What to do when you're laid off

If you’re feeling uncomfortable about the state of our economy, I’m afraid that I don’t have good news. Although I’m usually an optimist, there have been a number of disturbing reports about a much more bearish employment outlook. For example, Drake Beam Morin recently reported that job hunters are sometimes accepting salaries or titles below their expectations. More than 13% of their consultants reported that this is happening quite often. College graduates are having a much tougher time than last year’s class. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers reported that they expected to hire nearly 20 percent fewer new graduates. Check out NACE’s "Job Outlook 2002" on their website. However, although 30 percent of private sector employers said that they will cut back on college hiring, government and nonprofit groups plan to boost their numbers of young people, probably because their employees tend to be close to retirement age.

And there’s much more job churning reported. Career Builder recently reported that 66 percent of their clients through classified ads said that they are dissatisfied with advancement opportunities with their current employer. About 25% of them plan to leave in the next four months. For more details, check out the CareerBuilder report, "Workers in the New Economy of Choice."

Towers Perrin research further supported the view that employees are becoming more proactive as the economy softens. Their study, entitled The Towers Perrin Talent Report: New Realities in Today’s Workforce, focused on employee views, examining attitudes of a wide range of employees who are working for medium to large companies across regions and industries. It also targeted a subset of respondents who have managerial roles and are involved in recruiting and retention. Both groups affirmed that the shifting dynamics at work that are creating a new reality for employers and employees.

According to the Towers Perrin study, four key trends emerged:

Employees generally are "in the market," in some way, most of the time. They’re making sure that their resumes are up-to-date, that their networks are current, and that they are connected with major online job boards.
Employees don’t place much emphasis on a long-term relationship with a particular employer. They view their relationship as a fixed term contract with both parties agreeing to extend it if it’s mutually beneficial. This is similar to signing up for the military. More and more professional work will be done on a contract basis in the near future.
Employees define their relationship with their employer in increasingly complex ways. More and more employees as asking for telecommuting options, permanent part time status, opportunities for flexible scheduling, etc. As one human resource professional described the situation, "I’m increasingly asked to herd a bunch of cats!"
Employees care about different things when they’re joining a company than when they’re deciding whether to stay or how much of their discretionary effort to give. This makes employers have to work harder to recruit and retain. It also means arriving at a cafeteria style of benefits and flexible work arrangements to meet the needs of a variety of workers in all stages of their lives and careers.

Even after giving you this raft of bad news, there is still some blue sky out there. For example, it's not an uncommon experience that most workers are re-employed again within months, if not weeks. In other words, if you’re laid off, you’ll need to overcome the initial shock and demoralization and move on quickly and confidently.

This is especially the case for workers who have kept their people and professional skills well honed so that they will be re-employed or engaged in a new opportunity within a very short period of time. The trick for anyone to keep their electronic resume always up-to-date, their contacts through professional associations and informal networks current, and their resume posted with numerous job boards so that they can test their marketability continuously.

On the other hand, workers who have let their skills get rusty, live in denial that layoffs will happen to them, don’t participate in professional groups, aren’t reading business books and periodicals, and still operate in a paradigm that their loyalty to a company somehow will always be reciprocal, are the ones who are laid off most quickly and have the toughest time finding a new job.

Therefore, it is very important that if you think that being laid off may happen to you soon, quickly join networking groups of people who share your professional interests. They can help you deal with the impending layoff and gently push you to find new opportunities, well before your severance package and/or benefits run out.

The primary source to find out more about professional associations for folks to network with is the American Society of Association Executives. Check out their website that offers information about 6,500+ associations of all shapes and sizes and descriptions throughout the US.

Start each day with your newspaper's classified section through Career Builder and with a visit to the job listings such as Craigslist, layofflounge.com, and Monster. And look for new resources each day. One of my favorites is The Chronicle of Higher Education that lists hundreds of positions on campuses as well as professional jobs in private, non-profit, and governmental institutions every week. Stay current with the hottest jobs and fastest growing occupations in your area and who your former company’s competitors are through the dynamite labor market information site, usworks.com. Check this site for salary rates in the area nearest to you.

Feel free to contact me re questions or concerns about using the Internet in your job search. Next month we’ll focus on practical research websites for you to become thoroughly familiar with the company that you’re interviewing with. In the meantime, I can be reached at jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com Happy job search!