Why there’s no need to be ashamed about redundancy on your CV
Redundancy is not something you should be ashamed about having on your CV.
If you’ve been made redundant, as long as you communicate clearly what happened, you won’t have a problem.
Here’s everything you need to know about listing a redundancy on your CV. But first:
Redundancy isn’t the end of your career
If you think about what it really means, being made “redundant” isn’t a very nice way of putting things. It doesn’t feel nice either – and it can leave you worrying about the future.
However, though it will rarely seem this way, it’s important to bear in mind that redundancies are made for commercial reasons. They don’t mean your skills and experience have no value.
More importantly, everyone understands this. Redundancy doesn’t have any kind of stigma attached to it. Many people these days have been made redundant themselves. That could well include some of the people involved in the recruitment process for your new engineering or IT job.
How to explain redundancy on your CV
1) Give the reason
Perhaps more than anything else, you want to enable the person reading your CV to mentally confirm your redundancy is no kind of issue. A clear reason lets them do this quickly.
Don’t be tempted to indulge yourself here. One or two lines should be ample space to explain:
1.The facts about why your role wasn’t continued.
2. A brief bit of background information, e.g. “office downsized and moved to new location”.
3. Any other wider contextual details, e.g. “related to COVID-19’s impact on the industry”.
2) Give the dates
When listing a redundancy on your CV, focus on being quick and clear. Then guide the conversation onwards
To this end, be open about your start and end dates of work in that role. Don’t give a person reading your CV any reason to think you’re not being honest. After all, there’s no reason to be!
3) Give them something else to focus on
Once you’ve quickly outlined the dates your redundant job started and ended and the reasons why it did so, it’s time to pivot to the good stuff. Be sure to list:
- Your key achievements and successes in the role (or your most recent role)
- Awards or recognition you achieved, formal or informal
- Projects you were involved in (especially if they’re relevant to your target role)
4) Give the impression of proactivity
Redundancy is, invariably, something that happens to you. But there’s no need to give the impression that you’re anything other than proactively dealing with the situation. Be sure to include on your application:
- How you filled any gaps in your CV
- Relevant activities you’re taking part in
- Any upskilling or retraining you’re doing
- How you’re improving your personal brand (relevant in some fields and for some roles)
- Any voluntary work (especially if relevant to your new role)
You can also follow the simple method of using more action words in your CV to make it look like you were or are actively achieving things throughout.
5) Give them reason to think you’re focused on this
Always avoid giving the impression that you’re redundant and desperate for any job. Make it clear that you are applying for this specific engineering or IT job because it’s the right fit for your experience and skills or the direction you want to take your career in.
Because on top of not being ashamed about redundancy on your CV, being made redundant can give you the motivation to make the change you’ve been meaning to. It’s worth working with your recruiter to explore what all of your options really are.
Ready to get back into the IT jobs market after redundancy?
Let’s talk about it. Ernest Gordon is a specialist IT recruitment company. We work with you openly and transparently to find your ideal role.
Set up a cost and commitment-free chat with one of our helpful advisors today.