A Six-Step Guide to Processing a Layoff
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If you’ve been laid off — and it can happen to the best of us — it’s important to remember that you are not alone and this does not have to be the worst thing to happen to you. If you’re struggling to figure out what to do next, consider the following tips:
Breathe. Even if your company provides a decent severance package that gives you some time to find another job, being asked to leave is a kick in the gut. Shock. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. Relief. It’s natural to feel all of these and more after being laid off. No matter your situation, you should give yourself the time and permission to really connect with your feelings about being laid off.
Choose your inner dialogue wisely. Being told you no longer have a job can trigger an avalanche of stress and anxiety. When you choose a positive inner dialogue it tells your brain that things are going to be okay. In turn, your brain prioritizes thoughts that favour resourcefulness, creativity, and identifying opportunities. In contrast, negative self-talk causes your brain to send the message that danger is around every corner and you need to focus on protection, which can impair your creative problem solving and potentially cause you to shut down.
Prioritize self-care. When faced with an unexpected and unwanted outcome, especially one that impacts our means for survival, many of us default to a state of hypervigilance. One consequence can be the feeling that we have to save every penny until we find another job. Taking a daily shower, getting enough sleep, and going for a walk near nature are all simple and virtually no-cost activities that will help you remain physically and emotionally strong while you tackle the uncertainty of your new reality.
Be open to the positive possibilities. Your survival instincts will be pretty good at identifying all the possible negative outcomes of losing your job. So you may need to be intentional about directing your brain toward the positive possibilities. You may soon find yourself in another job that better suits your talents and style. You may get to diversify your skills in a way you wouldn’t have been able to in your previous role. You may even end up in a higher paying role. Or — like me — you may decide to go into business for yourself! In short, your next chapter could be amazing.
Take time to identify what you want. It’s easy to feel desperate in the days and weeks after a layoff. But just because your former organization decided they no longer need your services doesn’t mean you’re unwanted. In fact, your layoff could be just the push you need to go after your dream role. Start by looking for jobs that appeal to you, even if you don’t think you’re qualified or they aren’t in your city. The point is to get clear about what you want.
Reach out to your support network. You may feel a sense of shame or embarrassment from being laid off. Don’t. Lots of top performers lose their jobs when leadership changes their priorities. Definitely consider what you want to learn about yourself and your industry from this experience, but then move forward. Having friends and family to help you through the transition can give you a soft place to land when you experience moments of anxiety or depression. Plus, letting people know that you’re available for a new job means they may be able to connect you with opportunities.
Adapted from: H.V. MacArthur, How To Process Being Laid Off: A Six-Step Guide
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...there was also an emotional toll. My work made up a significant piece of my social life, and it was lonely not having my friends and co-workers around me on a regular basis. My job was tied intrinsically to my identity — it was jarring, to say the least, to no longer self-identify based on my occupation.
- Rebecca Fishbein, Journalist
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Think You've Got No Skills? Think Again!
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Assessing your own experience, to figure out how you can fill gaps in the sectors you want to move into, is an essential exercise if you want to stand out from the crowd utilizing your core transferable skills.
Start by carrying out an audit of your own skills. If you want to change careers; a simple way to start is to list items in key areas:
- The things you love to do
- The aspects you are good at
- Your personal qualities
- Your specific work experience
- The dream organisations you would want to work for
Then write down how 1+ 2 + 3 + 4 are transferable to the organisations you are targeting (5) with speculative approaches. The idea of the exercise is to understand the organisations you are targeting and what strategic value you can offer them.
If you are still having difficulties in identifying what you think you are good at and what you think your personal qualities are, try this exercise.
- Think about the successes you achieved in your previous roles. How were these achieved, what steps did you undertake to reach your goals and how did you implement these?
- How did you problem solve and overcome challenges that arose during the process?
- What personal qualities played a part in you reaching these achievements?
- Were these successes as part of a team, if so, how did you get everyone on board, supporting and motivating them to share the common goal?
- How goal oriented are you and what key skills have you brought to the fore in reaching your personal milestones?
- How do you create a balance between your personal and work life?
- What things are you truly passionate about?
Next, focus on areas of personal interest, the life/work balance you're aiming for.
This exercise should help you package together your transferable skills in ways you have never considered. For example: Do you have the ability to meet ever changing needs? Do you possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills? Do you have a well-honed resilience to working within time-critical environments? What about a persuasive and confident nature? And do you possess extensive knowledge and business contacts within sector organizations?
Once you have a clear understanding of all the transferable skills you possess, focus on common denominators which would package well to prospective employers. Craft your key talking points, so you know what to say on your resume, cover letter, networking and online professional profiles. Audit your social media accounts to find ways to enhance professional identity.
Target the organizations you would like most to work for, and get busy prospecting your wish list.
Adapted from Elizabeth Bacchus, The Successful CV Company
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How to Identify Your Transferable Skills to Create Impact
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Ask any business executive about transferable skills, and they’ll tell you the same thing: not only are they important when making a career change, but essential to getting ahead. Once you reach a certain level, your hard-line training and education take a backseat to things like:
Managing Change. Entire industries are being disrupted like never before. Can you navigate these waters successfully?
Communication. Can you build relationships, manage conflict, and influence varied audiences?
Leadership. Can you coalesce people around a vision for the future?
“Just in Time” Learning. Are you skilled at rapidly gathering ONLY the information necessary to execute quickly?
Complex Problem Solving. Can you find the opportunity in adversity?
So now let’s break down how to communicate skills like this on your resume:
1. Identify the Key Transferable Skills You Need to Highlight
- Use a resource like the Government of Canada's Job Bank, the Government of Alberta's Market Your Employability section, to quickly look up your targeted position and get a breakdown of essential transferable skills.
- Now spend some time thoroughly assessing the transferable skills you currently possess. In most cases, you’ll have at least 50% of those required by your targeted position.
- Ask yourself: What are all the skills I need to do my current job? Write them out.
- Now review your list and circle those skills which correlate with your targeted position.
- Finally, underline those circled skills which can be proven on your resume. These are the ones you need to focus on.
2. Show, Don’t Tell in Accomplishments
The CAR (Challenge, Actions, Results) technique is a great way to to break down transferable skills into accomplishments that really sing on resumes. You must tie down transferable skills with accomplishments, or else it’ll just feel like fluff.
For each highlighted skill, ask yourself:
- Challenge. What big challenges did you face in this area? Think entire career, not just your current job.
- Actions: What specific actions did you take to overcome them?
- Results: What was the impact of your work?
Here are some examples of CAR-based transferable skills accomplishments:
Managing Change: Mitigated the effects of a $42M revenue shortfall as a result of new policy affecting direct marketing efforts. Led multi-pronged digital marketing campaign which cut a $42M loss into a $5M loss in 8 months.
Leadership: Transformed staff retention rates through ground-development of a “Career Pathways” program, initially rolled out across Sales & Marketing prior to company-wide adoption.
3. Utilize a Resume Structure that Plays To Your Strengths
The bigger the career change you’re attempting to make, the MORE important a role transferable skills will play. Ensure the type of resume you choose highlights your strengths to the most advantage.
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I'm Over 50 and I Need a Job!
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If you're 50-plus and have experienced a job loss, or you're simply looking to switch gigs, take heart in the fact that your career isn't over. The 50-year-old who claims that “no one wants to hire someone my age” would be wrong. Below is some advice on how older workers can better market themselves in today's job search ... and get hired.
Don't ... Try Harder
You read that right. Don't.
If you've been on the job hunt for a while, with little or no success, you may have heard this platitude: Just try harder! When you find yourself putting more and more effort into something that’s getting less and less results, it's not a sign that you should keep trying—it’s just the opposite.Of course, this isn't to say that you should stop putting in effort altogether. Rather, you should try something different, whether it's re-vamping your LinkedIn profile, networking more consistently or working with a career coach to more effectively bust through a job-hunt rut.
Do ... Make your resume ageless
Are you proud of your 20-plus years of experience, but getting no response to countess job applications? Removing key age indicators from your resume, such as the year you graduated from college and the lengths of time you were employed can make a big difference. In an ideal world, experience should trump age but to someone in their 20s – often the age of recruiters nowadays – looking at a candidate with 20-plus years of experience puts you in the same age group as a mother or even a grandmother. If you're really intent on getting a job, you have to make concessions.
Do ... Brush up on your interview skills
If you haven't interviewed in a long time, you could probably use some practice. You can always fall back on role playing with a too-comfortable friend, but seek out job assistance resources in your area first. One resource in Alberta is the Alberta Supports Centres, located throughout the province. They have free workshops on resume writing and interview skills.You may also want to record yourself speaking. If you are interested in the non-profit sector, for example, listen to your own voice, and ask yourself: Do I have enough emotion? Do I sound like I care?
Don't ... Write off temporary or part-time work
Employers are particularly receptive to hiring the over-50 set on a part-time, temporary or project basis. They employers get experienced, reliable employees, and in most cases, they don't have to pay benefits for these positions, making these workers cost-effective. Consider contacting a company that you admire and offering to work on a part-time, trial basis. It can give you a little bit of a leg up because the employer can then say, 'We can hire this person, and if it doesn't work out, we can cut ties with no strings attached.
Do ... Start a blog
Blogging about your field will help alleviate younger hiring managers' concerns about your tech-savviness. It shows that you're web savvy and that you're up-to-the-minute in your field. If you're blogging about the latest advancements going on in your field, potential employers will say, 'Wow, this person is really current.
Do ... View your Age as an asset
Learn how to differentiate yourself from younger competition. Make the case for yourself not as an older person but as an experienced individual who has the ability to work in many environments and with different personalities and someone with a good track record of success.
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