Supporting Redundancy Populations in a Ruthless Job Market

By Matt Craven, Founder of CVIA Careers – The CV, Interview & Careers Advisors

Let’s not sugar-coat it – the job market right now is tough, and possibly tougher than many realise.

We are no longer in a world where candidates are in short supply. Instead, we’ve entered a highly competitive landscape where organisations have their pick of the market and job seekers often feel like a needle in a haystack.

From the frontline of career support, my team and I have worked with many people affected by redundancy. What I’m seeing, as well as what our colleagues across the industry are reporting, is a job market that’s demanding more from applicants while offering less in return.

Just how bad is it?

The KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs reinforces what many job seekers are experiencing:

• Permanent placements have been falling for two and a half years

• Employers are playing it safe, dragging out processes or pausing hiring altogether

• Job seekers are competing against hundreds of applications for each role

• Automation and AI filtering are increasing, and many are never seen by a human

When you add recruiter ghosting, fake job ads, and vague (or no) feedback into the mix, it’s no surprise that candidates feel disheartened. Survival of the fittest is no exaggeration – this market demands strategy and a hyper-targeted approach.

Supporting redundancy populations is a delicate balance

Against this backdrop, providing outplacement support isn’t just about giving people a good CV. It’s about walking a very fine line.

On one side, we need to tell people the truth. That means explaining how rigorous and competitive the market really is, and the level of preparation they’ll need to stand out. On the other side, we’re working with individuals who may be experiencing shock, stress, or self-doubt. Deliver the message too bluntly, and you risk crushing confidence, but sugar-coat it too much and they’ll be underprepared.

It’s this balancing act that makes outplacement such specialist work. It requires empathy, emotional intelligence and market expertise in equal measure. We’re not just helping someone find a job – we’re helping them navigate a high-stakes transition at a very human level.

We recently delivered a series of 40 workshops for a FTSE 100 organisation where this sensitivity was front and centre. The programme included sessions on career planning, CV writing, LinkedIn, navigating the job market, interview technique, personal branding, thought leadership and portfolio careers.

These weren’t just presentations – they were tailored, interactive experiences designed to empower individuals while acknowledging the very real challenges ahead. It demanded depth, nuance and care in every session. Some of those affected were taking it in their stride, some were extremely worried, and others were in blissful ignorance; however, all of them needed nudging in the right direction, and all of them deserved the best tailored support possible.

The unspoken gap in outplacement

It’s worth noting that many outplacement providers operate on a pooled delivery model, calling in associates to meet demand. While some of those consultants are excellent, others may lack the training, market insight or delivery experience to support vulnerable populations with the care they deserve.

In some cases, consultants are engaged without even holding professional indemnity insurance – a small detail perhaps, but one that warrants mention when there’s a real responsibility while coaching potentially vulnerable people. When people are leaning on you for life-changing advice, that kind of protection and professionalism shouldn’t be optional.

A human-first approach to outplacement

Supporting people through redundancy is more than a service. There’s a real responsibility inherent in it. In markets like this, outplacement done well can make a measurable difference to how people recover, reposition and relaunch. We don’t just see it as a tick box exercise – whether it's group sessions or 1-2-1 help, we commit to delivering cutting-edge advice and services that genuinely work in the 2025 digital job market.

It takes real expertise to guide someone through it with clarity and compassion. It takes even more to equip them for a market that’s this unforgiving. But with the right support, people don’t just survive these transitions, they can come out stronger, more confident and more purposeful than ever.

I’m forever telling people that where one door closes, another opens. I see many people look back and feel it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Sometimes the tough times are just the universe's way of pushing us into better things. Perhaps a trifle spiritual, but it’s a message that I find inspires people.

Many of our outplacement clients believe that how you support your employees on the way out says just as much about your brand as how you welcomed them in. With our cutting-edge outplacement programmes, we lean into this philosophy, combining expert guidance, real-world job market insights, and a deeply human approach to help people move forward with confidence and direction.

And to quote something from our career planning workshop, “It’s not your situation that’s causing you sleepless nights; it’s the lack of a plan to change it.”