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According to the Chancellor of the Exchequer the government will find a further £5bn in efficiency savings in 2010/11. ‘Efficiency savings’ can be a code word for job losses. Job losses instigated by the government are likely to occur within the civil service. So what if you are a civil servant threatened by redundancy? What can you do? If there are few job opportunities in the civil service, should you move into the commercial world?  

There are big cultural differences between the public sector, into which the civil service falls, and the private sector. It is not always easy to make a transition. In very general terms, the public sector considers the private to be aggressive, profit driven and uncaring, whilst the private sector considers the public to be paternalistic, slow and inefficient. Neither sterotype is correct but there is some truth in each, and if you are considering a move from the public to the private it is worth focusing on the cultural differences before deciding whether to make the switch.

Ultimately it comes down to values. What do you want from your job? If you believe that the purpose of your work is to have a positive impact on the world around you, to improve services, to help others, or in fact anything with a beneficial social purpose then you are likely to find the public sector a more worthwhile place to be. If you enjoy a competitive environment, the business ethic, or being part of a company that measures success through profit, the private sector is more likely to be for you. You will flourish in the enviroment that you value the most.

The more that you can understand your values, and how they impact on your career, the easier it will be for you to make successful career decisions. Career Energy can conduct a values audit for you so that you can be confident you are getting it right. If you weould like to discuss this, please let me know.

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Tags: Career Change, Civil Sevice, Job Losses, jobs, Pre Budget Report, Public Sector, Redundancy

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 8:42 pm and is filed under Career Advice, Career Change, Getting A New Job, Redundancy . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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