I do have a variety of skills and qualities to offer my next organisation. And I am extremely good at what I do.
So, as my dear old mum used to say: ‘Jo, if this is your bus, you won’t miss it’. I hang on to those words now more than ever as I navigate the path towards my next adventure.”
