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How it all started

Aftershock
In the spring of 2005, I came across Andrew Taylor's 'Aftershock' column in the Appointments section of The Sunday Times. He wrote a dryly amusing account of how he had recently been made redundant, and recounted his adventures and experiences in trying to build a new life thereafter. I read it with great interest because I had gone through it myself and it was pretty unusual to find a column dedicated to what is, I'm afraid, still a taboo subject. The following week he was simply astounded by the sheer volume of reader response that he had received. A nerve had well and truly been touched!

More than 2000 people are made redundant every working day in the UK

I have counselled many people through redundancy situations over the years, and I've handled my own once or twice too, which made me pay even more attention to Andrew's subsequent columns. 

I started to conduct some research of my own. It wasn't pretty. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), just over 2000 people are made redundant every working day in the UK. Also, there seemed to be plenty of places to turn to for help as an employer making people redundant, but there wasn't much help if you were being made redundant. Plenty of websites and recruitment firms would help you to look for a new job, but not how to investigate or pursue other options such as working freelance or setting up your own business.  There was no simple, objective one-stop-career shop. Some people are lucky enough to be offered an outplacement deal by their employer but what happened to those who didn't?

So, I met Andrew and talked about setting up the New Life Network to provide a carefully edited collection of helpful, and hopefully inspiring, resources for all of those who know that redundant doesn't mean 'finished', that 'over 40' doesn't mean 'over the hill', that 'unemployed' doesn't mean 'unemployable' - and that fed up doesn't mean that you have to put up or shut up!

By the way, redundancy isn't just the bane of the mature professional or unskilled workers' life. Plenty of young and very talented people get made redundant too - you can check the numbers out for yourself in the redundancy section on rights & facts.


The New Life Network goes from strength to strength

So, the website, www.newlifenetwork.co.uk, was launched in September 2005 and thousands upon thousands of people have regularly visited it since. It was all built on a shoestring and there was no money for advertising, so clearly the site was being recommended by others and word was getting round.

Then, visitors started to ask for new types of career help and services on the site. They hadn't been made redundant, however, they did want to build a new life, downsize, start up their own business, change direction, get a new job or employer and so on.

It seemed that, just like redundancy help, coherent, independent career advice for adults in the UK was also pretty thin on the ground. It didn't seem to matter whether they were first rungers on the career ladder or experienced professionals. Parents came to the site and then recommended it to their student offspring. 

So, that is how it all started and how the range of content began to grow and the New Life Network evolved into what is a completely unique career management resources portal. 

Help for everyone to improve their working lives

This site is for everyone. It's for those who know that new and fulfilling working lives can, and do, continually need to be built to replace and revitalise the old ones that they had, whatever their age, qualifications, background or circumstances.

We recommend articles, books and web sites, career and business resources that we believe can add real value to managing your livelihood. Inclusion of resources on the site is not about money, it's about quality. Our recommendations are independent and cannot simply be bought, and we will withdraw any resource link if it fails to live up to it's promise or function - that is part of what makes the New Life Network special.  

Happy hunting,