My Fleep:
Career & Employment
Career & Employment
You’re Fired! Tips for Avoiding the Termination Blues
With almost daily news reports of companies laying off
workers, or filing for bankruptcy, or going out of business
altogether, losing your job suddenly doesn't sound all that
unlikely. Here are some strategies either to avoid being
laid-off, or to cushion the blow if it comes.
1. Keep your resume current. If you haven't looked at your
resume in over a year, drag it out and review it. Make sure
you've included your latest work accomplishments and that
it adequately represents who you are. Whether or not you
are looking for a new job, you should update your resume
every time you get an award, finish a big project, or get a
promotion.
2. Stay up to date on the latest news about your company
and in your field. Read the business sections in the
newspaper. Look at trade journals. Read your company's
annual report. Pay particular attention to stories that
might indicate the market for widgets (or whatever your
company does) is going south.
3. Get to know people in different departments in your
company. The sales and service staffs always know before
anyone else how the company is doing. Learn to read the
handwriting on the wall.
4. If you think the company might be considering layoffs,
get busy finding yourself a new job and then volunteer to
leave. If you're the first one out the door, you can
probably negotiate yourself a substantial severance
package. Later people won't be so lucky.
5. Cultivate work relationships. If you're the kind of
person who thinks company golf outings, picnics, birthday
parties and other team get-togethers are a waste of time,
or if you routinely berate co-workers, steal ideas or lose
your temper, you'll be packing up your desk while good ol'
mediocre Jim in the next cubicle is comparing golf scores.
People want to be around people who make them feel
comfortable. If it's a close call on who to keep and who to
let go, you and your anti-team-mentality are going to lose.
6. Stay current in your field. Take a seminar. Write an
article for a trade journal or an online article directory.
Get certified on a new piece of software, or learn some new
applications for one you already use.
7. Toot your own horn. Make sure your boss knows just how
much you contribute to the bottom line. Get in there and
get some face-time. Volunteer to take on extra projects.
Bring in new customers or find ways to cut costs. It
doesn't matter how great a job you do, if no one realizes
you do it.
8. If you have a lot of personal information on your work
computer, get rid of it. Keep copies of performance
evaluations, certifications, letters of appreciation, etc,
at home. Maintain a current list of networking contacts,
personal e-mail addresses and other useful information
(including your current resume) on your home computer. If
you are laid off, chances are you won't be allowed to even
log into your computer, let alone be allowed to download
anything. You probably won't be able to walk out the door
with a briefcase full of papers, either, so plan ahead. I'm
not talking about proprietary information – you can go to
jail for doing that -- but you have a perfect right to the
names and contact information of people with whom you've
developed a positive working relationship. There's nothing
to prevent you from calling them to say you've left the XYZ
Company and to ask them to keep you in mind for any job
openings they might hear about.
Losing your job doesn't have to be the end of the world.
You can't prepare for every eventuality, but you can
cultivate a positive outlook an make sure you're ready to
move ahead if the ax falls on you.
----------------------------------------------------
Joan Schramm, the Workplace Solutions Expert, is a career,
executive and personal coach with twenty years experience
in management, training and coaching. Joan can work with
you to figure out exactly what you want from your life and
your career, and how to get there without a lot of detours.
For more information, or to talk about what’s going on in
your life, go to:
http://www.achieve-momentum.com
With almost daily news reports of companies laying off
workers, or filing for bankruptcy, or going out of business
altogether, losing your job suddenly doesn't sound all that
unlikely. Here are some strategies either to avoid being
laid-off, or to cushion the blow if it comes.
1. Keep your resume current. If you haven't looked at your
resume in over a year, drag it out and review it. Make sure
you've included your latest work accomplishments and that
it adequately represents who you are. Whether or not you
are looking for a new job, you should update your resume
every time you get an award, finish a big project, or get a
promotion.
2. Stay up to date on the latest news about your company
and in your field. Read the business sections in the
newspaper. Look at trade journals. Read your company's
annual report. Pay particular attention to stories that
might indicate the market for widgets (or whatever your
company does) is going south.
3. Get to know people in different departments in your
company. The sales and service staffs always know before
anyone else how the company is doing. Learn to read the
handwriting on the wall.
4. If you think the company might be considering layoffs,
get busy finding yourself a new job and then volunteer to
leave. If you're the first one out the door, you can
probably negotiate yourself a substantial severance
package. Later people won't be so lucky.
5. Cultivate work relationships. If you're the kind of
person who thinks company golf outings, picnics, birthday
parties and other team get-togethers are a waste of time,
or if you routinely berate co-workers, steal ideas or lose
your temper, you'll be packing up your desk while good ol'
mediocre Jim in the next cubicle is comparing golf scores.
People want to be around people who make them feel
comfortable. If it's a close call on who to keep and who to
let go, you and your anti-team-mentality are going to lose.
6. Stay current in your field. Take a seminar. Write an
article for a trade journal or an online article directory.
Get certified on a new piece of software, or learn some new
applications for one you already use.
7. Toot your own horn. Make sure your boss knows just how
much you contribute to the bottom line. Get in there and
get some face-time. Volunteer to take on extra projects.
Bring in new customers or find ways to cut costs. It
doesn't matter how great a job you do, if no one realizes
you do it.
8. If you have a lot of personal information on your work
computer, get rid of it. Keep copies of performance
evaluations, certifications, letters of appreciation, etc,
at home. Maintain a current list of networking contacts,
personal e-mail addresses and other useful information
(including your current resume) on your home computer. If
you are laid off, chances are you won't be allowed to even
log into your computer, let alone be allowed to download
anything. You probably won't be able to walk out the door
with a briefcase full of papers, either, so plan ahead. I'm
not talking about proprietary information – you can go to
jail for doing that -- but you have a perfect right to the
names and contact information of people with whom you've
developed a positive working relationship. There's nothing
to prevent you from calling them to say you've left the XYZ
Company and to ask them to keep you in mind for any job
openings they might hear about.
Losing your job doesn't have to be the end of the world.
You can't prepare for every eventuality, but you can
cultivate a positive outlook an make sure you're ready to
move ahead if the ax falls on you.
----------------------------------------------------
Joan Schramm, the Workplace Solutions Expert, is a career,
executive and personal coach with twenty years experience
in management, training and coaching. Joan can work with
you to figure out exactly what you want from your life and
your career, and how to get there without a lot of detours.
For more information, or to talk about what’s going on in
your life, go to:
http://www.achieve-momentum.com