What to Say After a Job Loss - Part 1

You are at the neighborhood bar-b-que. The new neighbor across the street comes up and says, "Hi, my name is Kendall. I'm in sales. What do you do?" “Oh great!” You think to yourself. “I just lost my job last week. What do I say? What do I call myself now? I knew coming to this thing was wrong.” What do you say? What do you do between jobs? The answer is not to stay home and never venture outside again. As the economy whittles away jobs at all levels, the newly jobless are learning a new vocabulary: how to make being unemployed not sound so bad. Saying you’re unemployed can be a conversation killer. People don’t know how to respond and they fear it may happen to them also. What To Do First of all, let yourself grieve the loss of the job. On some lists, loss of a job is third only to death or divorce of a loved one. Remember, this will not be a linear process of shock, denial, relief, anger, depression, acceptance. You may go back and forth between some or all of these stages of grief. That is normal. You will get through this. You are not alone, others have and are going through this right now. Second, take stock. If you haven’t listed your skills, knowledge bases and other unique qualifications, now is the time. For assistance, see my July 2008 article, Who You Are, Not Just What You Do . This is Brand You. The Brand You Sound-bite Now you take this information about Brand You, and boil it down to a 30-60 second sound-bite. This is sometimes known as the Elevator Speech. You want to include things that are relevant to the next job that you want. You want to include your name, education, a major project you worked, awards you’ve received, a problem you solved, position or type of work you are seeking, special training, certification(s), and other languages you speak, special skills. Request contact, and end by re-stating your name. You want to pique people’s interest in you. Do NOT recite a shortened version of your résumé. As you create your Brand You sound-bite, keep in mind you will probably be interrupted. So keep it short and sweet. Memorize key words, not the entire speech. That way when you’re interrupted, you can pick it up again easily. (I will be expanding on this subject next time in Part 2.) What To Say Now that you have crafted some tools (your skills and abilities list and your Brand You sound-bite) get out and meet people! School has started. That means car-pools, kid’s sporting events and lots of opportunities for interaction. Exploit these opportunities to use your Brand You sound-bite. This is a great opportunity to see if anyone has a connection or a lead to a job. This is old-fashioned networking disguised as kid’s soccer. Networking is where the jobs are these days. Employers want to be sure they get the right person, which is more often than not, a known person. The more you get known, the better your chance of getting a job. What’s that? Oh, what do you say about being unemployed – isn’t that the point here? Well then, … First, think about your audience for this piece of news. You may want to front-load a little optimism for parents (and others). If your parents grew up under the shadow of the Depression, they may not understand. They had the luxury of 30-year employment. “I’ve been unhappy at my job for awhile. It’s not personal, it’s business. And, business is bad. They’re offering me money to leave. I am so fine with this.” Another way to put it (and look at this time) is to say you’re reevaluating you career choice. You are weighing options before you move forward. You are exploring various avenues and other industries. This is a great time to look at your values and find a job/career that aligns with those values. Another Viewpoint Those on the sidelines, family, friends, former co-workers — are also uncomfortable. It is difficult to know what to say and when to say it. They want to respect your privacy and dignity. They also want to be helpful. They aren’t sure of the etiquette or protocol here. They are caught between the need to show they care and the fear they’ll offend because they are bringing up something painful. A way to cut them some slack is to be open. “I understand you’re sorry, so am I. But being sorry doesn’t help either one of us. If you want to help, tell me what you think I do well, who you know, and where you think my skills fit best.” This gives people something constructive to talk about and you’ve shown them a way to help. This redirects the tone of the conversation into being helpful for all. Former co-workers often feel survivor’s guilt at still having a job. They feel just having a job is rubbing your face in your loss. Some won’t be able to rise above this. They will start to feel there “must have been something” that you did or should have done. Because if there isn’t, then they are unprotected too. If it’s just random. If it’s just business. That is very scary. So when they say, “It isn’t so bad. It’s happening everywhere.” Be generous and be gentle with your response. When it’s you, it is bad. When it’s you, it feels personal. —  — This is a great time to contact me to get an action plan together to get a career that aligns with your values. I can assist you in creating your skills inventory, crafting a polished Brand You sound-bite, getting you on the path to your dream job.

Contact me now, Elisabeth Adler-Lund at

Telephone: 916 . 803.1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Thanks for reading!

Eight Tactics for a More Effective Job Search

How many of these are YOU doing? The fact is, the more diverse your job-hunting strategy, the more effective it's likely to be, and the more opportunities for success you’ll find. 1. Contact /Join Professional Organizations in Your Field National, regional and local professional organizations exist in great part to help their members with career development. This is just what you need. Many organizations include field-specific job listings on their Web sites or in their printed publications. Check them out! 2. Visit Company Web Sites Many companies and organizations post their job openings right on their own Web sites (usually under an "Employment" or "Career Opportunities" link). This is also a good time to do some research. 3. Apply Directly to Companies that Interest You Do you know you want to work specifically for Company X? If so, send a well-written cover letter and your résumé directly to the person who would likely make hiring decisions for the part of the organization that interests you. It isn't always easy to find the right person to get in touch with; you'll have to do some digging, which brings us to… 4. Network, Network, Network Generally, the most effective job-hunting approach. Networking is simply talking to people to either track down helpful personal contacts or learn about job openings that may not be advertised at all. Let everyone in your life know you're looking for a job, and give them an idea of what type of job you want. Ask others if they’ve worked for your target company(ies) and can offer any insight. If you can, get an informational interview with someone (anyone) at the company. Fifteen minutes of face-to-face interaction will be good as gold in your search. It can also confirm (or contradict) the research you’ve done. 5. Visit / Write Your Campus Career Center Yes, even if you haven’t ever responded to the alumni appeal. Yes, this is mainly for entry-level jobs. They can tell you what campus recruiters are looking for. Is there an area you need to improve? 6. Participate in Job Fairs A job fair is employers coming to you. Yes, there is a lot of walking, but you are meeting a lot of people, too. Get their business cards. Follow-up with telephone calls. Bring your résumé (at least 10) to hand out directly to the employers. 7. Use a Recruiter / Headhunter Even if they can’t find you a job, they may provide other assistance: market information, areas in which to look, markets to avoid. If they tell you there is a glut of people with your skills; that may help you decide to take a sideways approach to your job search. Heads-up: While most of these organizations receive their fees from employers, some will seek money from you. Also, some will want you to sign a contract. Don’t. So make sure you know who's paying the bill and for what services. 8. Consider Temping Sometimes, by working as a temp for a company, you can position yourself to be hired for a full-time, permanent position that opens up later on. Even if that doesn't happen, however, temping can help you see various companies from the inside, meet people, build your network, and earn some money. - ☼ - Contact me now to begin the journey of discovery and adventure as we get you to where you want to be. Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com