startingover

If you are lucky (oh and I realize lucky is a relative term because if you were really lucky you wouldn’t be reading this), you were able to see the writing on the wall and knew this day would come. My first time being laid off, everyone in the room knew it was coming. We had been talking about it for months, and no one was surprised by the inevitable layoffs that would follow consecutive years of negative balance sheets. When I was laid off 4 months later for the second time I search for weeks to find the right adjective to describe my state of mind as I once again stood in a room full of the soon to be unemployed. Surprised, shocked, blindsided, stupefied,  I stood there not believing this was happening again. As I said, if you are lucky, you were able to prepare yourself for one of the most life altering days you can have. You just got laid off, so now what?

1.)    Why You?

For both your sanity sake and for your job search it is important to narrow down why your position has been downsized. It’s important for your sanity sake because you will undoubtedly spend countless hours saying over and over “Why me?”. It is important for your job search because it will be a question asked by your next employer. Not having a good response, or one that doesn’t match your managers response when asked in a reference interview may mean the difference between you and the competition. Depending on how your company handles the downsizing, getting to the real answer may be difficult, but try to get a commitment from your immediate supervisor to talk to you about the reasons for you being terminated. Maybe it was just bad location, maybe it was strictly by seniority, maybe it was because of salary, but maybe it was because they kept the most productive employees. Knowing the answer to this question can be vital.

2.)    Get what is coming to you

All companies will be required to provide some kind of benefits package to you. What happens to unused vacation time, unused sick time, and profit sharing or 401(k) money? What happens to your health insurance? Will there be severance pay? When can you file for unemployment? If you are part of a large group being laid off, most of this will likely be spelled out in a letter, but don’t be afraid to ask additional questions. If you are being given the news alone, make sure have any promises in writing. Once you are out the door, it is too late to negotiate. Can you negotiate? Often times no, but particularly on the issue of severance pay, there may be grey area in the offer. Depending on accrued sick time years of service and job level within the company different individuals may get different severance packages. Due to your level  and experience it may take you longer to find comparable employment, so don’t be afraid to point that out.

3.)    Saying Goodbye

More often than not, once you are let go, you will be escorted out of the office and asked not to return. Avoid the Jerry Maguire moment, collect yourself, and leave on the best terms possible. This includes leaving matters with your boss and co-workers as amicable as possible. Yeah, it’s a crummy deal, but you need them for Letter of Recommendation and for Referrence requests. If you can do it, take time to thank each person and leave them your contact information should they need to get a hold of you. If you were just shown the door, write them a personal email and do your best to be sincere. Avoid bad mouthing the company or making any excuses. The situation is what the situation is so make the best of it.

4.)    Hey, you got laid off too.

Probably people you have worked with for many years will be standing outside with you wondering what to do next.  It would be a good idea to reach out to them as well and get their contact information. Maybe they know someone who is hiring. Maybe they worked with a customer who they made a great connection with. If you are part of a large group being laid off, maybe you can start a support group. With a larger group of individuals it may be cost effective to hire a career counselor who will be able to advise you on the next steps to take. Anyway you look at it, it’s better to have the support of others than to go at it alone.

5.)    It’s the B Word.

No one likes to say it, but it’s time to look at that budget. No I am not suggesting that you immediately put the house up for sale, or cancel the cable, but you need to take a realistic look at your cash flows and make a budget for the coming months. Start looking at it immediately while the fear is still in you. A week from now it will be much harder to motivate yourself to make changes, and a month from now will be too late. Figure out how much you have coming in, how much is going out, and if you have some in savings, how long you can go before major changes will have to happen. In the coming weeks, you will need to focus all of your attention on finding your next career, and if you skip this step, you will waste most of your time worrying about money. Get your budget straight now so you can focus on what you need to later.

A layoff can be one of the largest life altering hurdles you are likely to have happen to you. But it is important to realize that it is only a hurdle. Life continues to go on, and hopefully if you follow this advice you won’t let a layoff slow you down.

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