I’ve been laid off. Most of my friends have been laid off, at the very least, once (one friend got laid off twice in the same year). It’s a kick in the pants but part of the new work reality. Just ask Allen Giertz, author of Unemployed? No Problem! He’s been laid off a mind numbing six times.
Being laid off is a double whammy financially. You lose income and you incur more costs. Finding a new job can be expensive.
Some of the common costs, Giertz explains, are resume services, printing costs, making copies, seminars/workshops and of course your ongoing bills (the electricity bill still needs to be paid). However, there are support groups and job clubs that can cut these costs (his book goes into way more detail). Newspapers, the internet, job clubs, support groups, networking groups, family and friends are sources of information.
The biggest mistake job hunters make?
“Not letting people know that they are unemployed and looking for new work. Start networking because you never know when somebody is going to know somebody who knows someone,” says Giertz.
When I knew I was about to get laid off (the company was cutting staffing to core and I was a project person), I swallowed my already beaten up pride and put the word out immediately. Email lists are great for this. I spammed the world about my situation. Within 24 hours, I had at least a dozen job postings. Before the ink on my severance agreement was dry, I had a job offer.
Of course that email list wasn’t built that day. It consisted of years worth of contacts, contacts that were made while happily working. What does Allen Giertz feel an employee do now to prepare? “Always have an open mind as to what other opportunities are out there, in other words, look even thought you are working now, plus keep an updated resumer/cover letter just in case.”