The financial crisis has caused companies across the country to lay off thousands of workers. Everywhere, people feel the rush as companies in all industry segments react to the market. Here are five common mistakes people make after a layoff and tips to avoid them.
# 1 Interview before you are emotionally ready.
I met Bob the day after he let his anger over the loss of his job flare up at a job fair. Bob was really upset that he was fired. After all, he was a long-term employee, did a good job, and had the support of a family.
He did a summary and decided to attend a big job fair in Silicon Valley. Almost a thousand people showed up at the job fair. Bob found that he had to wait in long lines to speak with a company representative. When his turn came, he was quite furious. The hiring manager accepted his resume, asked him a few questions, and then determined that the company did not have a position that matched his skills.
With that Bob exploded, yelling, “You’re just stupid,” effectively ending the conversation and attracting glances from job applicants and other company representatives.
Bob made several mistakes: the first was trying to interview before he was emotionally ready. His second mistake was taking his anger out on the same person who might have helped him, now or in the future. Bob could have asked the hiring manager for comments on his resume. Or, if you were convinced that the person was not qualified to check their credentials, they could have returned later in the day when a different representative would be at the booth. In any case, he wasted his chances with that company and every other company within earshot. This being a small world, he also ruined his chances with any future company that “Mr. Stupid” might work for.
Letting your anger take over during a job search just doesn’t work. Do yourself a favor and get your emotions under control before starting the interview.
# 2 Complain out loud to your 100 closest friends.
During the years that I worked in corporate relocation, I saw people ruin their reputations and burn countless bridges in the hours and days after receiving a layoff notice. Furious at what they considered an unfair situation, they vented their anger on everyone who wanted to listen. They spoke negatively about their company and their supervisor to the same people, inside and outside the organization, who would be in a position to help them during their job search.
Being angry and wanting to vent after losing your job are appropriate responses. The key is knowing when and with whom it makes sense to vent. Sharing your feelings with close family and friends in the privacy of your home makes perfect sense. Sharing your feelings out loud with your 100 closest friends in the office or in public, over the phone or through mass email is not like that. While doing so may feel good at first, in the long run it will damage your credibility and limit your effectiveness in networking.
Instead, ask questions, listen, and take notes. Ask your manager for information about the length of the layoff notice period, health care benefits during the transition, arrangements for relocation counseling, and how referrals will be handled.
Then take some time to discuss your feelings with those you trust and love. Learn from the experience of losing a job and find a way to capture and tell the essential elements of your story in a meaningful way during interviews.
# 3 Running towards a job search.
As scared as you may feel, don’t rush to look for work. Many times people have come to me to express their regret after launching into a job search with unclear goals, second-rate or outdated marketing materials, and while still healing from the wounds of job loss.
Rather than speeding up your job search, rushing to look for work before you are ready will negatively impact your application and can significantly increase the time it takes to find your next job. Hiring managers can smell fear and despair. They want to hire well-qualified people who are genuinely interested in the company and the position, not those who seem to be running from something else.
Take your time to repack your bags. When you go on a trip, do you start with a suitcase full of dirty clothes, used toothpaste containers, and trash? Of course not. Similarly, as you take the next step in your career path, you should start by taking a fresh look at yourself and your marketing materials. Identify your key skills and professional achievements. Develop a focused resume, reference list, and other collateral materials.
While it’s tempting to jump into the game right away, savvy job seekers know the benefits of evaluating where they want to go and making a plan to get there. What most job seekers don’t understand is that the hiring wheels turn slowly. The extra few days or weeks you spend preparing and your materials will go a long way toward getting a second look when your resume gets into the hands of the right people.
# 4 Feeling embarrassed about looking for work.
Job seekers are often embarrassed about not having a job and keep the fact that they are looking for work a closely guarded secret, much like revealing government intelligence activities. Don’t make the same mistake a former customer made. This proud professional, a gentleman in his 50s, refused to tell his mother or other close friends that he had been fired. Every day, she dressed for work, stopped at Mom’s house, and then pretended to go to work instead of a career center where she spent her days combing through the search ads in search of the perfect job. Unfortunately, their search was long and painful.
Once you’ve decided on your goal, have your marketing materials ready to go, and you’ve come to terms with your job loss, share your career and career goals with everyone you know.
# 5 Insist that every day of your career be included in your marketing materials.
When IBM was going through a major reorganization and downsizing, Jane, a customer service engineer, came to see me. She was a talented person who had risen through the ranks as a result of her hard work. Although he was only 50 years old, he had worked for IBM for 30 years. She was not ready to retire. The company made it clear that it should consider its purchase package now or face near-certain layoff without a severance package in the coming months.
Jane was very proud of her time at IBM and insisted that every day be counted on her resume, relevant or not. He wanted credit for his 30 years of work.
The problem was that instead of seeing a vital and capable person capable of making substantial contributions for another 10 to 15 years, potential employers assumed she was over the hill and ready for the rocking chair. After nearly a year of unemployment, I finally convinced her to limit the information in the summary to what was relevant: the last fifteen years or so. In four months, he received three offers and accepted the one that suited him best.
When you market, sell what’s relevant and nothing else.
