Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

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By admin, December 3, 2008 11:31 am

Lay offs hurt every one. No one benefits from them, not even the companies forced to take such a drastic action. PR issues aside, the internal climate of any company who has laid off staff is not the most productive.

For the person laid off, the rage and confusion are part of the package. It is not unusual to be frozen with fear or resentment. Many people plunge into a temporary depression. Feelings of powerlessness over one’s life are inevitable. And while these are neither unusual nor unexpected reactions, they must be overcome in order to proceed with the search for a new job.

What can you do to scale the hurdle of the potentially debilitating affects of a lay off? Take Action. Get control back in your life. Control what you can and acknowledge that control and every minor success that brings.

1. Gather all your job search essentials in one place and make it “Job Search Central.” Go to “work” each day with a clear focus on your objectives.
2. Create a to-do list each night before retiring. Make it manageable with achievable items. Make four phone calls and three emails to former employees is doable. Get six leads to jobs is not. That may be the outcome, but it is what you do to get those leads that belongs on the list.
3. Your new job is looking for a job. When your children or relatives say you are unemployed, make it clear your employment is intense and purposeful. Mention a goal achieved such as your research on prospective employers and who you might contact.
4. Suit up. Don’t give in to the temptation of lounging around in sweats and flip flops. Put on decent attire and you will be more professional in your search activities even if they are conducted from the privacy of your own home.
5. Don’t complain. Remind yourself of your significant accomplishments. Make your elevator pitch your mantra and use it to drown out the negative voices.
6. Don’t let others complain. When those around you want to discuss all the horrible layoffs, the poor job market or their other friends who have been out of work for six months, respond with comments about what you achieved. For example: “I connected with four people who have referred me to people who can help me.”
7. Be good to yourself. This is no time to engage in self punishment. Drink that favorite tea, soak in a foamy tub or take a hike in your favorite place.
8. Set some time aside each day for your favorite computer game, or call a friend and tell a joke. Do something completely different.
9. Create a job search budget. Include your new suit and all those coffee dates. If you chose to work with a well chosen professional your time for reemployment will be shorter than if you didn’t, so don’t be too frugal when making your budget. If you know what you have allotted it is easier to relax when you spend a few bucks to have the car washed.

At the end of each day, before you create your to-do list, brag. Call someone up, talk to your partner, brag. Talk about completing your to-do list or getting through to a difficult to connect with executive. Mention the best answer you gave during an interview. Keep a journal each day of all your accomplishments and brag about them before you retire. You will find it much easier to get up in the morning to start over again.

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By admin, November 19, 2008 8:14 pm

Steps you can take to Avoid being laid off.

Layoffs and cuts back are forecast through out every US industry.  If one believes this view of the employment future, how should you prepare?  If you feel you are at risk, what can you do to manage the threat?

Middle Managers and Top Sales Executives are typically the first to go.  Their jobs are easily spread among others or disappeared completely.  And their job titles represent the most common in corporate America.  How do you protect yourself from being one of the many?  How do you make certain you can find another job?

How do you protect your job?

If decisions are made to cut the product or team, you have little recourse.  But there are steps to take to remove the bulls eye from your back:Your first defense against a layoff is to make absolutely certain you are doing your job to the best of your ability and you are exceeding corporate expectations.  Ask your manager what you can do better.  Then do it.

• Look for ways to save money in your department.  Demonstrate fiscal responsibility and help your employees do the same.  Let management know what you are doing and offer to help other departments do the same.
• Look around the company to discover vital tasks that need doing and which will contribute to the bottom line in either savings or new customer acquisition.
• Keep in mind your customers are having similar problems.  Propose ways to partner with them to prevent a crisis.
• Suggest ideas which are vital to improving the products or services the company sells at little or no cost.
• Work hard to demonstrate your concern for customer retention.  Sell your ideas on how better to service the customer base without spending more money.
• Communicate your efforts to other departments and become known within the corporation as the go-to person for mentoring and solutions critical to keeping the company on track.
• Take credit when you do any of the above and let management know you are vital to the corporate mission.
• Last, but not least, now is the time to network, network, network.  When the time comes, you will already have a leg up on the competiton.

It happened: Often you have no way to protect yourself from a layoff.  Here’s what you can do to make yourself employable even in a down market filled with many others after the same spot you hope to land.

• Ascertain what distinguishes you from all the other candidates who do what you do.  Lead with it as you approach opportunities.
• Determine the single highest priority hiring companies look for in a new hire in your position.  Define yourself as the embodiment of that priority.
• Line up your references to taut your abilities and experience in that area.
• Target companies smaller than the one you left and represent yourself as an expert who can not only do the job, but as someone who can train and cross train the department to weather the downturn in business.

Above all else, always appear confident. Remind yourself daily of your successes and remember it is the economy, not your abilities that caused your unemployment.  Self assured people always get top consideration for new opportunities regardless of the employment market.

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