Recovery and Job Hunting Steps After a Layoff
by For those Americans recently laid off, six steps are presented to aid in your emotional and financial recoveries, then the search for a new job. These steps are presented with a little humor from a fellow layoff victim.
Step 4. Scour the ads. Ideally, check the classified ads in professional and trade media outlets. Rarely will you find ads for good jobs in your local newspaper. You’re much more likely to find ads for quality jobs in magazines, journals, and internet sites dedicated to your profession. For me, as a chemist, the best job listings were posted by the American Chemical Society, our main professional association, and in their weekly newsmagazine, Chemical and Engineering News. If you’re not already a member of an organization for your trade, do a Google search and try to find one.
Step 5. Build a strong resume. Sell yourself, your talents, experience, and accomplishments in a professional looking resume. Keep it to one or two pages, and really point out what skills you can bring to a new organization. Be sure to use spell check and have someone check your grammar. A resume full of typos or poor grammar shows that you are an idiot and you’ll never get hired. Send it in with a cover letter to the contact you identified from above.
Step 6. Sharpen your skills. Use your free time for self-improvement as much as you can. Read to stay current with the latest developments in your field. Go online or visit a library. This step is probably the hardest because you may still be angry and depressed, but it’ll pay off. To make the best impression during a job interview you’ll want to show your motivation toward keeping your skills sharp.
Be patient. It may take several weeks or even months to find the job you really want. Keep trying. If you haven’t heard from a company you applied to after several weeks, contact them again. Stay positive and upbeat. Most of all, good luck. I’m pulling for you.
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