Lost My Job! What Do I Do Now?

When Change Happens, and You Need to Find a New Job!

Three in the afternoon on Friday, your boss calls you into the office. The news either hits you like a ton of bricks or you’ve been expecting something like this because of all the rumors. “The company has eliminated your position. The Head of HR will walk you through the procedures. I wish you the best of luck.”

That scene is replayed every week somewhere in our “world of work.” Cost-cutting, outsourcing, redeployment, restructuring--- it goes under many names. But today it hits you. What do you do?

Here’s the plan for success that I recommend to my clients.

Step back and think. This is your opportunity to take stock and decide what you REALLY want to do in your next role in life. Figure out if you want to change fields or try your hand at a different industry. Perhaps you’re intrigued by the thought of living in a different town or region. This is the time to research and figure that out.

DON’T jump at the first thing that comes up unless your financial situation demands it.

Write your resume. Most job seekers haven’t updated their resume in years. Focus on what you can contribute to an organization. Emphasize accomplishments and results, especially those that can be quantified in dollars or in percent improvement (of sales, time saved, cost reductions).

Be terse.

Use short sentences that get to the point. If you’ve met or exceeded goals, make that prominent. Avoid focusing on “X” years of experience in a field. Employers want a sense of what you will do in the future. I recommend writing your resume under guidance and with feedback, but YOU must write it and internalize its contents.

Show your resume to others. Ask for their candid feedback. Writing a good resume is about re-writing. Make it the best expression of your capabilities.

Prepare your “elevator speech.” Imagine you’re on an elevator with the person who has the power to hire you, and you have only until the 10^th floor to grab that person’s attention. Develop and rehearse that 45-second description of you so that you can deliver it impeccably, in any situation.

You can't do that in five seconds, and you won't have five minutes to do it. So go for the 45.

Research the companies/organizations/areas of the country that interest you. Read online annual reports and press releases of specific organizations that you think you'd like to work for. Check the names of officers and members of the board. Anyone there that you know or are somehow connected to? Keep a file of the most interesting ones. Try to work them into your portfolio of useful contacts.

Develop your “portfolio of useful contacts.” This is the art of networking with others. You should develop and maintain your contacts the way you watch your portfolio of financial assets, for they are just as precious.

Tell your story to friends and associates, to the people with whom you coach the soccer league. Those contacts are always willing to help, but you need to guide them in how to help you. It’s critical to remember that you do not ask these people for a job. You ask them for information and for other contacts that help you broaden and enrich your circle of networking contacts. Always remember to ask if there is some way that you can help them as well.

Practice interviewing. Meet with some of the contacts. Tell your story. Give your elevator message. Ask for feedback. Ask where they may know of opportunities for you. Ask each of them for the names of three other people who might help you and ask for their referral. In between meeting with people, practice your interview skills with friends, your spouse. If alone, practice in front of a mirror. But practice. Get comfortable with it.

Develop a tailored cover letter. When applying for a job or following up on a referral, write a brief letter with POW! You need to market yourself in a couple of brief paragraphs that get the reader’s attention. DO NOT parrot your resume. Your letter should state how you will follow up to schedule a meeting or conversation with the recipient. Then you keep that commitment.

Follow every contact with a thank you letter or email. People remember those who follow up and are consistent. That is often a reliable predictor of how you might work with them.

Looking for a job can be daunting, whether you’re 22 or 52, but, in my experience, when you start with a plan and follow the plan, you increase your success in immeasurable ways.

Good Luck and Good Hunting!