“Who are you?” I asked. “And what did you do with the person I knew?”
We both knew the answer. Will had lost his job and his way back to security. He was devastated by a lay off he knew was coming but took no action to avoid.
The Will I had known in better times had been fun, feisty, and full of energy. Now he looked lifeless. The switch was off and the lights were out. He said he was finally ready to talk about it:
“I went to work every day as though nothing was wrong. I think most people were like me; not wanting to talk about what everyone was thinking. If we just kept it to ourselves, maybe there was a chance that the plant wouldn’t close and our jobs would  be spared.
“ A few people left the company as soon as rumors started floating. We didn’t ask where they went. We didn’t call them and we didn’t talk about them.
“I ran into one of those guys a few weeks ago, and asked him how he knew to get out before things got bad. Why didn’t he believe, as we did, that the owners would turn business around like they had so many times in the past?
“His response surprised me. He said he needed to leave the company if he were going to take charge of his life and career. He could no longer limit his potential by someone else’s luck, timing, or intelligence. He knew the owners were going to have to make tough business decisions and so would he. He said he had goals to achieve and he had a better chance of accomplishing them with a company that had a future.
“I asked him ‘what about loyalty?’ What about all those years he had invested in the company and the company in him. Wasn’t that enough reason to stay?
“He said that he was loyal. He had done all that he was asked, and more. The company compensated him, and treated him well. ‘I figured we were even’, he said. ‘I left with no hard feelings. They asked me to stay on, even offered me more money if I would. I had to choose for me. We shook hands and wished each other well.’ ”
“And so”, my client said,  “here I am. What do I do now?”
“What do I do now?” is the question that hundreds of bright, hardworking, frustrated un-employees are asking every day. Let’s begin with a little career philosophy:
Let go of the “shoulda, woulda’, coulda’s” you’re carrying around. You made the best decision you knew how to make. That was then, this is now. You’ve had a few new lessons and if you were paying attention, you learned from them.
Once you’re back on the job, track your accomplishments every week and update your resume accordingly. Make networking part of your every day  routine. Keep up with what’s happening in your industry, business sector, and company by reading the trade papers, talking to industry insiders, and connecting with recruiters who are industry specialists.
Here’s what you can do now: Meet with career advisors to review, refine, and refocus your resume as well as your job search and interview strategies. They’ll drill you on the questions you’re apt to be asked and those you’d be wise to ask in return.  They’ll role play with you so you can get used to answering the tough questions and the ones that come out of left field.
Attend job search support and network meetings to rehearse, re-energize, get and give encouragement, and realize that you’re not alone in all this.
Network, network, network. Tell people exactly what you do and how you can make a difference to a company. Ask for ideas, suggestions, recommendations of business owners, managers, or supervisors who might be interested in what you can do for them.
Take charge of your life and your career. Take action. Follow through.  Make things happen. Take care of yourself. Get a check up. Exercise. Eat right. Get rest. You’ll be surprised at the positive effect the combined effort has on your confidence, self worth, and potential for success.