Find a Job

While the unemployment figures are trending down, layoffs are still a very real possibility. Here are 10 steps to follow if you have been laid off:

Remain professional to others. A layoff is not a rationalization to finally give everyone a piece of your mind. Don't film a dramatic exit to post on YouTube. This is a heavy time for everyone, even folks who failed to get laid off. Don't contribute any more negativeness.

Stay positive to yourself. This also isn't time for negative self-talk. Perhaps you regret not beginning a job search sooner or not saving more money. Dwelling on what could have been is not likely to help you and will in fact fuel additional anxiety and frustration. Instead , think about obstacles you have overcome in the past to target things that will give you confidence.

Negotiate your package and end date. Severance packages are frequently debatable. Pay attention to your end date because this establishes how long you have insurance, how much of your retirement account vests, or how much paid time off you accrue. Do not feel like you have got to sign anything immediately. Make sure you understand your package and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Consider lateral transfers, both permanent and temporary. Your dep. could be laying off staff, but other areas could be growing. Do not forget to consider subsidiaries or collaborations of your employer. Ask about consulting opportunities; sometimes a department doesn't have permanent headcount but they have a consulting budget and they could benefit from having someone that already knows the internal ropes.

Ready your story to elucidate what happened. When there's a enormous layoff that makes the news, it's easy to summarize your story. In the case of for less well known restructurings, you will need to explain to your network and possible employers what occurred. A brief story will do: "my unit was restructured, or my role was split between 2 more junior hires, or my area moved to headquarters." Confirm your story matches what your boss or any references will say about your departure.

Collect contact information for when you leave. Don't forget to get people's permanent contact information. They may get laid off after you so don't make the assumption their current company information will last. You will not have access to your office apparatus, including an employer-provided cell-phone, so make sure you have contact information in your private files.

Leave on a positive note with your chief, colleagues and HR. When you do finally exit, do not forget to thank everybody. Even for folks who didn't get downsized, they may feel guilty, concerned that they may be next, or engulfed by the predicament of their leaving associates. Your courteous exit will reassure them that you have the confidence to persist and may turn a neutral colleague into an advocate.

Take a bit of time to evaluate and reflect. This is an enormous change so don't feel like you have to go from your job to your job search immediately. Do not be afraid to take a few days to attend to all the private projects you might have shelved: home upkeep, doctor's appointments, catching up with acquaintances and family.

Run the numbers on your cash situation. That said , don't undervalue the time it will take to search. You are coming into the job market along with lots of others. You might not have looked for a job in years. Now that you know your golden goodbye, work out how much time you've got for your search. You need to plan on at least 3 months for your search, so if you do not have the money to cover that, target getting temporary or consulting work to reinforce your money position.

Launch a proactive, considerate job search. Don't just blindly send resumes in a frantic attempt to find something. Yes, you want to find a job, but you also wish to find the right job. What's the right job at the moment? It could be a short lived one for cash flow. It might be a lateral move to learn some new abilities. It might be moving to a different industry that has always interested you. The silver lining of a layoff is that you have this opportunity to discover a new job. Would you take your previous job all over again? If that is the case then you know to search for the same industry, functional area and type of company. But if not, then explore what would be a smarter choice this time and execute your job search to find this better job.