Hints for the newly or soon-to-be laid off

[Mr. Markets]

If you are getting laid off, there are a few things you MUST do:

1) file for unemployment immediately

2) recognize it is NOT you personally (unless deep in your heart you know you are a rectal hat)

3) begin job hunting IMMEDIATELY

4) accept that NO job is truly beneath you when it comes to survival money so file pride away immediately

5) do NOT depend on unemployment and think you will 'get a job' when it runs out, as it may run out
before you get a job

6) going off unemployment to work a temp job or interim job 'banks' your UI into the future, even
if the process can be a hassle. temp & interim jobs lead to more contacts, and more contacts
are what you need as they lead to greater chances for a permanent job.

7) tell ALL your friends you are looking -- most people get jobs thru referrals, NOT thru want ads or web sites

8) Human Resources is NOT your friend -- they are your obstacle. If you have a company in mind to work
for, get to the manager of the department directly. After all, the manager knows what is happening well
before HR ever will...

9) if you have an office-type job, try to keep your phone and voicemail active, and use that number
for messages when job hunting. looking 'employed' gives you more 'cred' than looking unemployed

10) modify your spending habits NOW. no lattes, no new clothes, no nothing. Food and shelter basics.
scale down spending as if you will not work for a year or more -- just in case...

11) stay active both physically & mentally. ride your bike, read books. enhance your skills where possible.

12) consider joining any groups that may have connections in your field like professional organizations

13) if you have excess 'stuff', now is the time to sell it on ebay or craigslist for extra cash

14) lean on your family & friends for support. don't go it alone -- you don't have to...

Over the years, I have been thru some heady recessions and watched the unemployed routinely violate
one or more of the above, only to find themselves out of cash with nowhere to turn. Rock bottom is not
where you want to be if you can avoid it.



BTW, Goldman Sachs is now forecast unemployment next year of 9%, a number I believe i had grouped
into posts here forecasting 8.5-10% unemployment next year. the Fed is claiming unemployment will be
less and growth will return in the min-next year time frame. i would not hold that up high, I believe we
will maybe get thru this by years end. government numbers are phoney anyway...

[apricissimus]

These are all good tips. I have the sinking feeling I may need to rely on them soon!

[solveg]

[COLOR="Sienna"]
8) Human Resources is NOT your friend -- they are your obstacle. If you have a company in mind to work
for, get to the manager of the department directly. After all, the manager knows what is happening well
before HR ever will...

One of the smartest things I've done in my life was was the above. When I was a consultant, I got to go into a lot of places in my field and was able to see what the dynamics were in them all. There was one place I loved. I decided I wanted to work there, and called the manager every 6 months and asked, "When are you going to hire me?" There was virtually no turnaround there, but 2 years later he called me up and said he had an opening! It was the best place to work EVAH.

[bikebuddha]

8) Human Resources is NOT your friend -- they are your obstacle. If you have a company in mind to work
for, get to the manager of the department directly. After all, the manager knows what is happening well
before HR ever will...
..[/INDENT]


.

Having worked in HR basically all my adult life I can cofirm this is 100% true.

[Serendipper]

GA is a right to work state. Good luck trying to qualify here!

[SingingSabre]

On the other hand, if you make the right connections in HR, you can get them to go up to bat for you if anything bad should happen. So use them to your advantage when possible!

EDIT: One of the reasons I'm one of the busiest therapists at work is because I am friends with almost all of the front desk people. Getting in with them puts me at the top of their list to book clients with.

[Lithuania]

scary thread

[Mr. Markets]

On the other hand, if you make the right connections in HR, you can get them to go up to bat for you if anything bad should happen. So use them to your advantage when possible!

EDIT: One of the reasons I'm one of the busiest therapists at work is because I am friends with almost all of the front desk people. Getting in with them puts me at the top of their list to book clients with.

Great point! The front desk is VERY important, especially in smaller organizations. Treat them
poorly when you come in and I guarantee the boss hears about it before the day is out. You
should treat everyone as a potential contact, even if "all the do is answer the phone". Those
people who answer the phone know a LOT more than you think!

[Mr. Markets]

Having worked in HR basically all my adult life I can cofirm this is 100% true.

Don't I know it!

[Mr. Markets]

One of the smartest things I've done in my life was was the above. When I was a consultant, I got to go into a lot of places in my field and was able to see what the dynamics were in them all. There was one place I loved. I decided I wanted to work there, and called the manager every 6 months and asked, "When are you going to hire me?" There was virtually no turnaround there, but 2 years later he called me up and said he had an opening! It was the best place to work EVAH.

and ANOTHER good point, if you have a 'Rolodex", work it. Call your former customers, business
contacts etc. Do not be 'ashamed' you have been laid off unless you are the ONLY person in the
whole org to be asked to leave. Then -- well you better take a good long look in the mirror and
figure out why...

[mlts22]

Expanding on the front desk thing: Be careful the way you interact with cow-orkers. Its total random chance that down the road, the clueless twit that other employees are making fun of may end up either being the company VP or a high ranking officer in another firm with power over hiring and firing.

Another issue with co-workers: I'm not saying to play the office politics game, but be careful. A lot of them know they are the above mentioned fat in a company, and are scrambling to find someone to throw under the bus so they don't have to stand in the unemployment line. This is why I try to be very meticulous about documenting things. Not to tattle on someone if they did something small, but this is intended to strengthen your case over time. Especially if another cow-orker wants open warfare, it might be the thing that keeps your job and loses theirs, or the lack of it may be the other way around. Expect people to lie to your face and think you are dumb enough to believe it.

Finally, always try evolving. One of the reasons I took time to get my college degree was to have something new and shiny to show to prospective employers. Managers love pieces of paper like degrees and certificates. Not that they make a difference when it comes to competency, but when justifying your continued existance to their managers and the HR department (who don't see or don't care about employee skill levels.)

[crtreedude]

Good pointers El Gordo.

Another one, if you think you might be laid off, get cracking looking for a job. It is generally easier to get a job because you have one, and, if a lot of people with your criteria get laid off from your company, you want to get in front of them.

The other thing to remember is that though 9% is high, it still means most people are working - and there are still jobs out there. You just need one.

[patentcad]

You're all fired.

[Nickel]

Networking is your friend. I know most places have implemented a hiring freeze but just talking to some people, found out that their departments had a spot open based on monies that were set aside before this mess.

[Mr. Markets]

You're all fired.

and right before the holidays no less -- you are heartless!

[SingingSabre]

Great point! The front desk is VERY important, especially in smaller organizations. Treat them
poorly when you come in and I guarantee the boss hears about it before the day is out. You
should treat everyone as a potential contact, even if "all the do is answer the phone". Those
people who answer the phone know a LOT more than you think!

Too true!

You should see the difference in bookings when different employees are working the phones.

[Mr. Markets]

I was at the dog park today. Some lady in her mid-50's was there with her pooch. Another
co-worker showed up. They start chatting. The older lady just had her job eliminated (in HR
no less). Then she was offered a similar job with less responsibility and less duties on an hourly
basis -- for 40% of the pay. She took it. Needs the money, needs the bennies...


Another friend of a friend I know is a lawyer. He just got cut last week. Wife does not work. I
do not imagine things are gonna be all that hot in the legal field anytime soon.

[ngateguy]

and ANOTHER good point, if you have a 'Rolodex", work it. Call your former customers, business
contacts etc. Do not be 'ashamed' you have been laid off unless you are the ONLY person in the
whole org to be asked to leave. Then -- well you better take a good long look in the mirror and
figure out why...

Here is a tip, since your work contacts are considered "intellectual property" of the company. Download a copy of you contacts now to take home. And keep it updated.

The last time I was laid off I was escorted to my desk to make sure all I removed was personal property. My rolodex was not considered personal and I could not take it with me.

Now excuse me for a minute while I down load my contacts to take home. I do not think I will be laid off in the near future, but better safe than sorry eh?

[timmyquest]

I spent 5 months trying to find a job, calling managers (and often HR), writing cover letters, changing my res. Then one day my girlfriend mentioned that her boss at her internship is looking for a case manager and she wants to talk to me.

Hired.

Career lesson 1 reinforced early: Networking is key.

[solveg]

I spent 5 months trying to find a job, calling managers (and often HR), writing cover letters, changing my res. Then one day my girlfriend mentioned that her boss at her internship is looking for a case manager and she wants to talk to me.

Hired.

Career lesson 1 reinforced early: Networking is key.

Yes, networking is key! And yet... you'd think that this would mean that all the really nasty people would go jobless eventually. We all know them...the ones that are really crabby/lazy/scary/gossipy. You'd think that by the time they reached 30, they would have "anti-networked". But they still seem to get jobs....

[gfrance]

Job hunting is the most demeaning job there is.

[Mr. Markets]

ba da bump (in case some newly unemployed missed this thread)

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Time for this thread to make a reappearance. I just hunted it up and restuck it.

[Mr. Markets]

we have friends who live north of us by the Canadian border. He was in homebuilding (project
management) and she works in accounting part time. he no longer has a job and she is stressed
to the max they cannot keep up with the payments.

on top of all that they bought three lots from his former company when the company closed down.
that adds to the monthly budget cost of living which is now subsidized by savings.

i told her (as she was just visiting) to dump the lots for whatever they could get as they simply
do not have the personal financial staying power to weather this current storm. even selling one
at 1/2 price will buy them tons of breathing room v. the risk of losing their home and lots all at once.

her response was that she didn't want to drive down the value of the other lots. I had to explain
to her there is NO value in ANY of the lots till one is sold, so whatever number she has in her head
is a fantasy till a market number is established.


why post this?


it is an example of clinging to an irrationality that is not a reality. If you lost your job and do not
have a LOT of staying power to be able to be unemployed for some time (just in case), you need
to reassess and start jettisoning things now! healthclub memberships, 2nd homes, maybe even a
primary residence.


Paul Kasriel (an economist at Northern Trust for whom I have a LOT of respect) has this post up:

http://web-xp2a-pws.ntrs.com/content...ent/us0109.pdf

In it he basically calls for the same scenario I see going forward as well, a 'sawtooth' recovery. There
will be no 'bounce', or V or U-shaped recession that comes to an end. This will be a sawtooth recovery
that will take many years to play out. As such, if you are on the outside looking in, the best of plans
is now to plan for personal armageddon, and then hope for better. That way you will not be caught up
like my friends above.

[pedex]

15. Get in decent physical shape, as the economy unravels and job market changes it will favor physical labor. I watched 3 people get fired last weekend because they simply couldn't do basic menial labor.