Category: Candidates

Data Analyst – Real Estate Investor

We don’t normally share job adverts on our website because we don’t need to. We have a great network of candidates and prefer to just pick up the phone and contact the people we think will be a great fit.

However, we thought we’d buck that trend and share this Data Analyst role in London, because we hope this is a good sign of progress and things getting back to normal in the recruitment market.

Job Spec

  • Salary: £35,000 pa
  • Opening date for applications (9am): 3 June 2020
  • Closing date for applications (5pm): 1 July 2020
  • Benefits: workplace pension; minimum employer contribution; 33 days inclusive of UK bank holidays.
  • Location: Working from home during C-19 pandemic. Post crisis, the role will be based in the London office.

Retail places are undergoing profound structural change. Today’s challenges and tomorrows opportunities require inspirational solutions, grounded in data and experience. Our client’s Research and Analytics team produce proprietary research, putting data at the heart of our decision making, allowing us to anticipate market trends and gain a deep understanding of our retailers, shoppers and centres.  

The Team

This is an opportunity to join a technically accomplished team of Analysts in a wide-ranging role combining technical project work, consultancy services and project management. Data science and analysis is a key role within the business that will build upon and continue to elevate a best-in-class Research & Analytics team that differentiates our client and drives a competitive advantage in the marketplace through market expertise, analysis and insight.

The Research & Analytics team work on a wide variety of projects across the retail, leisure, town planning, alternative use, financing, development and public sectors in the UK. Project work includes consultancy, cross team report creation with a range of outputs for a variety of publican and private sector clients, internal strategic initiatives, portfolio analysis, as well as leading on BI initiatives and the creation of data led processes and solutions across all business teams.

The Role

The successful candidate will be someone with experience of building and using statistical models to examine and provide customer understanding within a retail, property, leisure or high street finance environment.

An excellent knowledge of statistical modelling techniques and awareness of issues affecting high street and consumer led businesses.

The role requires good problem-solving skills and the ability to be pragmatic and apply knowledge of retail and geography to ensure recommendations are practical and in-line with client objectives.

A high degree of client contact will be involved from the outset and therefore candidates should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, and be comfortable with leading on external projects and managing external communication with a range of contacts.

Your role will include:

• Providing recommendations, bespoke analysis and consultancy services to public and private sector
• Building statistical/mathematical models, using predictive/forecasting techniques and performing in-depth data analysis
• Producing data lead insights which inform asset management, investment, development, town planning and financing strategies and recommendations.
• Developing and implementing BI initiatives across all teams in the business
• Working with AI and big data analytics to provide in depth asset and behavioural insights
• Liaising with external data providers to build big data driven solutions for both internal and external use.

Core Skills, Experience, Knowledge Required

• Educated to at least degree level (2:1 or above) in a subject with high numerical content (e.g. mathematics, applied statistics, operational research, economics, engineering, geography)
• Excellent numeracy skills and a strong scientific approach to drawing conclusions from a variety of evidence.
• An aptitude for quantitative techniques, an analytical approach to completing assignments to agreed deadlines and strong attention to detail. If successful in being offered an interview you should be prepared to provide and talk us succinctly through specific examples of prior projects, you have worked on
• Demonstrable ability to draw key themes from data and construct an argument in a logical and accessible way.
• Demonstrable experience of working with BI software and be prepared to provide examples of reports created.
• Knowledge and genuine interest in the UK retail landscape
• Demonstrable experience of working with market, asset, demographic, financial, retail, location and customer data on projects with both private and public clients. You should be prepared to provide examples
• Good working knowledge of SAS, SPSS or similar statistical package, and/or other programming experience (e.g. VBA, SQL).
• Excellent Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills (advanced level of Excel skill is required)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present your findings in a professional, logical and engaging way.
• Excellent written and verbal use of English language
• Excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritise tasks.
• A demonstrable ability to work on a diverse range of ongoing projects.
• Personal skills suited to working within a professional team environment as well as for a range of internal and external clients.

If anyone is interested in this role please contact Steve Halsall at Red Tiger Talent on 07979 756 257 or steve@redtigerconsulting.co.uk.

Photo by Burst from Pexels

Hey, how ya doin’? I’m sorry you couldn’t get through…

It has been an interesting month as a Recruitment Consultant, working without any live assignments. I did have one existing role until a couple of weeks ago, but I advised my client to pause it for now as it is unlikely that candidates will agree to a move during such uncertain times. It’s important that we all adapt to adversity and use this down time wisely.

I just called to say how much I care… 

At Red Tiger Talent we are using the time to speak to a lot of people. Of course, speaking to people is at the heart of successful recruitment, but our diary certainly allows for much more call time. Over the years we have built a very good relationship with a large number of people and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to check in with each and every one of them. Recent conversations tend to focus on checking in with how people are coping and in providing careers coaching and advice. Conversations vary from how people are coping with the isolation, advice on CVs and new skills to learn while in furlough. Most people are now experts in Zoom, Teams or Houseparty. We’ve also discussed what the retail landscape will look like, concerns about being made redundant and ideas on where next in their career. We do feel it is our duty (as well as the duty of our friends, family and work colleagues) to check in with people (both clients and candidates) and ensure they are OK in these very isolating times.

Red Tiger are in a very unique and privileged position in that we speak to a lot of businesses and so have a pretty good handle on the range of measures being taken to ride through this particularly tough time. We are very careful to not breech any client or candidate confidences, but we are in a position to provide clear assurances to concerned individuals that they are not the only ones who are experiencing specific concerns and challenges at this time.

If you do get a call from Paul or I, it is because we want to see how you are doing and are likely to offer a different conversation to the ones you’ve been having with friends, family or colleagues.

Call me, anytime just call me 

One of the more frustrating parts of recruitment is the number of phone messages that I leave that seem to disappear into the ether. Whilst I appreciate that there are a number of reasons for no response, you certainly need a thick skin to be a recruiter. Let me give you an example, over the last week I have made 40 calls to clients and candidates which have been divided up into the following outcomes:

  • Called and spoken to recipient first time – 35% 
  • Left a message and the recipient has replied and we have since spoken – 25% 
  • Called and left a message but, to date, no reply – 40% 

An initial 35% hit rate is quite good – over a third of my calls are being answered and it seems to have been a convenient time to have a chat with someone. I really relish these calls as I am also socially isolated, so I thrive on having a different conversation in comparison to those I typically have with my family (what time’s tea? What we having for tea? Why is the wifi so slow?). In the last week my hit rate rises to 60% of calls resulting in a conversation, if you include the 25% of calls where I left a message and the recipient returned my call. Most Sales Managers would think that 60% is an excellent return on my efforts, but I am not in sales and I currently have nothing to sell.

I understand that we may well be low down people’s priority lists, or that the last thing they want to do is speak to a pushy recruiter, but it is the 40% that I call and hear nothing (there is still time for this number to drop!) that can, at times, be frustrating. This is not a cold call list; it is people that I have more than a traditional ‘functional’ recruiter-candidate relationship with. These are people who I’ve either worked with in some capacity or built up more of a ‘trusted advisor’ relationship with.

Moving, just keep moving 

There still seems to be some movement of people (likely agreed prior to Coronavirus) in the last month or so, driven by a promotion or change of role in their current firm, or a move to another business. These changes instantly make our database out of date. I shouldn’t complain as if there was no movement there would be no need for recruitment. I’m also sad to say that we have started getting inbound enquiries from candidates seeking roles as a result of redundancy – a trend that is likely to gather pace over the next few months.

You’ve got to work hard, if you want anything at all 

The Red Tiger team have not been furloughed and in summary we are dividing our time between three main areas.

  1. Red Tiger Training – Based on feedback from clients and candidates we are busy developing our skills training materials.  Paul is creating an ‘Introduction to Alteryx’ training course and I am repurposing our ‘Excel for Business Analytics‘ training for a wider, remote audience.  These will be launched in the next few weeks – please get in touch if you wish to find out more about either of these courses. 
  2. Red Tiger Consulting – Our Location Analytics Consulting business has certainly taken a back seat over the last year or so, largely due to the rapid growth of our recruitment practice.  We have a wide range of experienced contractors on our books, all available at very competitive rates, so if you have a requirement for short term analytics resource then please get in touch to discuss further.
  3. Red Tiger Talent – Effort on our core activity of recruitment is still our focus.  We are using this downtime as an opportunity to tidy up our extensive contacts and candidate database.  We are also putting the finishing touches to the latest salary survey which will be released in early May.  We will continue with our calls to clients and candidates – hopefully this time we will manage to have a catch up, or if we leave a message please find time to call us back.  Our blogs are also coming thick and fast and we are planning a number of other ways to reach out to clients and candidates in the months ahead. 

PS – Message me if you know the songs that I reference in the sub-headings to each section, no cheating, mind! 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Coping with redundancy – Last person standing!

(please switch the lights off on the way out!)

This is the final instalment in a series of three blogs tackling the subject of redundancy. Our first blog offered practical advice from an experience coach, Linda Steel. Read: Coping with redundancy: advice from an experienced redundancy and life coach.

The last man standing…

Our second blog was from a candidate whose role had been made redundant and documented their thoughts throughout the process of getting back into employment. Read Redundancy: a first hand account.

This blog is from my own personal perspective and draws on my experiences from over 20 years ago working at the Rank Group where I was one of the last people standing within my department during a round of redundancies.

The Rank Outsider 

Early 1997 marked the year I had my first ever experience with a Recruitment Consultant, and thanks to Linda Steel I moved from DTZ’s property research and started my new role as a Site Location Analyst at the Rank Group – please refer to my blog on How to Win at interviews to hear more about that specific interview process.

I recall meeting with Linda in London and chatting through the role – she had to manage my expectations as I originally wanted to be considered for the senior analyst role which I was clearly under-qualified for. Below is the letter and report that she wrote about me which certainly helped in getting me to interview stage.

Recruiter letter advising that I wasn’t right for the senior role.
Recruiter Report about me from back in 1997!

I joined a 6 strong team known as Site Location Services (SLS), headed up by Andy Thompson (now Chairman of Anytime Fitness UK & Ireland). It was an exciting time – Rank were planning on putting a Leisure World, a unique under-one-roof concept that pulled together a cinema (Odeon) family entertainment centre (Hotshots), Music bar (Jumpin Jaks), Nightclub (Ikon/Diva/Oceana), Casino (Grosvenor) and a Bingo hall (Mecca), into every large town and city in the country. The group were investing in the team, data and technology – critical in providing the insight to make informed location decisions about the concept.

That was until Rank decided to divest its cinema, bar and nightclub businesses and focus on its gaming operations of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos. Almost overnight the 50 strong property team that had been assembled to a fanfair launch at Odeon Swiss Cottage (addressed by a chain-smoking MD John Garrett with a blatant disregard for the no smoking policy), with a call to action to dominate the UK with Leisure World, had collapsed. Site Location Services would have to reduce its team from 6 to 3 people.

Our Grosvenor Casinos football team. Me front left.
Andy Thompson back row in the middle.

A friend in need 

I recall the nervous anticipation of the outcome of the consultation process on who would remain and who would be let go. There was a lot at stake – this was a new function in Maidenhead (a cost saving exercise known as ‘under one roof’), bringing various disparate head office businesses together. This meant that many people had relocated with their families in order to settle near their new place of work.

The Site Location team had enjoyed a period of 12 months to get to know each other, build the function from scratch, successfully develop a good team ethic and transform the analytical capability that ultimately supported the significant investment decisions of the property function. The six of us were different personalities and experience levels but we all provided something unique to the group. I have personally kept in touch with all members of that team and have made some very good friends (and successful business partners) in the process.

I was one of the ‘lucky’ 3 who would remain in the team – I should have been elated, but I felt like I had also lost out and a certainly element of guilt as I was losing colleagues and good friends. I had to join the other ‘remainers’ to rally round and offer our support to the three who would be leaving. Our support ranged from helping them with CV writing, interview techniques, identifying potential places of employment, and general advice to give them confidence that they would be back in gainful employment in a short space of time.

Capacity Drops, Workload Rises 

Our arrangement of desks in one corner of the open plan office seemed remarkably sparse when our three colleagues left in early 1998. One thing was clear – there would be no let-up in our work schedules, in fact, after a drop of 50% in our delivery capacity, the incoming evaluation requests were not adjusted accordingly. This meant that we were more stretched and less responsive to assess potential sites. It is generally accepted that those who remain are the lucky ones but there is usually a greater burden put on those who remain. We have certainly seen a spike in similar conversations with candidates after a round of redundancy. Redundancy initiatives disrupt the status quo (which can be both positive and negative) and can potentially trigger domino effect changes. It certainly is a good eliminator of complacency or false perceptions about job security!

Is there an end to re-organisation? 

Re-organisation (a posh word for redundancies/cost cutting) is an all too regular occurrence in the working world. Businesses can get too bloated with headcount and may need a re-adjustment, other times it is a change in focus, typically brought about by a change in leadership, that causes the restructure. These changes are sometimes positive (there are always people who are too comfortable in their roles and are not really helping the organisation progress) but often it results in significant knowledge and expertise being lost from the business.

Those that get left behind, some of whom may have been very loyal to the business, can certainly see an erosion of that loyalty, and an increased fear of ‘I might be next’. Re-organisations are usually done in stages and just because you may have survived one round of redundancy it doesn’t always mean you will be immune to future rounds. The converse can also happen where long serving staff, who have come to the end of their usefulness for their current employer (this does happen!), will not actively seek to move in order to get a significant redundancy pay-out further down the line.

Phoenix from the Flames 

The re-organisation at Rank served as a reality check that although as location planning practitioners we may believe that our skills and insights are business critical, the reality is that they are not often seen as such by senior business leaders.

This fear of ‘we might be next’ was certainly one of the drivers behind our decision as the 3 ‘remainers’ at Rank to force our employers to contract out our services back to us in a new entity which would be the start of GeoBusiness Solutions. GeoBusiness Solutions would develop a very credible business throughout the early 2000’s with a number of high profile clients, including Camelot, John Lewis and the Post Office, culminating in a sale of the business in 2005 to MapInfo Corporation. They often say that new business formation peaks during times of recession when circumstances force a change in approach which was certainly the case with us.

Where are they now? 

Sadly, two of the original team of 6 are no longer with us, Ken (we used to call him Captain Birdseye) was the elder statesman of the group who provided necessary skills in CACI’s InSite to the team, and Jon Walker, my long standing friend and business partner who sadly passed away 10 years ago this month. Incidentally, as a mark of respect we are having a collection in his memory and his 3 boys (who were all aged less than 10 years old when he died) have nominated Macmillan Cancer Support as our chosen charity, so if anyone remembers him and would like to make a donation:

Donate to Macmillan Cancer Support

My other Rank colleagues have gone on to have very successful careers elsewhere.   

Nielsen joined CACI in March 1998, enjoyed a very distinguished 19 year career there, and now heads up Geospatial at Deloitte. Colin spent 15 years at Yell Group, nearly 4 years at mobile telco provider Three, and is now an Agile Delivery Manager at CGI where he is looking after significant local government projects.  Andy had a stint as head of Head of Location Planning (where he was a casualty of re-organisation there) and has also been responsible for bringing the 24 hour fitness brand Anytime Fitness to the UK and Ireland, where he is currently chairman. 

There is little doubt that redundancy is part and parcel of today’s work environment and it is never a pleasant experience for all those involved, regardless of whether you are one to leave or stay. Clearly uncertainty is not nice and can cause significant stress and worry but all I can say is that once you are through the other side you will never look back.  All the people I know who have been affected by redundancy have gone on to bigger and better things. 

We’d love to hear your views and experience. What did redundancy mean for you?

Author: Steve Halsall

Header image: Photo by Victor from Pexels

The impact of Covid-19 on the Working Population

We are now into the 3rd week of coronavirus (Covid-19) headlines here in the UK and it has been dominating everyone’s lives for the last few weeks.

Over the weekend the dinner table conversation was never far from coronavirus – the impact of the disease, from news of stockpiling to speculation on what the future holds. Topics like Brexit and the election seem like distant memories now. People I have spoken to seem varied in their approach.

It might look pretty but the future is looking uncertain in the face of Covid-19

Some are determined to ignore news or advice and carry on regardless. One gent in the men’s toilets over the weekend failed to even wash his hands!

Others are imposing complete self-isolation. The UK Government will be imposing stricter social distancing measures over the coming days and weeks in order to allow the health service to cope with the likely spike in infections.

This is a two-part blog, the first being an up to date account of how the virus is affecting our business in recruitment. This will be followed by a second blog on how the virus is affecting businesses and the workforce in general.

Part 1: Impact on Recruitment 

Everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago when the true impacts of the virus started to be felt in Red Tiger Talent’s recruitment world. My brother and I were meant to be going to a conference in Amsterdam in order to keep up to speed with the latest location planning technology – that was cancelled. Not really a significant impact on our recruiting activities but it was a sure-fire sign of things to come.

Candidate uncertainty 

Last week changes seemed to gather even more pace – we had a candidate cancel a final interview as a direct result of the virus and their situation on the job market doesn’t seem likely to change in the near future. We have also had a number of active candidates inform us that they are going to stand firm in their current roles for the time being.

We’re already seeing a change in recruitment and interview processes

This week has started with a candidate coming forward asking if there are any opportunities for them. Nothing strange in that at first glance – but it is after a significant period of them being an independent consultant. Their fear and main driver to moving back into the corporate world is that the longer-term economic impact (likely global recession) will be particularly challenging as a consultant and they felt a need to get back into permanent, more stable, employment.

Our thoughts are also with some of the candidates who are currently serving their notice and are due to be starting new roles in the next few months. We are ensuring that the lines of communication are well and truly open between the client and candidate to ensure that the candidates are well aware of what policies are in place with their new company and that they are still able to start on the agreed date. Fortunately, all of our placements are going ahead and measures will be in place to onboard within the restrictions that are likely.

Client procrastination 

The virus is also affecting our clients in a number of ways. Firstly, those clients who are actively recruiting may struggle to either find candidates or once found, struggle to find ways to appropriately assess their suitability.

We all know that meeting face to face is the best way to assess a candidate, something that is currently not encouraged and would be largely classed as a non-essential business activity. It is refreshing to see that some of our clients, with a very clear need to continue recruiting, are carrying on regardless. They are also thinking laterally about the interview process and embracing technology that can support the assessment in times of limited face to face contact.

Secondly, some businesses, particularly those in the consultancy space, seem to be ‘battening down the hatches’ in readiness for a prolonged period of reduced activity after a period of sustained growth. One interview scheduled for this week has been cancelled for ‘cost control’ reasons – there is little point in interviewing people if there is a reluctance to add head count until we are through the uncertainty.

Coping with the new regime 

This dovetails nicely with the second part of this blog which looks at the business impacts of the virus. What is clear is that this crisis will force changes in behaviours as a result. Those that succeed in the coming months will be those who can break from the shackles of ‘normal’ business operations and adapt to new behaviours required to survive in the new regime.

It will not be long before Red Tiger Talent place our first candidate without the need for them to meet the hiring manager face to face. This already happens on assignments where the candidates and the company are significant distances apart, where it isn’t practical for the candidate to travel. We have a candidate due to start a new role in mid April and their employer is already planning for how to get them onboard regardless of the ongoing lockdown situation.

Assessment of candidates is a critical part in the recruitment process, and we are certainly seeing greater flexibility from some businesses in order to continue to assess talent in the market. Only today we have instructed candidates that their face to face final interviews have not been cancelled but been switched to skype calls. Where there is a will there’s a way.

There is no doubt that recruitment activity levels will be relatively slow for Red Tiger Talent for the foreseeable future – depending on which crystal ball you look at, improvements could start slowly in September or worst case, this hiatus could carry on well into 2021. Red Tiger Talent are fortunate in some respects that we have had a really strong start to the first 6 months of our financial year and, whilst (pre coronavirus) we were on for a record breaking full year, the impact of the social isolation will inevitably limit our revenue for the foreseeable future. A small price to pay if it helps, as anticipated, to allow our NHS to cope with the increased pressure on services as a direct result of this virus.

We all need to our bit to halt the spread of this virus and limit its affect on our nation

Like many of our clients who are putting their expansion on hold for now we have also made the difficult decision to delay the taking on of an apprentice in order to keep our outgoings to a minimum. This, pre coronavirus, was an indication that we were feeling positive about our growth in the market and the next logical step was to get some operational support.

For Red Tiger will also have to adapt – we have a three point plan to build strong foundations over the next few months:

  • Cost control – less recruitment activity will certainly mean saving on travel and subsistence, but we will also be scrutinising every cost in order to ensure we remain in a cash positive position 
  • More conversations  – We will use the space in our calendar to engage with more candidates (existing and new) in order to ensure we are ready to support our clients once restrictions are lifted 
  • Diversification – With recruitment freezes and remote working going to be the norm for the foreseeable future we will promote our other services that may be delivered remotely, specifically: 
    • Consultancy – if clients need some temporary, remote resource to deliver location planning, GIS or data analytics project we are potentially available 
    • Training – this is a great time for people to use spare capacity in their working day to ensure 

We’d love to hear from you, whether you have a vacancy to advertise, are looking for a job or may be interested in talking to us about our consultancy or training services.

Together we can all succeed in isolation!

Please call us for a chat: Paul 44(0)7918 653 877 / Steve +44(0)7979 756 257 Or email us on: info@redtigerconsulting.co.uk

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Redundancy – A First-hand Account

This second blog on redundancy is documentary evidence from a candidate that we have supported through their redundancy process. They have asked to remain anonymous and we really do appreciate their honesty in sharing their thoughts for the benefit of others in a similar situation.

Redundant
adjective
not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.

Redundancy 

I was made redundant. My role is being made redundant. The last two short sentences are saying the same thing. However, it is amazing how different these statements are if you read them again carefully. The first states that something is, or has, happened to you personally and what you, as an individual, provide through the skills and ability that you have is coming to an end. The latter, on the other hand, separates ‘you’ from the redundancy situation and what may be happening. You are still just as skilled, knowledgeable and experienced (…if not more…) and you know that you have a lot to offer (even if this was not realised in the role that you were made redundant from). In my experience, there is a huge difference! This difference is subtle yet speaks of the inner workings of how you view yourself, your consultancy period with your employer, your ‘potential’ redundancy and your mindset going forward. There is not right or wrong and redundancy is a very stressful time, which is extremely emotive. However, having been through redundancy twice, my advice would be to make sure that you keep your mindset in the blue.

You’re in Consultancy 

It was a relatively warm summers-day. The train journey into work, looking across the countryside of the South-East was quite serene, before hitting the London boundary. It was all quite relaxing, given what was about to happen in a few hours’ time. I completed my journey, not thinking of anything more significant than what I would do for lunch. I set myself-up at my desk and started working, shortly before being asked into a meeting room – “Can I grab you for five minutes?”. “Yeah – No problem” I replied, thinking it was nothing more than something about a client or one of the many projects that I’d been working on, as was so common. And then…“I always find these situations extremely hard. I need to inform you that we have done a review of the department and have identified your role as being at risk of redundancy.”

Let’s Keep this in Context! 

It may surprise you for me to say that being told this was not a frightening experience. Some [Some!] of the reasons I’ll share below, but for now, believe it or not, this was the second time I’ve been made redundant in just over two years. This might sound alarming in some ways, however, to put this in context…Over my 15 year career so far I’ve been in consultation pools four times within different roles and work in an area that inherently delivers change within a business, usually as part of larger change programmes such as digital transformations, business turnarounds and/or growth initiatives. Is it that surprising that the business I’m currently working for is changing? In some instances, related to the exact circumstances – Yes! After all the company is trying to change its USP, what it is known for, to exactly what I as an individual have been practicing for the last 15 years. However, at the highest level, the level at which I’m talking about – No! For now, it is the age-old adage – ‘Change is the only constant’ – that springs to mind. The adage that underpins the ‘adaptability’ and ‘resilience’ needed in the jobs market in this day and age, those that have so prominently underpinned my career to this point. For now, all I know is that my role was ‘potentially’ being made redundant. I simply need to respond to the situation.

The Reality of the Situation! 

I’d like to say that this was it – we’re all positive! All good! No problem! Let’s move on! After all, being positive means great things happen, right? All employers want happy, positive employees, and socially we want to be around positive people. However, every situation has its own context and circumstances.

  • The Redundancy (Why): 
    • Red: The company’s USP, what it is trying make itself known for is exactly what I as an individual have been practicing for the last 15 years and they seek out ‘how’, embed it as their own and then make me redundant. 
    • Blue: You’ve gained experience of guiding a company into a new era, adding my own experience and knowledge to improve the ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ within its proposition. 
  • The Personal (What): 
    • Red: The timing of this isn’t good. I have recently become a parent – The childcare costs, my mortgage is due for renewal, I have 4 weeks of income before…Nothing! 
    • Blue: You need to concentrate on what you have and your continuous improvement. How about the tremendous equity in your experience. The situation isn’t ideal, but there is a great opportunity to define a new path! 
  • Career (How): 
    • Red: The company is not providing any formal support, either from HR or an externally employed company would provide ‘getting back into work’ advice. The chips are down! 
    • Blue: Seek out what you need where you perceive there to be a lack. Family, friends, current and previous colleagues, Red Tiger Talent. In reality, one source alone may not be enough. But it is within your power… 

Hopefully you might be able to see the difference between the two statements - I’m being made redundant! My role is being made redundant! 

It takes time to find a balance, but you’ll get there

My Response 

It is natural to have these ‘Ups’ and ‘Downs’. However, you will find a ‘Balance’, it just takes time (…and allow yourself time!). Of course, this can be easier said than done as pressures in life can be substantial and everybody has their own natural setting in terms of how to deal with them. If you haven’t guessed already, you may call me a ‘realist’. Whilst this means an inherent ability to see, interpret, understand and respond to circumstances, projects and alike, which are immediately in-front of me; it also means that I have an natural tendency to worry. On the one hand, my natural stance has allowed significant success throughout my early career, but is also a potential hindrance.

My Current Situation 

The amount of people throughout my redundancy ordeal that said ‘you will find something better’ or alike was unreal. At the time it felt like a ‘cliched’ comment to make you feel better, but keep your mind-set in the ‘blue‘ and you soon realise that it is in fact, true. Nobody has ever gained experience and been in a worse position for it – It is all in the mind. To validate this – I’m now back at work, not any worse-off. I work at a company that allows true ‘agile’ working. I have an increased salary while working a 4 day week that allows me to spend more time with my family. It will work out! 

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