Wisdom from The Action Wisdom In Action

Finding a Job During a Recession

Finding a new job after being laid off has never been easy. Employers tend to look at the unemployed with a high degree of skepticism. Fortunately, for many years, re-employment was made much easier by a relatively tight job market. Gone are those days.

Now, I am not an employment counselor or career coach. But, I have a large group of high performers that I mentor and recently more of our discussions have revolved around the issue of job loss and getting redeployed. From those discussions, I want to share ten tips for getting re-employed in the shortest possible time.

1. Get started immediately upon losing your job. This is not a time to take that well deserved two week vacation. Or paint the house. Or… Take a very quick, clear your head break and get on with finding your next position. Please!
2. Work hard at finding your next position. The market is tough and getting tougher by the day. If you are not working harder than you ever have, in trying to get a replacement job, you are not working harder enough. Work hard, and don’t kid yourself as to how hard you are working. Please!
3. Be in the best physical shape of your life. Employers will be looking for employees that they believe have the vitality to help their company survive in these tough times. And, they certainly don’t want to hire someone who is walking medical disaster waiting to happen. Get in great shape. Please!
4. Be in good mental and emotional shape. This may be the toughest of the ten steps. Get the help you need from professionals or community based support groups so you are tuned for success. Please!
5. Become a Career Expert. Read What Color is Your Parachute. Through regular updates, this book is as useful as ever in stretching ones thinking about career options. You must think outside the box as to your job options. Couple that book with one of the current leading books on finding a new job. And read up on things like claiming unemployment, Cobra, downsizing your expenditures, and the like. Become an expert on career transitions. Please!
6. Become a LinkedIn star. White collar workers must quickly get their LinkedIn profile shining. Shining! Employees will want to hire employers that have a public persona of being successful and well connected. Set a goal of having at least five quality recommendations and fifty quality contacts listed within thirty days. Please!
7. Aggressively pursue potential jobs from all angles. Put on your marketing hat. Segment the market (both by types of jobs and by sources) and prioritize and attack. This attack mode will serve you well in your pursuit and keep your business skills sharp. Get on with marketing YOU. Please!
8. Polish your interviewing skills. Opportunities will be scarce. When you find one, you must be ready to score. Have a friend play the employer and tape some practice interviews. Then be real in reviewing the results. Practice, practice, practice. Please!
9. Understand rapidly changing compensation trends. Expect employers to pay far less than they were 3-6 months ago. Expect them to compare you to an entry level person. Understand that compensation is being turned on its head. Comp is not about your needs…it is about the employer’s needs. Think value and be able to clearly articulate the value you can bring to the company. Please!
10. Install an accountability and support structure. These are times when anyone other than the most disciplined will need a mechanism to hold you accountable. Friends or a spouse are often ill equipped to play this role. Get a coach, or join a support group, or form your very own master mind group. Get some accountability and explicitly tell your support that you really, really want them holding you accountable. Please!

Of course, the real answer is to hold on to the job you have. But, if you are among the many, many thousands who will find themselves unemployed, get real…real quickly.

Some of the unemployed will want to consider starting their own business...and for some, but definitely not everyone, that is an option (and a topic of future posts).

One last thing…if you are fortunate enough to still have a job, email this list to a friend(s) that has lost his or her job. They will (hopefully) appreciate your caring. Who knows? The table could well be reversed sometime soon.

Starting Tomorrow: A six part series on why I expect the recession to be deeper and longer than many currently expect...and why I believe that there will be opportunities to prosper nevertheless.

Posted by Cute at 6:57 PM