View from the board: end of the line

Now ignoring the frustration, the loss of pride, the financial and personal issues – how much of an impact is this going to have on you professionally? Well, the answer is, hopefully, very little.

The redundancy process will be painful and it is likely it will create a fear that it marks you out as a worse candidate. It is essential to remember that the rest of the market – and most importantly your future employers – will not take that view. Pre-2000 I would have had a different attitude but one of the few good things that came out of the collapse of the dotcom bubble was a radical reappraisal of the impact of redundancy on your CV.

Prior to that period, having a gap on your CV was frowned upon. It raised questions and no CV should ever raise questions! However, it was a period when almost everyone in the market knew someone who was out of work for a period. And we all knew that they were good, capable, credible individuals, which forced employers to ask themselves if they were wrong. Were those friends of theirs suddenly less credible candidates or did a gap on the CV mean nothing at all. Luckily the market answered correctly and gaps on CV’s became an irrelevance – much to the joy of those who could take the summer off and stop worrying.

Don’t worry if it takes you a while to find your next role – assuming finances are not an issue. I have never believed you should turn down the first job you get – a good job is a good job if you see it first, second or a hundredth. But, if you find yourself taking a role because you think you have been out of work for too long then stop and reconsider. A gap on the CV is not an issue – a former FTSE 100 FD was out of work for almost two years, and turned down another FTSE 100 FD role before securing the job they wanted.

Don’t panic. I can honestly say that I have never thought worse of a candidate because they have not worked for a period of time or because they were not working when I met them (unless they were fired for fraud). Indeed, there are huge positives about this sometimes – start dates, interview availability, etc. You were a good candidate before and you are a good candidate now and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Mark Freebairn is a partner at Odgers Ray & Berndtson