BREAK THROUGH THE BARRIERS OF REDUNDANCY TO GET BACK INTO WORK – AN A-Z “HOW TO’ GUIDE by Sandra Bellamy (Interview)

Sandra Bellamy was made redundant for the second time in 2009 and as a result she immediately began to dream of helping others who faced similar problems. She began to write the book in January 2013 and has worked steadily to get it published, finally succeeding in 2015. The book can be found on Amazon.com on both the US and Uk sites.

Ms. Bellamy is also a blogger and her site http://www.quirkybooks.wordpress.com has been a platform that Sandra used to publicize her journey. I’ve known her, through the site and the blogging community since 2012. Now that Sandra’s book has been published, an interview seemed to be in order and she graciously agreed to have a chat about the book and what it can do to help those who are facing redundancy or been made redundant.

MikesFilmTalk: Hi Sandra. Thanks for taking time to chat about the publication of your book and congratulations on finally reaching the end of your journey. Now that your book has been published how about talking a bit on how the whole thing works.

Sandra Bellamy: Thanks Michael for talking to me about the process and what my book can do for those people who have been devastated by the loss of their job. While my book is primarily aimed at those who have been made redundant, it is also a valuable tool for anyone seeking a new job or who want to vary their career.

MikesFilmTalk: The book is touted as a “complete system” can you explain what that means?

Sandra Bellamy: My book provides eighty benefits to my readers and covers twenty-six aspects of redundancy. It is referred to as a system because each chapter is broken down into five components of “redundancy”. In order to succeed you need to “master” all the components. The book takes a holistic view of redundancy and it should revolutionize the way you think about redundancy, job-seeking and life in general. One of the key components to master first of all is wellbeing skills, before exploring what options are available to you and learning the practical job skills. Although they are interwoven throughout the book, because what we feel and think about on the inside (our internal environment), reflects on what actions we take to change our outer environment.

This book is different because it does not just focus on one element of redundancy, but on the many barriers you need to conquer if you are to successfully get back into work. I show you how to deal with the inner trauma and turmoil of being made redundant such as grief and depression; before focusing on the practical elements such as job-hunting, CV and cover letter writing; and dealing with tough interview questions, so you can make an informed choice about which future path you should take.
The 5 components of redundancy are:
1. The inner elements (Care for the inner you)
Wellbeing:
• A is for Antidote to beat redundancy blues
• F is for Fun
• L is for Love Yourself
• R is for Rejuvenate,
• Z is for Zebra
Mindset and attitude:
• J is for Job-hunting
• K is for Keep
• P is for Persistence
2. Practicalities:
• B is for Breathing Space
• H is for Help
• I is for Interview
• Q is for Quit your job
• V is for Voluntary Work
• W is for Work Experience
3. Exploring options:
• D is for Dream Job
• O is for Opportunities
• S is for Self-employment
4. Outer elements (How others perceive you):
• C is for Confidence
• E is for Express Yourself Clearly
• G is for Great Customer Service begins at home
• M is for Marketing
• N is for Networking
• U is for Unquestionable
5. Persuasion Skills – An irresistible offer:
• T is for Transferable Skills
• X is for X-Ray (Xtra Reasons to Appoint You)
• Y is for Yes
Focusing on wellbeing skills first is essential in getting back into work. For example, if you have job skills, but not the confidence to project that to recruiters in an interview, you are not going to get the job. Confidence is achieved by learning to love yourself for who you are and believing in yourself, when others don’t. I show you how to love yourself and project confidence to recruiters to get that job.

MikesFilmTalk: What motivated you to write this book?

Sandra Bellamy: When I was made redundant for the second time in my career in 2009, after dealing with the initial grief, I discovered I had a talent for writing outstanding cover letters to accompany my CVs that got me almost one hundred percent response to my job applications. That seemed unheard of, particularly in a recession. Upon reflection, I realized I had great insight into what an employer was looking for in a CV and cover letter, because I had recruited as part of my management roles. It was then that I decided I could help others who had been made redundant. I wanted to help them get back into work and I could use my passion for writing, to enable me to do this. I noticed how frustrating it was to have to trawl through a plethora of websites searching for jobs, recruitment agencies and courses, as well as trying to learn about the various aspects of redundancy, such as dealing with the grief of it. I wanted just one website to go to, that would give me access to all of these and that’s when I had the idea of www.beatredundancyblues.com and www.beatredundancyblues.co.uk. These websites are your one-stop resources for redundancy, with access to job sites, recruitment sites and course sites, from within the one site. Just like the book, they tackle numerous other redundancy problems such as time management and preparing for an interview.

MikesFilmTalk: Can you expand on your recruitment experience?

Sandra Bellamy: I have worked in management roles for seven years. Part of my management duties entailed interviewing, recruiting, training and coaching staff and I took part in every aspect of the recruitment process from placing the advert to completing staff inductions and training. I have also experienced the other side of the recruitment process, when I was applying for work and being interviewed for jobs whilst redundant. I have been made redundant twice and each time managed to successfully work my way back up the career ladder. It is from experience that I have gained insight into both points of view and I am able to help others.

MikesFilmTalk: You have merged an A-Z guide with a “how to” book, why did you do that?

Sandra Bellamy: Each of its A-Z chapters is about an element of redundancy, and within each chapter it explains how to do things related to that element to break though your barriers of redundancy and beat your redundancy blues. That’s what makes it a quirky book.

MikesFilmTalk: One of your Facebook pages updates stated that you are creating a book trailer. How is that going?

Sandra Bellamy: Great! It’s going to be awesome. It’s something I am really looking forward to and excited about. I haven’t spoken publically about the content of my trailer so you will be the first to know about it. It’s an exclusive. I am working in collaboration with a friend who is studying Television Production in London, in the UK. In fact, he was recently on TV as an audience member of Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, which is an extremely popular show in the UK. At the moment we are still in the early storyboarding stages. Essentially though, it will be a short 2-5 minute video. But we won’t go down the usual root of jobseeker failing to get a job time and time again, and then getting one at the end, because not only is that type of thing predictable; my book is to help people successfully get back into work quicker, with less rejections. Instead, it’s going to be centered on my own redundancy success story, with getting my book published and living the life of my dreams, in the hope to inspire others to achieve theirs. I like to think of it as a mini Hollywood Blockbuster snippet and I am going to be playing my own character, which will be a great quirky concept to intrigue my fans. Expect emotion, drama, and inspiration.

Although my book is a self-help book, it also has an autobiographical element to it. My book tells of my own redundancy success story. About how I had a goal to be a self-employed businesswoman and writer, and despite having a lack of support and belief in my abilities from my nearest and dearest, I managed to achieve it by believing in myself. I want that to be a message to anyone who is reading this post or my book, that you can achieve your dreams, despite facing adversity. That you can achieve anything you put your mind to. I want people to realize that their future is their own to create and that all their choices in life belong to them alone. They can shape their destiny.

MikesFilmTalk: Will this be your first time in front of the camera?

Sandra Bellamy: Oh no! I’ve done quite a number of things in the industry. I was an Extra in the 13th episode, series one, of a show called Torchwood; that was a spin-off from the popular Doctor Who Sci-fi series, in the UK. I was screaming and running away from a monster in a white PVC jacket. I was in the trailer for that too and the Episode was called End of Days, if you want to check it out online. But blink and you may miss me. I have also appeared on Channel 4s The TV Show in the UK, debating some content of the popular reality TV show Big Brother, and that was filmed in front of a live studio audience. My Drama Teacher said that I should go to acting school, but I was too shy back then. I love acting and presenting and was a voluntary hospital radio presenter for 17 years. I have also had a number of work experiences within the media industry, including newspapers.

MikesFilmTalk: What is your goal for the future?

Sandra Bellamy: My goal is to be a world-renowned author with books on a variety of topics to improve people’s personal and professional development, and to be an inspirational speaker on stage in London.

MikesFilmTalk: Your book is available from Amazon?

Sandra Bellamy: You can buy from it from Amazon via Kindle. Like other Kindle books you can download an app if you don’t have a Kindle. Here is the link to the UK site: http://www.amazon.co.uk/BREAK-THROUGH-BARRIERS-REDUNDANCY-GUIDE-ebook/dp/B0128RWB5O and the USA site http://www.amazon.com/BREAK-THROUGH-BARRIERS-REDUNDANCY-GUIDE-ebook/dp/B0128RWB5O I am currently working on a printed version so if anyone would like to be emailed when the printed version is out, they can email me at quirkybooks@quirky-books.co.uk

You can follow Sandra on Facebook: www.facebook.com/beatredundancyblues
www.facebook.com/quirkybooksnet www.facebook.com/sandrabellamyUK

or Twitter: www.twitter.com/beatredundancyb
www.twitter.com/quirkybooksnet www.twitter.com/sandrabellamyUK

or subscribe to Sandra on YouTube www.youtube.com/quirkybooksTV

Stop by and like her book page at http://www.facebook.com/breakthroughthebarriersofredundancybook

MikesFilmTalk: Thanks for taking the time to chat about your new book Sandra!

Sandra Bellamy: Thank you!