|
How to Be Prepared for a Layoff
If you are concerned that your company might be planning a layoff, your best course of action is to be prepared. Employees often see warning signs that their jobs may be at risk. Such signs could include poor company performance, earlier rounds of layoffs, conflicts with their manager, increased manager intervention and involvement, and poor performance reviews. Employees see the signs, but aren't as proactive as they should be in looking out for their future. Here are steps you can take to be prepared for a layoff. Update your resume. Start complying a list of your accomplishments in your present job. In particular, focus on quantifiable achievements. Bring home a copy of the position description your human resources department has developed for your job. Use this position description to check the content of your resume. If you need help, get it from the Internet, resume writing books, or a professional resume writer. Create a portfolio. Make copies of positive letters you have received from customers and letters of recognition you have received from your employer. If you have a job where you create materials that are not company confidential such as brochures or operating manuals, make copies of your work to show to potential employers during future job interviews. Develop your list of references. Contact the people you would like to use as references to ask their permission to be used as a reference. Obtain their current contact information and type up your reference list. Check job postings. See what the market need is for someone with your background and experience. Consider applying for jobs now if the market is weak and you feel the probability of being laid off in the near future is high. Also use job postings as a means of checking the content of your resume to see if you omitted key points or focused on items that aren't being emphasized by employers. Sign up for a personal e-mail account. Include this personal e-mail address on your resume rather than your business e-mail address. If you lose your job, your business e-mail account will no longer be valid. If you decide to pursue a new job while still employed, use your personal e-mail account to transmit your resume to employers. Research outplacement services. Outplacement services are career transition services that employers pay for to help you with your job search. To be prepared in case of a layoff, research the services provided by various outplacement firms to determine what would be of most value to you. Would you want an outplacement firm that would write your resume and cover letter for you? Do you value one-on-one time with a career transition consultant? Or are you interested in attending group workshops to learn how to prepare your own marketing materials? If you are laid off, be prepared to negotiate for the outplacement services that you feel will benefit you. The best time to negotiate is when you have the most leverage, prior to signing your separation letter. Ask for a letter of recommendation. If you are laid off, ask for a letter of recommendation from your former employer. Reach agreement with your employer on this request prior to signing your separation letter. Negotiate your severance package. If you are downsized, negotiate the terms of the severance package you are offered. Again, the best time to negotiate is when you have the most leverage, prior to signing your separation letter. By following these tips, you can prepare yourself to recover as quickly as possible should you be laid off. Copyright 2004 Quest Career Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved. About Ann Hackett: Ann Hackett is the President of Quest Career Services, LLC (http://www.questcareer.com). Quest Career Services provides outplacement services to clients nationwide, specializing in offering affordable one-on-one outplacement services. To receive via e-mail a brochure summarizing the outplacement packages Quest Career Services provides, send an e-mail to outplacementbrochure@questcareer.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Jobs City of Rochester (.gov)
Careers Washington State University
Careers Gwinnett County Public Schools
JobFeed NSW Department of Education
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Career In Medical Assisting
My name is Danni R, and I am a certified medical assistant and online educator. I am writing this article to introduce you to an exciting career in the allied health profession that has existed for quite a long time but is just recently gaining the attention and recognition it deserves.
Dont Quit Your Day Job! Convincing Your Boss To Let You Telecommute (Part 2 of 2)
Ok, so you've determined that you have the right skills and qualities todo your job effectively from home. You're sure that your job is wellsuited to telecommuting.
8 "Thurvival Skills" for 05
Just what is a "thurvival skill?" It's a skill that let's you thrive and survive at the same time. In today's economy it's not enough to just be good.
Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part Two
Are you in denial about the lifelessness of your resume? If you are reasonably qualified for the type of work you seek, yet your resume is consistently failing to win you interviews, then you need to face the reality that your beloved document is dead.
Try these professional resume writing techniques to resurrect your resume and your job search today:
Problem #3: Resume Is Blind
In your eagerness to cut your job search work load have you reduced your objective statement to something grandiose and vague, something that you hope speaks to every employer but which, in fact, communicates to none? A resume with no focus is blind; without a clear focus in your resume an employer cannot perceive what you're offering them; without a concisely stated vision in your resume an employer cannot grasp the big picture of how you fit into their organization.
Is Job Loss Making You Sick?
Job loss affects most of us like anyother loss in life. Yes, there are otherlosses that are greater, but this onecomes close too!From my experience, job loss canmake anyone sick! There can beterrible anger; anger which turns into depression.
Building Performance Trust
You can have outstanding ideas, yet never leverage them into winning at working results. That's because the secret behind those ideas lies in performance.
Finding the Right Travel Nursing Placement Agency
Travel nursing is becoming one of our nation's fastest growing professions, and it's no surprise. If you love seeing new places and enjoy exciting new experiences that evoke the feeling of taking an extended vacation, then the career of a traveling nurse might be just what the doctor ordered! Travel nursing enables many people to stay on vacation for two to six months in free luxury accommodations while earning high hourly wages at the same time.
Three Ways to Transition to a New Career
As a Certified Personnel Consultant working for Find Great People International in Greenville, South Carolina, I receive telephone calls from people who are considering a career change. For some, transitioning to a new career is easier than others.
Working On A Farm In Kent
Being a student, a person needs to look for summer jobs, to keep up with the expenses for school and fun activities. This task is not always easy, especially when you are studying at an American branch university and you have to pay tuition as well.
Personal Contacts: The Key to Successful Networking
When the word "networking" is used, we tend to think of upwardly mobile college graduates with a bursting day timer in hand chatting up the competition at business meetings, conventions, or workshops. The average blue/pink/white collar worker disconnects, feeling that they could never be that pushy, don't know enough people to even start the attempt, and that the method only works in competitive business environments.
Applying for a Job in Another Country? International Resumes
Is an International Resume still a Resume? This is a very common question among those looking for work overseas for the first time. When you contact companies about applying for a job with them you will not often be asked for a resume, you will be asked to send along your CV.
How ToTalk Your Boss Into Giving You A Salary Increase
* If you believe you deserve a salary increase, ask for it as soon as possible; don't procrastinate or wait for your employer to offer it.* Determine what you are worth in the marketplace by carrying out a survey of people in comparable jobs.
Big Job Sites Vs The Small Ones
There is much to say about posting resumes on the big job sites online. There are many positives and also negatives to doing this as well.
When Bad Interviews Happen to Good Candidates
Going through the motions of a bad interview is like peeling back the layers of an onion. Sally learned this lesson the hard way, hands-on during an interview that should have been a piece of cake.
The Importance of Background Verification
Today's society has created an environment that requires business owners to be armed with numerous tools. Many employers currently spend little time verifying the accuracy of employment applications and the cost of not doing normal due diligence can be staggering.
I Quit!
More and more people are calling it quits to successful careers to create some personal leisure time or to pursue another career. This trend is becoming more popular and common.
Where Will Your IT Staff Come From NOW?
The labor recession is over. During the course of the recession, almost 500,000 IT positions were lost according to publicly collected data and anecdotal information suggests even more.
Career Job Satisfaction - Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race!
Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race!We can all get in a rut from time to time. Who hasn't had a moment in their lives where you've asked yourself the question: "Why am I doing this?" Whether it's who you've become, the business you are in, your career, relationships, where you live or all of the above - sometimes you realise you're just not where you want to be - and you're not sure how you got there! It sure feels like your own version of a rat race though.
Believe And Get Hired
Good things seem to come in bunches, especially in a job search. Ever wonder why?Example: ever know someone (perhaps you?) who, after many weeks in a fruitless job hunt, suddenly hit a "hot streak" and landed two or three interviews in a matter of days?What happened? What changed? Did the job market suddenly improve? Perhaps.
Searching for Jobs Online
Searching for jobs online is easier than ever, but also more confusing than ever. Any Internet user doing a job search online will find that they can choose from hundreds of national employment listing web sites and the numbers can often be staggering.
|