(St. Louis Post-Dispatch column, August 12, 2012)
Pink slip. Cardboard
box. Security escort out of the
building. Now what? Here are practical suggestions for you:
1. Get everything owed you. Employers sometimes “forget” severance or
vacation pay or health benefit information.
Study any information you receive, including the company policy book.
2. . . .and then some. Do you want to file a charge against the
company? Talk to a lawyer, but these are
protracted dog fights. Most people move
on.
3. Mourn.
A layoff is a body-blow, even if you hated your job. Work is your identity, it supports your
family. Whether your mourning is to drink or glower in a dark corner, set a
time limit – a day, a week. Then force yourself to start looking.
4. Organize family and finances. Have a family conference. How long can you survive without work? A week?
Six months? Where can you economize? Who else has to get a job? Such conversation will spare later bitterness
if your search takes longer than originally thought.
5. Create a work space. Grab a room – or the corner of one - that will
be exclusively yours. Equip it with
computer and phone. If documents are hither
and yon, so will your efforts be.
6. Decide your NEXT. Is your same job available in another company
or must you consider a career switch?
Who needs your skills? A
competitor? Decide what you want and
what value you bring an employer.
7. Tell everyone. Swallow your pride and your bile, and
tell everyone about your search and the job you want. Get leads from friends
and colleagues and follow up on them. Caution: Your former employer may have been heavy
handed with you, but avoid splashing around verbal acid. Your listeners understand, but still want you
to keep a stiff upper lip.
8. Get help. Were you offered an outplacement firm? USE IT.
If not, try free resources (in the St. Louis area):
Go! Network
314-802-1972
Businesspersons Between Jobs
636-394-1440
SLATE (St. Louis City)
(314) 589-8000
Workforce Development (St. Louis
County)
(314) 679-3300
State of Missouri Career Centers
(jobs.mo.gov)
1-888-728-JOBS (5627)
Missouri AFL-CIO Dislocated Workers Program (http://www.moaflcio.org/resources/index.php)
(573) 634-2115 x119
9. Have a posse. You are now one of the Coffee Shop Set. Smart seekers join an accountability group
that meets regularly to help each other reach their next job. It’s one of your best tools.
10. Get out. Spend time putting together your resume and
cover letter, your contacts, your script for networking calls and the clear
statement of what you’re seeking. You’ll
also research jobs, but after a few days, get away from your computer. Go to job seeker workshops, meet your posse,
have networking lunches. But get out of
your dungeon.
11. Cobble it. Job prospects are better now, but searches still
take awhile. You might need to cobble
together part-time jobs. The first days can
be brutal at less-than jobs; but we can get used to anything. Just do it, and hurry back to your career
field when you can.
Stay diligent and actively engaged, and you’ll succeed.
