Being Laid Off - 4 Steps to go From a Layoff to an Amazing Job - Part 2

In Part 1 of the Being Laid Off - 4 Steps to go From a Layoff to an Amazing Job series we looked at the first 2 steps to recover from being laid off.  Today we continue with the next two steps.

Move from survival mode to attack mode

If you did step 2 right, you will now have rearranged your affairs so that even after being laid off there is some sort of income coming in and it either meets your expenses or at least comes pretty close. In other words, you have bought yourself some valuable time. Now it is time to move into high gear. You want to use the time you have bought to open up job opportunities on literally dozens of fronts.

Step 1 - Post your resume to every large job board on the internet. Really spread it around. Start with Monster, Dice, Career Builder, TheLadders, Net-temps and others. Then do a Google search on job listings to find all the smaller and regional job boards. Most folks ignore the smaller sites after being laid off. You should not make that mistake. Do not stop with just posting your resume either. Also make a daily practice of searching the listings on each job board and responding to jobs that look like a great fit. It is important to run your searches every day so that when a new job appears you will be among the first to apply. Remember that most folks do some job searching after being laid off so the market can be rather competitive.  It pays to be first in line.

Step 2 - Make a list of every company you would like to work for. Try to get at least 30 - 50 names…..and the larger the business the better. Then check the job listings on each corporate web page at least once per week. Most large firms post new job openings on their corporate web site as they become available. You should keep adding companies to your weekly list until you find that every week you have at least 10 new openings to peruse.

When you find a job opening that looks good fill out an online application and submit your resume. Then record the job title, job number or identifier, the date you applied and the phone number of the HR department in a notebook. You will need this information because you should then call the HR department to follow up on every job you apply for. When you call ask if your application has been forwarded to the hiring manager, if the hiring manager has provided any feedback and if there are any other job openings that you might be qualified for.  One of the advantages of being laid off is that you have lots of time available to you. Use that time to search as thoroughly as possible.

Step 3 - Make a list of everyone you know who works at a company that might offer the type of job you are seeking. Send each person on this list a copy of your resume and ask if they are aware of any openings at the company where they work. Then ask them if they have friends at other companies that might be aware of an opening. This kind of networking is important because many jobs get filled before they are ever advertised because somebody knew someone who was available.

Step 4 - Try creating a job opening where none exists. Sometimes, through shear persistence, you can get someone to hire you when they are not even looking for help.

It worked for Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. He got his first job at Starbucks by walking into the store and asking the manager to hire him. The manager rejected the offer at first so Howard returned to the store every chance he got and each time repeated his request to be hired. This continued for almost a full year until one day the management gave in and hired Mr. Schultz and the rest, as they say, is history.

Move from attack mode to conquest mode.

Now the fun begins. After being laid off you have built a solid support system during survival mode so that you have the time to be selective about the job you will accept. You have planted a lot of seed during attack mode so that multiple job openings should be coming across your path at regular intervals. Now, in conquest mode you want to play one opportunity against another and negotiate for the best possible deal. Your acceptance criteria should be that the new job is clearly better than your old job in whatever way means the most to you. Some folks want better hours, some want a higher salary, others want a chance to learn new skills. The criteria will vary from one person to another but the key is to know what counts for you and to go for it. This is where you turn being laid off into a blessing in disguise.

The key here is persistence. Keep up your search for a really great job for as long as it takes. The perfect opportunity may not come along right away. As long as your temporary support system is in place and your expenses are low, hold out for a great offer and when it comes try to negotiate for an even better offer.
 
Now you can see why the sacrifice of survival mode and the hard work of attack mode are so critical. If you try to skip over these two steps and land your dream job immediately after being laid off you will probably fail because you won’t have the financial staying power to hold out for a great opportunity and you won’t have the courage to negotiate a great deal when you get an offer. Rather, you will most likely take whatever you can get as fast as you can get it. It is also much easier as a Christian to take time to pray about potential job opportunities and wait for a strong sense about where God would have you go next if you are not under pressure to find something fast.

In the next installment of the Being Laid Off series I’ll show you how I applied these techniques in real life.

Stumble it!

Tags: career, Christian, job, laid off, work