So I'm getting laid off in six months

[MikeYikes122]

When I arrived at the office this morning, I found a very important looking e-mail from my boss' boss. The subject header said "Please read immediately", so I opened it figuring it would be some warning about something inappropriate that someone had been doing in the office. But it was anything but.

The e-mail was informing me that my company has been pleased with me as an employee but that I'm being released in six months when my contract runs out because the executives are undergoing some major changes. The e-mail was very personable and my bosses have always been very good to me, so I wasn't upset about receiving the news in electronic form. I am, however, concerned about the prospects of finding a new job.

Every job I have ever gotten has literally been given to me. I've met the right people and made the right contacts dating back to the internships I held as an underclassman in college. I've never had to go through the process of writing and mailing out my resume', but it's looking like I'm going to have to become familiar with it real soon. I've already contacted all my contacts and they're keeping their ears open for me on potential job openings, but it's looking like I'm going to have find myself a job the old fashioned way.

So, does anyone have any tips or pointers for me? I'm looking for something preferably in the Chicago area, in the public relations or technical writing fields. I'm very experienced and well educated, and I've got a lot of good references. I'm trying to get something lined up by this summer.

Any advice from any of you guys on where to start looking or how to begin the process? I'm thinking about going to one of those sites like Monster.com. Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[iqqi]

My #1 suggestion would be to ask your peoples. Ask around! Especially since that is how you normally have gotten jobs, and it still tends to be the best way to get in somewhere.

I am really sorry to hear about that though!

 

[JLR]

Don't just count on personal contacts... At least contact a few headhunters--one may be able to open a few doors for you. My best friend's current GF is a headhunter that found him a great job a couple years ago...

 

[Effington]

Finding a good job is really tough, man. It's one of, if not the, hardest and most stressful things I've had to go through, and I've done it 3 times in the last 3 years. I was on the job hunt up until very recently. As you pointed out, the best/easiest way to find good jobs is through connections. Most of the time, the best companies have people lined up; when there are open positions in a place people like to work, they get their friends in. Since you have six months, that is an option you can work. Anyway, as for getting it on your own, here's my path:

* The first step is to get a lot of opinions on your resume. Get it professionally reviewed if you have that option. I had many companies complement me on my resume, and it really makes a difference. It is what gets you a call. You don't get a job without a resume that stands out above the rest. The lines that really stuck out for me were the ones that showed how I saved the company money, improved processes, or increased revenue. If you can show that, you're money. Not only will they love it, they'll ask for you to elaborate on it, so if you have one good story to accompany that, you just passed the phone screening with flying colors.

* Next, get a quality cover letter. I have a friend on the hunt right now and she mentioned that she got no calls without a cover letter. It improved greatly once she fixed up a good one.

* As you mentioned, careerbuilder and monster are the two biggest search sites. My personal favorite is indeed.com, that might be even better as it searches number different sites.

* Mass distribute! Even if you have the best resume and are most qualified for the job, many of those postings are old, so you may have missed the cut off/the position may have been filled. I received a response from about 30% of my applications, and I've found that to be on the very, very high side. Also note, sometimes companies would call me 3-4 weeks after I initially had sent my resume.

* In the first week or searching you should easily be able to find at least 20-30 positions to apply to. Also note that recruiting firms are great help. I live in the Chicagoland area and SRI (Naperville) were extremely helpful, I still keep in touch with them. Not only are they very personable but they definitely seem to be more people oriented, as opposed to business. What I mean is that my recruiter always keeps in touch with me and checks up on my career progress and compares it to where I can be. And what's even better, when they ask you your salary, it's so they can help you get that number bigger, not so they can try to negotiate the lowest value out of you like a company would (if they get you more money, they get more money). A lot of recruiters just want you to fill a quick assignment so they can cash in; in fact, a recruiter called me today to ask if I was interested in a position, and he was very disappointed to hear I accepted a permanent position. How terrible is that?! He should be happy.

You should be able to find a lot of posts on the internet from recruiting firms regarding your field of study. There are like 200 recruiting firms for the Chicagoland area alone. Note that they are a great way to make a connection but they may have stipulations, like temp. positions w/o benefits or non-exempt positions.

* Interviewing. You can spend 1000 hours revising a resume to perfection, highlighting skills, etc. With interviewing you have to act on the fly. I had a LOT of problems as an undergrad going from interview-->offer. Practice, practice, and practice a lot. It's really, really, important. Practice until you know all the questions they'll ask and can recite your answers in your sleep. When you know what you're going to say going in to the interview, it's easier to act relaxed and personable, as opposed to nervous that you'll get a "hard" question.

I had so many problems interviewing right after undergrad because I wasn't adequately prepared. I went through like 10 interviews without an offer. And those were for really crappy positions, too. When I got an offer on my 11th, I accepted, even though it was well under market value. At least I got really good experience.

After 2 years there I made friends with one of the new girls there, and she had a friend at a different company who referred me. I didn't even have to meet with HR! I talked to the hiring manager for 20 minutes, she practically told me I had the job at the end. They called me 3 hours later with an offer; they gave me an 80% raise. I went from like the lowest paid guy in my class to the highest, just because I knew someone who knew someone.

The job ended up being really boring, but the company got bought out and they gave me a big severence package when the company restructured and let me go, so I was out on the market again. But guess what, I was prepared this time and I had people lined up for me this time! Within 1-2 months (I don't really count December because no one hires then) I had conducted 8 phone interviews, 3 on-site (2nd round) interviews, and received 2 offers. When I received my second offer, I had three 2nd-round interviews lined up, and 3 more phone interviews. Let me tell you, it's a great feeling to call six different companies and tell them that you're no longer interested because you accepted a position. And get this, the severence package they gave me was for six months, and it only took me 2.5 months to accept a new position (that includes my 5 week vacation). The new company matched my previous salary, which is already well above market rate; they even noted that it was "very high" on their pay scale, but they seemed happier than I was that I accepted. I made a pretty good impression on my interviews.

As you can see I'm still very high on this topic as I just wrote like a novel here, and actually most of my posts on this forum are regarding career moves and interviewing, so feel free to ask any other questions!

Oh yeah, and with the profit I received from my severence package (profit = paid severence time minus amount of time unemployed) I am buying a new car and going on a vacation later this year. I'm thinking Europe.

 

[iqqi]

Also look on craigslist. They have listings for everything.

 

[joekerr31]

man this is sweet news. for the next six months do the bare minimum in your job and spend the rest of your time job hunting and networking.

finding a job has to become your job.

 

[MikeYikes122]

man this is sweet news. for the next six months do the bare minimum in your job and spend the rest of your time job hunting and networking.

finding a job has to become your job.

Yeah, seriously man. This is like when I was a senior in high school and the college I picked was dumb enough to let me know that they accepted me five months before high school ended.

Anyway, good advice from you guys and I appreciate it.

My only question is, how exactly do headhunters work? Do they cost money and are there ones that specialize in certain professions?

 

[JLR]

Yeah, seriously man. This is like when I was a senior in high school and the college I picked was dumb enough to let me know that they accepted me five months before high school ended.

Anyway, good advice from you guys and I appreciate it.

My only question is, how exactly do headhunters work? Do they cost money and are there ones that specialize in certain professions?

Headhunters will get a cut from the company that hires--never pay someone to job hunt for you; the hiring companies pay fees to headhunters who find candidates who are ultimately hired. Simple Google searches should get you started on finding headhunters who specialize in your industry as well...