How to Bounce Back after a layoff
A few years ago, in a career advising session, I found myself sitting across from a woman who had just been laid off. I could see the pain and confusion she was feeling. It was palpable. The first thing she said was, "I don't even know where to start." That's what this post is all about. Providing you with actionable tips and ideas to bounce back from a layoff for every stage of that process.
In this blog, we'll cover the whole scope of job searching after a layoff. We'll go over resumes and cover letters, finding part-time and temporary work, And how to make the best use of your time. Remember the woman whose story I told you? I walked her through the same steps we'll cover in this course and with each step, she told me she felt more confident and by the end of the process, she was focused, and well on her way to finding a new job. Maybe, just like her, you've lost your job and don't know where to begin. In this blog, we'll tell you how to get your career back on track. So let's get started.
1: First Steps to Recovery
When you've been laid off from your job, it can be incredibly overwhelming to know what to do and how to put your professional life back on track. You must deal with it and focus on recovery.
First, talk with your family. If you're supporting a spouse or children, talk with them honestly about what's happened. Your daily routine will be changing, so talk to your kids in an age-appropriate way about needing to find a new job and what that means for your schedule and theirs. It's completely normal to feel embarrassed or ashamed after being laid off, and you might try to put on a brave face or distance yourself from your closest family and friends, but don't. They can act as a support network to keep you positive as you work to find a new job. By being open and honest upfront, you'll set yourself up for a positive job search with the support you'll need.
First, outline weekly goals in your job search. Throughout the process, your job search should involve a combination of the following things: reaching out to your professional network, making new networking contacts, and searching for open jobs. It's also necessary to work on establishing new contacts and searching for open jobs.
So next, keep a job search document or a spreadsheet where you write down your goals and record your progress. The most useful tracking documents will include tasks and info like the jobs you've applied for, the application materials you've sent, company names and contact information, the interviews you've done, the career and job search websites you've set up accounts with, and your follow-up with interviewers or job applications.
Each week, you should set goals to work on in each of these areas. Everyone's goals will be a little bit different depending on the types of jobs they're going for, but here are some examples of goals to set.
Email five current networking contacts, research 10 companies of interest, and apply to five jobs online. And then, set daily action plans to accomplish those goals.
First, talk with your family. If you're supporting a spouse or children, talk with them honestly about what's happened. Your daily routine will be changing, so talk to your kids in an age-appropriate way about needing to find a new job and what that means for your schedule and theirs. It's completely normal to feel embarrassed or ashamed after being laid off, and you might try to put on a brave face or distance yourself from your closest family and friends, but don't. They can act as a support network to keep you positive as you work to find a new job. By being open and honest upfront, you'll set yourself up for a positive job search with the support you'll need.
2: make a Structured Recovery Plan.
First, outline weekly goals in your job search. Throughout the process, your job search should involve a combination of the following things: reaching out to your professional network, making new networking contacts, and searching for open jobs. It's also necessary to work on establishing new contacts and searching for open jobs.
So next, keep a job search document or a spreadsheet where you write down your goals and record your progress. The most useful tracking documents will include tasks and info like the jobs you've applied for, the application materials you've sent, company names and contact information, the interviews you've done, the career and job search websites you've set up accounts with, and your follow-up with interviewers or job applications.
Each week, you should set goals to work on in each of these areas. Everyone's goals will be a little bit different depending on the types of jobs they're going for, but here are some examples of goals to set.
Email five current networking contacts, research 10 companies of interest, and apply to five jobs online. And then, set daily action plans to accomplish those goals.
3: Filing the Gap in your Resume
There may be a gap in your resume between what you've been doing for work and the types of skills employers want. So let's figure out the gaps in your skills and how you can fill them. It's time to do some comparisons.
Start by comparing job descriptions to your current skills to find those gaps. Then consider which style of learning you're comfortable with and whether or not you need certificates, degrees, or simple free online coursework like youtube. And once you've completed or enrolled in courses, add them to your resume and LinkedIn profile. Taking new classes and learning new things shows employers that you're a continuous learner, someone who wants to improve their knowledge and contribute at a higher level. And that's exactly what employers are looking for.
Start by comparing job descriptions to your current skills to find those gaps. Then consider which style of learning you're comfortable with and whether or not you need certificates, degrees, or simple free online coursework like youtube. And once you've completed or enrolled in courses, add them to your resume and LinkedIn profile. Taking new classes and learning new things shows employers that you're a continuous learner, someone who wants to improve their knowledge and contribute at a higher level. And that's exactly what employers are looking for.
4: Find Volunteer Work
The last thing you want to add to your to-do list is volunteering but offering your time and talents for free to organizations and people who actually need them most is a really great way to support your own job search.
Why volunteering should play a role in your layoff recovery. In addition to benefiting other people, the act of volunteering actually has huge benefits for you. Volunteering gives you something to add to your resume. Employers understand that job loss happens for a variety of reasons that aren't within your control but what they really care about is what you do with your time when you're out of work. Showing that you volunteered or taking classes or worked on freelance projects, tells employers that you've been staying active and productive. It gets you out of the house or out of your own head. Without a job, your days become less structured and less social.
Volunteering either in person or virtually shakes up your days, gives you more structure and helps you socialize more, all good things when your aim is to find a new job. Also, it gives you a chance to make new contacts for your professional network and it broadens your own support network. It brings you back to a sense of purpose to your days. One of the biggest things we lose during a layoff is that sense of purpose that people are counting on us to get something done. Volunteering establishes that feeling again, which ultimately makes you feel happier and a more confident job seeker. Check out volunteermatch.org, catchafire.org, idealist.org, allforgood.org, and volunteer.gov to find opportunities that suit your needs. The key is to find ways to use your professional skills and experience so that you can give back and grow your resume.
So how can you find part-time, temporary, or project-based work to fill some time and keep yourself active while job searching? Of course the internet is basically a one stop shop for all kinds of work. There are plenty of job search websites where you can search for part-time, temporary, freelance, and project work in practically any career field. But try using smaller niche sites rather than those big job search sites so that you're not overwhelmed by millions of listings.
Do a keyword search for part-time or freelance jobs and your career field to see what comes up. And use your professional network to let people know that you're available for part-time and project-based work. LinkedIn is a really good place to spread the word that you're available and interested. Even sending a simple email to several of your favorite networking contacts is a great step. You can also work with a recruiter who specializes in temporary work or freelancing. If instead of offering your expertise and knowledge, you'd rather do specific project work, consider looking for temporary freelance or contract work. Freelancers help individuals and organizations in so many ways like writing, design, accounting, tutoring, and consulting. There are several different job search sites that specialize in freelance work such as Upwork and Flex Jobs. And there are smaller sites that list freelance work for one particular industry or career field, so do some research to find the best ones for you.
The key with these types of jobs is to do a lot of research to find the opportunities that align with your experience and your skills. And then make sure that all of your online profiles demonstrate your abilities in these areas.
If you're searching for a job, searching online is an incredible resource that is also incredibly overwhelming and competitive. What can you do to save yourself some effort and frustration? you can read this post How to Apply Job Online I've breakdown six key things to do when you're job searching online.
Why volunteering should play a role in your layoff recovery. In addition to benefiting other people, the act of volunteering actually has huge benefits for you. Volunteering gives you something to add to your resume. Employers understand that job loss happens for a variety of reasons that aren't within your control but what they really care about is what you do with your time when you're out of work. Showing that you volunteered or taking classes or worked on freelance projects, tells employers that you've been staying active and productive. It gets you out of the house or out of your own head. Without a job, your days become less structured and less social.
Volunteering either in person or virtually shakes up your days, gives you more structure and helps you socialize more, all good things when your aim is to find a new job. Also, it gives you a chance to make new contacts for your professional network and it broadens your own support network. It brings you back to a sense of purpose to your days. One of the biggest things we lose during a layoff is that sense of purpose that people are counting on us to get something done. Volunteering establishes that feeling again, which ultimately makes you feel happier and a more confident job seeker. Check out volunteermatch.org, catchafire.org, idealist.org, allforgood.org, and volunteer.gov to find opportunities that suit your needs. The key is to find ways to use your professional skills and experience so that you can give back and grow your resume.
5:Fill gaps with part-time, freelance, or consulting work
So how can you find part-time, temporary, or project-based work to fill some time and keep yourself active while job searching? Of course the internet is basically a one stop shop for all kinds of work. There are plenty of job search websites where you can search for part-time, temporary, freelance, and project work in practically any career field. But try using smaller niche sites rather than those big job search sites so that you're not overwhelmed by millions of listings.
Do a keyword search for part-time or freelance jobs and your career field to see what comes up. And use your professional network to let people know that you're available for part-time and project-based work. LinkedIn is a really good place to spread the word that you're available and interested. Even sending a simple email to several of your favorite networking contacts is a great step. You can also work with a recruiter who specializes in temporary work or freelancing. If instead of offering your expertise and knowledge, you'd rather do specific project work, consider looking for temporary freelance or contract work. Freelancers help individuals and organizations in so many ways like writing, design, accounting, tutoring, and consulting. There are several different job search sites that specialize in freelance work such as Upwork and Flex Jobs. And there are smaller sites that list freelance work for one particular industry or career field, so do some research to find the best ones for you.
The key with these types of jobs is to do a lot of research to find the opportunities that align with your experience and your skills. And then make sure that all of your online profiles demonstrate your abilities in these areas.
6: Apply for jobs online
If you're searching for a job, searching online is an incredible resource that is also incredibly overwhelming and competitive. What can you do to save yourself some effort and frustration? you can read this post How to Apply Job Online I've breakdown six key things to do when you're job searching online.7: Write an effective resume
A well-crafted resume shows employers that you are in the right mindset to get back to work.Do some research online for different resume formats and mimic the one that you like, or ask friends or family for their help in putting one together. In most cases, you'll want to organize your info in the following order: summary of qualifications at the top, professional and volunteer experience next, and finally, your education or skills. Depending on which section is stronger for you, put the strongest one first. So if you're lacking in education but you have great technology and professional skills, you'll want the skills section on top. Otherwise, it's customary to put education and then skills. A summary of qualifications should be your first section. You'll want four to five bullet points to highlight your most relevant skills and experience for the types of jobs that you apply to. You can update this section for each job that you apply to because it helps employers focus on your best qualifications quickly.
Then your experience, this means including both paid and unpaid jobs, part-time and full-time, employee and freelance, basically everything you've done. Depending on which career expert you ask, they'll tell you to limit the experiences that you show to the last 10 to 15 years. The most important things to include for each experience are your title, the organization's name, and your key activities and accomplishments. Use numbers whenever possible because quantified information is easy for employers to visualize and translate. When writing about your experience, use past tense verbs to begin each bullet point for past jobs, and use present tense verbs for present jobs.
Your education and associations can be placed after experience along with any other professional pursuits and skills. Post-secondary education should be your focus, and all you'll need to list are your degrees or certifications, the college's name and your graduation date. This section is also where you can list professional associations that you're active in. Having a skills section is really useful especially if your industry requires certain technology or you have advanced knowledge in some areas. List things that are relevant to your field like software programs, communication tools, fluency in languages, and transferable and soft skills. Take a cue from the job description in what employers think are the most relevant skills. Aside from myself, formatting and writing a resume is almost no one's idea of fun. Yes, the extra effort means you'll apply to fewer jobs, but your applications will be far more effective.
8: Write an effective cover letter
In an article by Forbes, the cover letter was declared almost dead. But in the same article, the writer said that, "53% of employers "prefer a candidate who submits a cover letter." So, which is it? I still highly recommend writing cover letters especially when applying to jobs at small and mid-sized companies. They really give hiring managers a chance to form a more detailed picture of you and they're also great for adding much needed keywords to your application.
9: Personalize a job application
The number one complaint I hear from job seekers is that they've applied to dozens, maybe hundreds of jobs without hearing a peep from employers. And almost every time, without fail, it's because they haven't personalized their resumes or cover letters at all. To really stand out from hundreds of other applicants you must send unique resumes and cover letters for each application.
Making a unique resume for each job posting is one of the best ways to spend your job search time. Here's why: first, keywords are incredibly important. Your resume will be read by a computer called an applicant tracking system before a human ever sees it. It's hunting for keywords, and if you don't have them, it rejects you. No questions asked.
It's obvious when a resume isn't tailored. Hiring managers and recruiters spend somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds reviewing a resume and they're scanning it for the big qualifications and keywords from the job description, just like the computer does. If your resume isn't tailored, it's hard for them to quickly draw a connection between you and the open position. So to tailor your resume and cover letters, Make a list of the key qualifications from the job description and compare them to what you can offer.
Does it take longer to tailor each resume and cover letter to the job? Yes, but instead of blanket applying to every job with the same materials, you'll find this a far more effective approach.
10: Keep Positive view and keep your faith
When one door closes, another opens;. Don't lose hope not only you encounter this problem in this world. You must keep on moving forward the good news is the only way there is when you're at the bottom is going up believe in yourself trust God timing.
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