I was laid off several times during my career. It's always a shock, even when you see it coming, though most times I didn't. The first time was the hardest. The key lesson I leaned was to separate my sense of self from my job. I was no longer TITLE X at COMPANY Y. Once I no longer allowed myself to be defined by my job it became much easier to separate myself from any role. I was a human being, a husband, a father, and a writer. I'm also stubborn so I always looked for something better and ALWAYS succeeded at finding better.
A couple of hard truths.... #1 Looking for a new job is a FULL TIME JOB. #2 It's all about networking. #3 Get really good using LinkedIn. You need a great profile and a professional photo. If you don't know how to do this, get help. LinkedIn is the #1 job hunting tool and I got my last two jobs in my career from calls from recruiters.
Contact everyone you ever knew and let them know you're looking for a new job. The vast majority of people will help you as they've either been there or one day know they will. People will be surprisingly helpful and once you find the next role and you get that phone call from another colleague, you'll be super helpful too.
Outplacement help is great if your company offers that service. If not, there's a great website. https://careersherpa.net/ that provides all the same information you get at outplacement , just without the handholding. There's a lot to take in so go slow. You can't do everything in one day so just be consistent and work at things daily.
I retired earlier this year so all of this is in my rearview mirror. Good luck to you and anyone else who is looking for the next job. You can do this!
I was laid off several times during my career. It's always a shock, even when you see it coming, though most times I didn't. The first time was the hardest. The key lesson I leaned was to separate my sense of self from my job. I was no longer TITLE X at COMPANY Y. Once I no longer allowed myself to be defined by my job it became much easier to separate myself from any role. I was a human being, a husband, a father, and a writer. I'm also stubborn so I always looked for something better and ALWAYS succeeded at finding better.
A couple of hard truths.... #1 Looking for a new job is a FULL TIME JOB. #2 It's all about networking. #3 Get really good using LinkedIn. You need a great profile and a professional photo. If you don't know how to do this, get help. LinkedIn is the #1 job hunting tool and I got my last two jobs in my career from calls from recruiters.
Contact everyone you ever knew and let them know you're looking for a new job. The vast majority of people will help you as they've either been there or one day know they will. People will be surprisingly helpful and once you find the next role and you get that phone call from another colleague, you'll be super helpful too.
Outplacement help is great if your company offers that service. If not, there's a great website. https://careersherpa.net/ that provides all the same information you get at outplacement , just without the handholding. There's a lot to take in so go slow. You can't do everything in one day so just be consistent and work at things daily.
I retired earlier this year so all of this is in my rearview mirror. Good luck to you and anyone else who is looking for the next job. You can do this!
Thanks for sharing your experience and the advice Bruce. It’s a great addition to the article.