In my last post, I addressed layoffs from the company's standpoint. Now, I wanted to flip the coin and talk briefly about them from the employee's side. Being laid off has three problems: the emotional cost, the financial cost and the opportunity cost. I'd like to offer a solution for how to address each if you've recently been laid off, or want to improve your chances of being the one they keep.
Think of this as Personal Performance Optimization.
Let's start with the emotional cost. You didn't get fired for cause (at least I'm assuming, and if you did, that's a different post!), you got laid off. Think of yourself as a bill that didn't get paid, and now you need to provide your service to someone who has more money. There might be relief if you hated your job or anger or sadness if you loved it. Maybe it was just pleasant. First things first. Unless you have a year's liquid savings (liquid = money market accounts or CD ladders and NOT your 401(k), home equity loan, etc), you should consider your new full time job looking for a full time job. By that, I mean to take the following steps:
1) Make a list of everyone you know. And I mean everyone! Neighbors, the mailman, your stylist, your accountant, your favorite barista. Your weaker social connections, folks that you see a few times a year or friends of friends, are most likely to help you get jobs. Your best friends and immediate family probably know most of the same people you do. Get the word out you're looking for a new job. You never know who knows who unless you ask, and they know what you do and who you're looking to meet. Social networking sites like LinkedIn and FaceBook are helpful for keeping track of and making new connections. 70-80% of jobs are filled on personal connections. So let's get you connected!
2) Update your resume, and make sure you strip all the meaningless wording out of it. The objective "A strategic position using my strengths to create win-win opportunities" (by the way, taken off an actual resume I received!) makes me think that not only do I have no idea what you want to do, you don't either. A better objective is "A full time position as a tax lawyer" or "Telecommuting Contract Work as an Adobe Flash/Flex developer."
3) Take stock of your current (or most recently had) position. What did you like? Hate? Think was fascinating or completely boring? Talk to friends in your field and ask them what they think you'd be good at. Take an IDAK test (a career assessment test that helps you mine out your strengths/likes and dislikes/weaknesses and then gives you a subscription to a job board).
4) DON'T get in the trap of either thinking of this as a rut or an extended vacation. And don't worry! Even in the worst markets, there are still a lot of people out there hiring.
Second, let's talk about the financial cost. If you have plenty of savings and no debt, well done! If you don't, I recommend taking your severance package (if you got one), and budgeting out as many complete months of bills as it will pay, then write the checks out and act like the money's not in your account. Being laid off in January and knowing that you're okay until March is of tremendous comfort. Then, start paring down your life. Being laid off is a great time to think about what you actually want to spend money on. Cancel any misc. services like cable, extra phone/fax (if you have a cell and a land line both), housekeeping, massages. If you're in big trouble, get a night job driving pizzas or bar tending, and concentrate your days on scouting out companies you want to work for.
Be realistic in the jobs you're looking for. Be prepared to negotiate an offer that you'll be happy with for a year. Prospective employers will give you some freshman forgiveness if you job-hop a lot in your early 20's. But if you're still doing it in your early 40's, it makes you seem unstable. Think about the benefits that are most valuable to you. Money is important, but so is the quality of your outside life. Are you a mom who wants to be home every day by 3:00? Are you a community activist who considers a company's philanthropy as important as their product? Are you a road warrior? Think through the atmosphere of the job as much as the comp package.
But... don't be afraid to try something new! If you've always been an employee, try independent contracting. If you're mobile, try a new city. I moved from my hometown Cincinnati to Columbus to Cleveland to Denver. It wasn't a path I expected but I made some wonderful friends along the way.
Lastly, let's talk about the opportunity cost. If you're holding out for the perfect job, it doesn't exist. But you can make any job a great job by following these three rules:
1) Get your boss promoted. If you interview with someone who comes across as someone you wouldn't want to push up the corporate ladder, don't work for him. Trust your instincts here. I either have the luckiest streak in the world or just decent instincts about this because I've truly liked and respected every boss I've ever worked for, and they've all been promoted while I was on the team.
2) Make lots of acquaintances. If you work in a larger company, organize a round-table lunch with other departments. Talking to people on the phone or through memos for a year can't do as much for a relationship as getting to know them face to face.
3) Learn about how you can make other people look good. Get in the habit of sending short (1-2 sentence) emails to people's bosses if they do a particularly great job or a favor for you. Sending it to them is nice, but most bosses will send it to them anyway with an additional kudos or more. If you have a good idea, talk about it with co-workers and if they can add to it or make it better, present it jointly.
I love helping other people get connected to jobs they love. If I can help you, please ask! :)
