Here are just a few of the emails we’ve received from folks asking for help when dealing with layoffs:
I’ve just been laid off. What should I do?
Take a deep breath. Go home. Make a plan.
Take a deep breath so you don’t say something you’ll regret later. It’s a small world. The people you work with today can be the ones you’ll work with tomorrow, so be advised, speak with care. And, speak up: let people know that you’ve enjoyed working with them and that you’d welcome the opportunity to work with them again. Then, go home.
Talk to your family and friends. Describe the reality you face and the practical and pragmatic way you’ll work your way through it. Companies survive economic downturns by streamlining systems and paring payrolls. Many hard working people are asked to leave, not because they caused a problem, or failed to solve it. Endings and beginnings are as much a part of the employment cycle as they are the life cycle. We don’t have to like it. We do have to manage it. That requires having a good exit strategy and an effective re-employment plan.
A plan is as effective as the person who works it. A re-employment plan includes the essentials for career search: An updated resume and a comprehensive list of names and phone numbers of networking contacts.
Your resume should be as succinct as it is accurate. Organize it in reverse chronological order; outline your responsibilities and bullet point your accomplishments.
Your networking list should include names and contact information for people you know and respect, who know people that hire people. You activate the list as soon as you provide your contact an accurate description of the work you want, why you want it, and how an organization can benefit from hiring you to do it.
What’s should I do if layoffs are on the way?
Resist your inclination to hide, duck, or walk around with a bag on your head. The more invisible you become the less valuable you are. Who needs to hang onto someone who’s never where you need him to be? Who needs someone who looks the other way when there’s work to be done? This is the time (it’s always the time) to step up. Everyone has more to do than they can possibly handle so pitch in and help. Want to increase your productivity? Look for ways to cross train. Stay away from naysayers and doomsdayers; they’ll take you and anyone within earshot from pragmatic optimism to the halls of ain’t-it-awful.
Should I tell my family I might get laid off? I don’t want to worry them.
They’re already worried. Anyone with a television or newspaper knows the economy is tipsy and layoffs abound. Confront family fears head on with a candid discussion of what’s real, what’s not, and how to tell the difference. Knowledge is power. The more they know, the better able they are to handle it what lies ahead. Share your job search strategy with them and keep them posted as to your progress. They want to know that you have a plan and you’re working it. There’s a role that every person in the family can play, so let them know how they can help.
Are there ways to safeguard my job when others are losing theirs?
When layoffs are wholesale the best thing you can do is to mobilize your job search plan. When companies are selective about those they keep, they hold onto the people who directly or indirectly make them money and let go of the ones who spend it; they keep the most productive of the lot and let the least productive go. If you want to make the cut, in good times and bad, be sure that you contribute to the bottom line. There are a variety of ways that you can do that. Save the company time and money by expediting and streamlining processes; solve problems; talk less and do more. Combine creative problem solving and efficiencies, manage tasks and lead people. Take charge of your job and your life.
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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:
Joyce Richman (www.joycerichman.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started her own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.
