Came across a pretty good scheme run by Department of Social Welfare in conjunction your Area Partnership Company which provides supports to people who've been in receipt of social welfare. The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance provides a cushion for those embarking on the road to self employment as it allows you to maintain 100% of your social welfare payments for year 1 and 75% for year 2. Of course there are strings attached and rules and regulations but it's certainly worth checking out.

Labels: contracting, Redundancy, self-employed

Well tomorrow's Think2Act conference takes place tomorrow and promises to be an excellent free event for anyone who has recently been made redundant or seeking change.

Mayo's Open Coffee Club are hosting their next event on Wednesday July 1st in the Civic Centre in Belmullet.

The 121 Marketing Network on LinkedIn will be having their First Wednesday event this Wednesday July 1st in the Mint Bar in the Westin Hotel in Dublin city centre. I wrote a case study about the founder a few months back and definitely worth a visit.

Digital Tonic #10 takes place this Thursday July 2nd in Bar Number 3, 3 Fade Street in Dublin city centre. Digital Tonic is a free networking event for digital media professionals in Ireland.

Next Wednesday, July 8th, ICAD are hosting a creative coffee collective inviting anyone who has been made redundant, freelancers and/or people available to meet and chat at 11 in the Radisson on Golden Lane to explore how ICAD could be of help during these tough times.

While on Wednesday evening,there is the inaugural free Business Networking event in Bewleys Hotel in Ballsbridge at 6 p.m. The plan is to run monthly events for a year and it's strictly for business owners only.

So that should keep you busy for the next two weeks, for the record Flexitimers is not affiliated with any of the events and hope they are worthwhile. If you'd like to be included in this round-up, feel free to email me your events two weeks in advance.
Get out there and make your own luck and enjoy yourself. A smile costs nothing!

Labels: Recession, Redundancy, social networking

Came across an article on Business World via the Irish Business and Professional Network on LinkedIn. It talks about Confidence in Action a new initiative - a series of FREE seminars aiming to help companies and individuals navigate their way around this recession. So far events have been organised for Dublin, Cork and Limerick starting in September. They've assembled a very impressive line up of speakers ranging from economists,entrepreneurs and media hacks. It's a morning til night affair starting with breakfast at 9 and ending with networking from 6-7. All seminars are free but you have to register, you also have to register for each seminar individually. My registration submission returned an error but I think it's worth trying again. Maybe see you there.

Labels: Flexitimers, Recession, Redundancy, self-employed, small business

I've been in correspondence with George Michalski over the past few months who is involved in LifeWise - a dedicated website for the over 50s in Ireland. I have to say I really like this idea, LifeWise.ie provides an exciting range of products and services to suit the lifestyle of the Irish over-50s. Categories such as Health, Leisure, Travel, Finance and Retail feature editorials and special offers. They've lots of interesting news and blog posts such as advice for those recently made redundant offering tips and advice. Recession is a tough time for all of us but I think it can be particularly tough for the over 50s who may feel it's too late to retrain. I really hope George's site takes off and we at Flexitimers wish them all the best.

Labels: Recession, Redundancy

Heard about this conference via the Dublin City Enterprise Board Newsletter.
National College of Ireland will host and sponsor Think2Act, a free conference for people who have recently been made redundant or are considering taking new steps in their career. The conference which takes place on Tuesday 30 June will encompass the theme of 'change', seeks to change the recession mindset through expert advice and transformational coaching. It's FREE and has lots of advice and tips for people seeking change including experts in career coaching and psychology. Really worth a visit.


For further information, visit the conference page or contact:
Contact Details:
Dr. Celine Mullins
celine.mullins@a4b.ie
0863637019
Eibhlin Johnston
Eibhlin@thinkcoaching.ie
087 8583564

Labels: jobs, Recession, Redundancy, self-employed, small business

If you've been recently made redundant well then this case study I wrote for the Irish Internet Association might cheer you up. It's a story about a fellow marketer called Karina Heavey who was made redundant in January this year but instead of sitting back waiting for the recession to go away, she got proactive and got seriously engaged in social media. Although an experienced marketer, she'd no experience or expertise in social networks but with some extra time and a lot of drive, she turned that around. The story has a happy ending too. Go on, get active, get online and create your own luck too.

Labels: IIA SMWG, jobs, Recession, Redundancy, social media, social networking

Clodagh Hughes from Motive8 is another woman on a mission to encourage positivity and action
that 'will get us through this difficult period with a little less stress and a lot more control over the final outcome'. To this end, she's organising Your Best Year Yet Individual Workshop in Killiney Castle on March 27th. Anyone who is unemployed /redundant pays just for lunch (20 euro) which I think is incredibly generous and indicative of the new beat the recession Ireland which is supportive and the antithesis of the rip-off boom years. Well done and best of luck with the event.

Labels: jobs, Recession, Redundancy

If you've recently been made redundant or are just looking for work, maybe it's time to dust off that CV and tidy it up. I came across a free CV service called CV Cafe which just might be the ticket. Some of the benefits are:
- It's a free website where a simple fill-in form builds your CV for you.
- Takes the stress away from not knowing what format employers want it.
- You chose a template and download it to your PC.
- With hints and tips along the way which makes writing your CV easy.

It's relevant, useful and free so definitely worth a shot.

Labels: jobs, Redundancy, work

Flexitimers are attending a half-day seminar today for managers/professionals impacted by recent down-sizing and redundancies and impending career challenges in 2009. The Starting Today seminar was organised by Joan Mulvihill, who was recently made redundant from a senior management position at BDO Simpson Xavier. Joan hopes this seminar will answer two types of questions facing people in a similar position - the macro life-affirming stuff and the nitty gritty details of moving forward. There's an impressive line up of speakers, networking opportunities and tips for anyone. Worth a visit and I'll update you on any tips and tricks I gleam from it. Well done Joan Mulvihill.

Labels: Flexitimers, Out and About, Redundancy