Careers Staying Focused during Layoffs
Everyone dreads the day they will hear the words Can you step into my office, and close the door please. But often it is beyond your control. Sure some people goof around at work or make big mistakes, but honest hard-working people are laid off for different reasons such as reorganizing, changing company direction, costing too much, and so on. No matter the reason, when you get your pink slip you need to stay focused on your career plan.- What is a career plan?If you are seriously asking this, you need to sit down right now and start one. A career plan is simply figuring where you want to be in your professional career at different points in the future 6 months, 1 year, 3 years from now and some kind of plan on how you will get there. It's amazing how many people haven't sat down and done a few minutes thinking about this. Its just as amazing how much of a difference those few minutes will make for your career. Once you know where you are going and have a plan to get there you are more confident and motivated. You enjoy getting up and going to work because it puts you one day closer to your goals. But without a career plan, work is just the same thing day after day.- Layoff is a chance to access your goalsWhen you are laid off, all kinds of things go through your head: things you could have done differently, loyalty you gave that wasn't returned maybe, or other things. With all this turmoil in your head, it's easy to lose sight of your career plan. But this is the perfect time to take stock in your career, and access your goals. If you haven't taken a serious look at your career goals in a while, it's a good time to do so when you are updating your resume. At this time, all your job experiences and knowledge are fresh in your mind. Make the most of it!- Don't jump at the first job offer to come alongWhen you are out of work, it's easy to become desperate and jump at the first job offer to come your way. If you have been out of work for a few weeks, it's even truer. However, you need to have confidence in yourself and your abilities. This job offer is only the first of others; it's not the only fish in the sea. So, calm down and evaluate the job offer based on your career goals; does it take you closer to your future goals, does it provide you with experience or training you need to make your next step up, and does it give you a chance to grow in the direction you have planned? It is possible that this job offer gives you a chance to expand your career in a direction you hadn't considered but is still a move towards your goals. But be wary that you aren't just making excuses so you can get working again at the first thing to come along. You never know, your second job offer might be for twice as much money as the first or it might be your ideal job! That said, if you really need a job to pay the bills it's understandable that you can't wait for the perfect job.- The pitfall of taking any old job offerOnce you are working again, you will find it is very hard to keep looking for work. If that job you accepted just to get back working again isn't in your career plan, say you took a job waiting tables when you were on your way to being a self-employed architect, be prepared for a hard climb back to where you were. When you are working a job you don't really want, it's very tiring and depressing. At the end of the day you just want to crawl into bed. The last thing on your mind is spending hours looking for that better job. But if you don't spend those hours, you'll wake up years down the road and wonder what happened to your career. Don't let that happen to you!
