Lou Clark
Lou Clark is a Career and Interview Coach and founder of Être Coaching based in NYC. With a successful background in Human Resource Management, formal coach training & accreditation with the ICF, Lou is experienced in providing interview, resume and career coaching. Visit Etre Coaching!
View all articles by Lou Clark
In this economy I am sure everyone knows someone who has been laid off as organizations downsize, close down or re-organize. Not everyone will react to being laid off in the same way with some seeing this as a blessing in disguise and others suffering from a crisis of confidence. Whatever the comfort level there are a number of recommended steps to take to regain control and confidence and develop successful job search strategies.
Step 1
Take 2/3 days off. This may sound strange as all you think you should be doing is getting out there and finding reassurance that you have work but what you actually need is time to refuel and re-energize and get yourself back on track. Searching for a new position or career can be an emotionally and physically challenging time so take time out to be prepared.
Step 2
Check in with your confidence levels. Being laid off can be a blow to your self confidence even if you know that it wasn’t personal. Even if this isn’t immediately obvious, low self confidence can affect the quality of your resume, your ability to deliver a good interview and ultimately your success in the job market. I recommend using a simple resume review technique to test your personal and professional confidence levels.
Exercise – Read through your resume and write out 2 or 3 success stories for each position you have held. Make sure your success stories include the challenge or problem you faced, the actions that you took, the results / successes that you had and finally note the skills and strengths that these success stories show that you have.
How easy did you find this? If this was more difficult than you thought then seek out a friend, mentor or professional career coach to brainstorm with you to identify your key success stories.
Step 3
Clarify your next steps, set a realistic timeline (e.g. how long will for finances support you out of work) and finally be realistic in your choice of next steps. Easy? I didn’t think so!
When you have been
laid you really have 3 main paths to take -
A – Stay in the same industry doing the same job
B – Stay in the same industry doing a different job
C – Do something completely new and different
Whatever decision you make you will need to check in to review how realistic that option is. For example, if you worked as a Trader for Bear Sterns and wanted to do the same job in the same industry I would recommend doing some research into how realistic it would be to get a trading position within your required timeline. Or another example, you worked as a Trader for Bear Sterns and now want to set up your own business as a plumber – you again would need to review how realistic this is. What resources, training, funding would you need? How soon can you be working and does this fit my timeline? Be realistic.
If this process becomes overwhelming then contact a qualified career coach to help you sift through your thoughts and brainstorm about the next steps.
Step 4
Now you have assessed your decision, know your timeline for success and feel confident you are on a realistic path toward your ideal professional life, you need to set an action plan and stick to it! Here are 7 questions to get you started.
• What marketing materials do you need? (resume, website, biography?)
• Who do you know who you need to re-connect and network with? (old school friends, teachers, bosses, former colleagues)
• Who do you not know who you want to connect or network with? (review linked-in and identify companies to want to work for or businesses you want to align with)
• Who is doing what you do and how did they get into it? (competitors)
• What resources are available to help you? (recruiters, networking companies)
• What obstacles do you see might get in your way and how can you plan ways to overcome them now? (time, family pressures, job market)
• How will you know you have been successful? (I will have a job, I will have met 20 new people)
If this process becomes overwhelming then contact a qualified career coach to help you sift through your thoughts and brainstorm about the next steps.
Step 1
Take 2/3 days off. This may sound strange as all you think you should be doing is getting out there and finding reassurance that you have work but what you actually need is time to refuel and re-energize and get yourself back on track. Searching for a new position or career can be an emotionally and physically challenging time so take time out to be prepared.
Step 2
Check in with your confidence levels. Being laid off can be a blow to your self confidence even if you know that it wasn’t personal. Even if this isn’t immediately obvious, low self confidence can affect the quality of your resume, your ability to deliver a good interview and ultimately your success in the job market. I recommend using a simple resume review technique to test your personal and professional confidence levels.
Exercise – Read through your resume and write out 2 or 3 success stories for each position you have held. Make sure your success stories include the challenge or problem you faced, the actions that you took, the results / successes that you had and finally note the skills and strengths that these success stories show that you have.
How easy did you find this? If this was more difficult than you thought then seek out a friend, mentor or professional career coach to brainstorm with you to identify your key success stories.
Step 3
Clarify your next steps, set a realistic timeline (e.g. how long will for finances support you out of work) and finally be realistic in your choice of next steps. Easy? I didn’t think so!
When you have been
A – Stay in the same industry doing the same job
B – Stay in the same industry doing a different job
C – Do something completely new and different
Whatever decision you make you will need to check in to review how realistic that option is. For example, if you worked as a Trader for Bear Sterns and wanted to do the same job in the same industry I would recommend doing some research into how realistic it would be to get a trading position within your required timeline. Or another example, you worked as a Trader for Bear Sterns and now want to set up your own business as a plumber – you again would need to review how realistic this is. What resources, training, funding would you need? How soon can you be working and does this fit my timeline? Be realistic.
If this process becomes overwhelming then contact a qualified career coach to help you sift through your thoughts and brainstorm about the next steps.
Step 4
Now you have assessed your decision, know your timeline for success and feel confident you are on a realistic path toward your ideal professional life, you need to set an action plan and stick to it! Here are 7 questions to get you started.
• What marketing materials do you need? (resume, website, biography?)
• Who do you know who you need to re-connect and network with? (old school friends, teachers, bosses, former colleagues)
• Who do you not know who you want to connect or network with? (review linked-in and identify companies to want to work for or businesses you want to align with)
• Who is doing what you do and how did they get into it? (competitors)
• What resources are available to help you? (recruiters, networking companies)
• What obstacles do you see might get in your way and how can you plan ways to overcome them now? (time, family pressures, job market)
• How will you know you have been successful? (I will have a job, I will have met 20 new people)
If this process becomes overwhelming then contact a qualified career coach to help you sift through your thoughts and brainstorm about the next steps.
