Redundancy is never easy. Even in a field as dynamic and creative as marketing, restructures, mergers, budget cuts, or a shift in strategy can leave brilliant marketers suddenly back on the job market.
If this is you right now, remember: redundancy is a reflection of business change.
It is NOT a reflection of your talent, value, or future potential.
As someone who has worked with marketing candidates for years, I understand firsthand how disorientating redundancy can feel. But I also know this: many marketers look back on redundancy as the reset that led them to more fulfilling, exciting roles.
1. Step Back Before You Step Forward
Marketers are used to running at full speed,deadlines, campaigns, last-minute briefs. When redundancy happens, the instinct is to throw that same energy into job hunting.
But the most successful transitions I have seen are the ones where candidates paused first. Reflect on which areas of marketing energise you most;brand, digital, content, or strategy. Use those insights to guide your job search, not scattergun it.
2. Treat Job Hunting Like a Campaign
Think of your search as a marketing campaign:
· Budget: 2–3 hours of focused effort per day.
· Target audience: industries, companies, and leaders you want to work with.
· Channels: LinkedIn, recruiters, your network.
· Content: your CV, LinkedIn, and the story you tell in interviews.
· Consistency beats scattergun every time.
· Protect Your Confidence
Hiring cycles are slower right now. Rejections and silence often reflect market conditions, not your talent. Protect your personal brand equity and do NOT take rejection too personally. (And ask for feedback, if possible to help you improve in the next process)
3. Use Your Network, it is What Marketers Do Best
Great marketers build communities. Use that skill for yourself:
· Share insights online.
· Reconnect with colleagues, agencies, partners.
· Let people know that you are in the market (there is no shame in it)
· Many marketing roles are filled through referral, not ads.
4. Tell a Story, Because That’s What You Do
Marketers are natural storytellers. In interviews:
· Talk about how you shifted perception, drove leads, or built brand awareness.
· Show the measurable impact of your work.
5. Redundancy as a Reset
The industry is evolving;AI, ESG, brand purpose, data-driven performance. Redundancy might be the chance to pivot into an area you have always wanted to explore. Marketing roles are often offered on a contract basis – taking on a short term contract is a great way to learn new skills, explore new industries and make more connections.
The end of one role can be the start of something better aligned with your skills, passions, and future.
6. Guarding Your Self-Worth in a Noisy Market
Redundancy and job searching can test your resilience, but your value does not disappear just because one employer failed to reply. One of the biggest frustrations I hear from marketers on the job hunt today is the silence, you spend time crafting applications, even progressing through interviews, only to be met with nothing but ghosting.
It’s disheartening, but it’s also a symptom of overloaded hiring processes, not a reflection of your ability. Your self-worth cannot be measured by someone else’s response speed or lack of it.
Protecting your confidence is as important as polishing your CV.
If you are a marketer facing redundancy, don’t go it alone. Reach out, connect, and have conversations. Sometimes one chat can change your whole perspective.