Preparing for a layoff that you hope never comes

I was asked to be interviewed for an article about what employees should be doing now just in case of a future layoff. I am thinking of what I want to emphasize, so here are some ideas I have been thinking.

 

 

Your Attitude

•  Be realistic about potential for layoffs in your industry, occupation, or company. Some people have been laid off so many times they consider employment to be “between layoffs.” Keep your eyes and ears open for clues that may signal a downturn or change in strategic direction. For example, if you work for a medical device company where the company is being sued for a product that has had some regulatory issues or performance issues, then watch out. Or if you work for the IT division of a company where there are discussions of off-shoring or outsourcing some of the programming work, watch out. We can’t anticipate everything, but we need to be alert.
• Do as much as you can to make yourself invaluable to your current employer. Work at a high level, volunteer for strategic assignments, be reliable and dependable, stay current with industry trends and knowledge. Be the Wisdom and Knowledge resource for your division. Sometimes whole divisions are cut and you can’t really affect the outcome. But if they are deciding on an employee-by-employee basis, then you want every advantage stacked in your favor.

 

Your Finances

 

• Save cash – try to build a cash reserve of at least 6 months of salary. Unemployment Insurance usually only lasts 6 months. Don’t count on there being any more extensions. The average job seeker is out of work for about 37 weeks these days, so try to have enough cash on hand to withstand such a dry spell.
• Plan to keep your retirement accounts intact. A layoff is not the time to drain the investments you have socked away for retirement. Using that money usually entails paying a penalty and you get taxed on it when you withdraw it. So, if at all possible leave it alone and do not include those assets in your budgeting for a transition period.
• Pay down debt while you have full income. Accelerate mortgage or car payments if you can. Get down to one credit card and pay it off every month on time to avoid late fees. Or better yet, try not to use it as much.

 

Your Network

 

• I always liked the title of Harvey Mackay’s book, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty.” The time to build your network of contacts is now. You need that network in place if a layoff occurs. It takes time to build and nurture a thriving network, so don’t delay.
• Another networking book is called “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi. He is a little “self promoting” but there are still some good tips in it. I wrote a brief review of it a few years ago. http://jobpartners.blogspot.com/2008/05/networking-book-review-never-eat-alone.html
• Use LinkedIn to build, manage and expand your network. Networking always been the tried and true method of finding work. Well, now it has morphed into Social Networking and has moved to the Web. LinkedIn just added it’s one hundred millionth member, so it has become the standard site. People say Facebook is like a party on your patio, while LinkedIn is a gathering around the office water cooler. www.linkedin.com. A high percentage of recruiters and hiring managers are already Googling you and checking your LinkedIn profile, so make it a good one.
• Use LinkedIn to build your career brand online. Use it to look for job postings, use it to start or join groups, use it to update your network on your activities, feed your network links to articles, videos (professional topics of course), and anything else they might find useful.
• Use LinkedIn’s section of training materials and articles including videos that teach how to use the website.
• Keep your job search skills up todate. Work on your career brand, your elevator speech, your interviewing skills and regularly check the internet job postings to track who is hiring and who is not. Many of your interactions during networking could be considered "job interviews," simply because people are always assessing talent. So, don't think that you aren't being evaluated simply because you haven't formally applied for a job posting.
• Be sure to join any relevant groups or professional associations that relate to your occupation. There are national organizations that have local chapters, such as ISPI and ASTD for performance improvement and training professionals. These organizations are excellent for networking and lending your own expertise. Volunteer for leadership positions if you can, because it makes you visible beyond your current company, and lets you demonstrate your value to a wider audience. Your current employer may pay for memberships.

 

Your Goals

 

• Keep a current resume or curriculum vitae. Obtain a job description of your current job so you will have all the proper terminology and job duties written down. Use all the keywords for your occupation in your resume.
• Use www.wordle.com to discover how well you are using keywords in your resume and in your LinkedIn profile.
• If you know for sure layoffs are coming, see if there is a way you can keep doing your current work as a consultant rather than an employee.

Your Education and Credentials

 

• Take advantage of your company’s tuition re-imbursement program while you are there. Many companies will pay for courses up to some maximum dollar amount for the year. It’s like free money, so utilize it.
• Keep licenses and certifications up to date even if they are not relevant for your current job title.
• I have seen an awful lot of valuable employees get stuck because they were doing a job for 20 years but never actually attained the credentials for their skills. They didn’t think it was important because they already had a job and were doing it well. But then once they got laid off, they discovered that they couldn’t get hired for that same job title without the appropriate credential.

 

If you think of anything I have missed, please send a note and let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

--Mike Powers

Believe in your value!

Much of the job search advice you are bombarded with is focused on techniques, methods, and strategies for preparing your resume, getting it to the right person, getting an interview, wowing them in the interview, etc.

There is a really REALLY important step that must come first, or else none of those strategies work very well. That step is believing in your own value and that you can really contribute to your potential employer’s organization in a powerful way.

Because of the nature of most career advice focusing on techniques, we are really putting the cart before the horse. We may use all these effective techniques to get an interview and then fail to get the job because we don’t sell the interviewer on our value. And we don’t sell them on our value because we aren’t totally convinced of it ourselves.

Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from sales professionals. The most effective salespersons in my experience are the ones who totally believe they are making your life better by offering you their product or service. They are not trying to trick you into buying it just to get a sale. They truly believe in the value of what they are offering you.

And if you think about it, that makes the selling process much much easier. You don’t have to worry about being so clever and persuasive; you just need to convey the value you know you have.

So, I recommend spending some reflective time and writing down all the reasons you can think of that you would be an excellent person to hire. Think beyond a list of your skills to how those skills actually help an organization. And then totally believe it. Believe it so deep in your soul that your conviction shows in your eyes and in your voice and in your smile.

-Mike Powers

What is Minnesota Works?

Job Seeker Tools

What is Minnesota Works?

Minnesota Works is a state-sponsored website that replaced the old Minnesota Job Bank. It provides two things job seekers need: 1) searchable job postings and 2) a place to post your own resume. Unfortunately, only about 20% of Dislocated Workers are currently using this job search avenue. I would like to see that grow to be much higher, so I want to encourage you to use it to search for jobs and also to post your resume there and make it visible to employers who may be looking for someone with your background, education and skills.

What employers use Minnesota Works?

Many Minnesota businesses both large and small use Minnesota Works. At last check there are 35, 314 job postings listed there for the whole state. Large corporations use it because they do a lot of hiring and they need access to as many pools of applicants as possible in multiple regions. Small companies and non-profits use it because it is free for them and they don’t have to pay a recruiter to find candidates.

Why should you put your resume on Minnesota Works?

There are already 72,726 people who have registered and put their resumes online for employers to search. You should join this pool of applicants because it is another way to market yourself and make it easy to be found. It is not the only thing you should do to actively job seek, but it certainly should be part of your strategy.

When you post your resume you are actually filling in sections that are searchable, so you want to be sure your resume has all the right keywords for your occupation and your skills.

Is it easy to use?

When looking for job postings, you get to choose the area of the state where you are looking and you can search based on location, occupation, and keywords. There are some excellent tutorials on how to use Minnesota Works on the Positively Minnesota website. Take the time to explore them at http://tinyurl.com/ydud58t

Go for it!

  --Mike Powers

Career Planning...Really?

A new year is upon us (along with a heck of a lot of snow), and many people like to set New Year’s Resolutions.

Goal setting is never a bad idea. As the saying goes, “if you don’t know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else.”

Goal setting relates a lot to career planning and I want to tell you of an interesting conversation I had with my older brother about career planning.

When we visited in the Fall we were sitting on the patio talking about jobs and stuff and I told him that I always considered his to be a great example of a well-planned career.

From my perspective he worked hard to get a PhD and positioned himself to do chemistry research at the Nat’l Institute of Health in Wash. D.C.

Then when research funds became scarce he went back to school and got a Master’s degree in Clinical Chemistry to position himself to work in industry.

When his division of his company was purchased by another corporation he worked there for a while but eventually he didn’t like the new management and took a buyout. He had built up an excellent background, network, experience and credentials for consulting. So, he became an independent consultant, and now when most people his age are retiring, he is still consulting and having the time of his life travelling internationally for business and getting paid very well. If he is home too long his wife eventually asks him when his next gig is, because he sort of disrupts her rhythm at home.

So, I told him I admired how he moved from research to industry to independent consulting always positioning himself for his next move. He looked at me and burst out laughing, and told me that that is not how it was at all. From his perspective he was just bouncing around (the real meaning of the word career, I think) and seizing the next opportunity as it presented itself. He didn’t feel there was much planning involved at all. He thought of it as simply reacting to circumstances.

I was somewhat relieved because that is always how I have thought of my career. Adapting to circumstances and seizing opportunities. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t some planning and preparation in there to some degree, but we rarely ever feel in control of our careers the way the term “career planning” makes it sound. So, good luck with your New Year’s Resolutions for 2011. I hope you reach your most important goals.
  --Mike

The skill of Listening

In career counseling we spend a lot of time coaching people to be more assertive and to speak up for themselves. In some cases, however, we need to coach people to spend more time listening. I interviewed someone for a job a few years ago, and once I asked my first question, I barely was able to get another question in at all. The candidate told me story after story about themselves in an over-caffeinated tempo that amazed me. I abandoned my list of questions and cut the interview short. Needless to say they did not get a second interview. Everyone gets nervous for a job interview, so if you are aware that you get more talkative when you are nervous, then it is a good idea to develop some other strategies for dealing with anxiety.

A good rule of thumb is that the interviewer should talk about 60 percent of the time and the interviewee should talk about 40 percent. This is because it should be a pretty even give and take since you each need to learn some things in order to make such an important decision like hiring. The interviewer usually needs to talk a little more because they need to orient you to the job, the company, the work and to ask you key questions.

The person being interviewed needs to keep the answers brief, focused and to the point. This conveys a sense of confidence and understanding of what the interviewer wants. The interview questions will usually be open ended questions, such as “tell me about a time when you had an important deadline and how you met it.” Hopefully you have prepared for this kind of question and you can answer with a summary (“I certainly understand how important deadlines are in this kind of work, and I have always been known to deliver on time and with great accuracy.”) and then tell a brief story that illustrates your point. (“I remember a time when we needed to complete an order in a big rush and I did X Y and Z to make it happen, and we met that deadline with two hours to spare.”)

The other extreme is when the interviewee doesn’t say enough to really sell themselves, but also doesn’t ask important questions to learn enough about the job and the company. I have been in job interviews where the interviewer wasn’t very skilled and talked way too much and didn’t have a chance to get to know me. Unfortunately, we run into unskilled interviewers all too often. Many companies don’t provide adequate training for their hiring managers.

In these cases the job seeker needs to be prepared to gently take over the interview and be sure to get all your key message points across. If the interviewer doesn’t ask the key question that allows you to talk about one of your main strengths, then you need to act as if they had, and politely tell them anyway. Some ways to do this are to say something like, “You may be wondering how I would do in a fast-paced operation such as this one. I am happy to say that working accurately at a rapid pace is one of my strengths and I much prefer being busy to being bored.” Another way to introduce it is to quote someone else. For example, “My previous supervisor always told me how much he appreciated my ability to multi-task in a very hectic environment.”

The power of listening is that it shows that you are interested, that you are thoughtful and that you are not just into yourself. Listen up, everyone!

Tips for surviving Transition

by Bill Thurston, Vocational Counselor

About a year ago I started collecting stories from participants who had been in transition for a year or more. In workshops I started to see that I was learning more from the people who have “been there” than I could possibly teach. As they started getting jobs I began asking what it was that worked for them. What had they learned from all this?

For those of you who are out there and have lost some vitality, take heart, it will happen for you too. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
The following is a collection of stories from people who have survived and insights as to how they made it happen. Check back to this blog for more stories of success in the future!

1). As far as advice to others, for me it was an opportunity to go back to school and take additional training. I had the opportunity to network with new friends in my training classes.

Being laid off was one of the hardest events I have had to deal with in my life. Family support is very important. Being off work did give me time to bond more with my teenagers. I am glad they were old enough to experience this recession and endure the hardship of having to do without some things they took for granted. As we explained to them, this will happen again in their life time and they need to be conservative in their spending and plan for their future. Everyday my father-in-law and I would go to the gym and work out. Exercise is a great way to take your mind off the situation and help you feel good about yourself.

2). I was getting worried there for a while wondering if I would ever find a job. My advice is to let everyone you know that you are job hunting.

3). Here are my thoughts on the past year and a half...

I can't believe I didn't work for a year. When I look back I think of it as a nice vacation, a waste of 1 1/2 years, but most importantly time to focus on and spend with my family. My husband broke his leg and was laid off as well for the past 8 months, so things have been about as tough as it gets, in addition to having a newborn. I landed this job 1 week after my second unemployment extension ran out. I won't be making the money I wanted, nor at the level I wanted, but it is a job that will help me to contribute to my family and to feel good about myself.

This adventure has me thinking God had this in His plans all along. I'm not a very religious person, but I think He knew I needed to be available to help with our baby and help my husband with his broken leg. Anyway, what kept me motivated was calling my mom. She would ask me about once a week what I had done to find a job. She would help me find jobs online and in the paper, and so did many other family members. When I thought I was no good, she would remind me that I was good and that there were just too many people applying for the same jobs. And she was right! What doesn't work is searching for jobs that are great and not applying for them because you don't want to get rejected again. I landed this job through networking. I applied from an ad in the paper and noticed an old co-worker worked there (LinkedIn is great). And in interviews, I learned that if I'm just myself instead of trying the answer the question right, you'll have a much better chance. (Oh, and having a spouse at home and not working helped me get a job and out of the house! ;)

Time management for LinkedIn

As more and more technologies become available and popular and even musts, we naturally worry about keeping up and managing all these demands on our time. Here are some suggestions for how to stay on top of LinkedIn by dividing the tasks into frequency categories.

Establish your account and build your page
1. Create an account at www.linkedin.com. It is free at the basic user level.
2. Start to build your profile. You can use the feature that imports your resume, but that will require lots of editing and it is just as easy to start from scratch.
3. Choose your own personal URL instead of the default one assigned to you. This means it will have your name or initials as your address. No big deal, but nice to do.
4. Spend lots of time building your connections. This is the heart of networking, so think broadly and deeply about people you know from schools, previous jobs, neighborhood, church, social groups, professional associations, and everything else.
5. Use a personal message when you invite them to connect. Remind them how you know them, and let them know that you'd like to stay in touch.
6. Join some groups where you have an interest or know people.

Daily Routine
1. Check for responses to your invitations. When you connect with someone you can now view their connections so you can see if there is someone there you also know and would like to invite. Keep building your network. Until you have at least 60 connections your network does not have enough reach to be very valuable.
2. Check for other messages from your network to stay on top of events and communications.
3. Read through all the status updates from your network. You can learn a lot about what people and companies are up to this way.
4. Check the Jobs section to see what new postings show up. Do some searches on jobs to see what you can find.

Weekly Routine
1. Begin to post status updates and posts in the groups where you are a member.
2. Consider using your talents and expertise to answer questions posted in the ANSWERS section. This is a way to get known and build credibility in your field.
3. Ask a question of others in the ANSWERS section if you want to get feedback or ideas about something.

Monthly Routine
1. If you choose to give and receive recommendations on LinkedIn, you should review them and search for more bosses or former co-workers who will give you a good recommendation. When you request one make sure you let them know what kinds of statements will be most helpful. Keep them brief, please.
2. It is a good idea to review your profile once a month to see if you can improve it. You will be reading others' profiles and will get some ideas of wording, whether to use the 1st or 3rd person, how to be briefer. Perhaps don't include every place you have ever worked.
3. Check your profile for consistency with your current resume. Make sure you use the same job titles and dates (if you use dates). Employers will be checking your profile, so you don't want any discrepencies that will make them wonder.
4. You can post a link to your resume on your LinkedIn page if you wish. When you are editing your profile you will see a choice asking if you want to add sections to your profile. You can use a tool called box.net to link to a DOC or PDF file of your resume.