10 Quick Tips for Job Hunting after being Laid Off!

Copyright (c) 2009 Sherry Tingley

When people lose their jobs, it's a devastating experience no matter how tactfully they were told they were no longer needed. The life they once knew as financially and emotional secure has been ripped away. According to many sources this loss is similar in intensity to a divorce or death.

Here are 10 quick tips for surviving a job loss.

1. Be grateful for at least one thing in your life on a daily basis. It's so easy to get angry about situations beyond your control. Gratitude helps immensely. "Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude." - Charles Swindoll, Minister/Author

2. Get dressed for the day as if you were going to an interview. You will feel more competent and better prepared for anything that may come up during the day. Get out of those pajamas (unless you are looking for a job as a pajama model) and act as if you were going to be working soon!

3. Focus on getting face-to-face interviews. The chances of getting a job are increased with every face-to-face interview with a person who has the power to hire. It seems too obvious to point out, but the end goal of obtaining a job cannot be reached without face-to-face interviews.

4. Talk to everyone you know and let them know you are looking for work. If there was ever a time in your life that you felt more like crawling in a hole and covering yourself up with sand, this is it. Let go of this feeling as quickly as possible. The more people that are aware you are job hunting, the higher your chances of getting interviews that lead to employment.

5. Become a sales person about the most important thing you will ever sell anybody - YOU! It is extremely difficult for some people to think of themselves as a product, but in a way that is what we are. If you could describe yourself as a product a buyer needs what would you say?

6. Control the job hunting process. Being laid off is a situation that is out of your control. In fact the only thing you have control of is the actual job hunting process. Plan out daily time periods where you will be on the phone inquiring about job openings and actually talking to possible employers. Avoid doing anything else during this time.

7. Don't overrate the value of a resume. What is going to get you hired with a new company is your interaction with the interviewer. Write a good resume, but don’t get stuck on spending hours doing it. Many employers are extremely busy and just want the answers to where your worked, how long you were working and what you did.

8. Avoid writing an objective on your resume. Employers care about what they want, not what you want. They want to know if you will fit the position they have in mind for you. As Tony Beshara states in his book, "The Job Search Solution,"The clear message of an effective resume needs to be 'You need to interview ME because this is what I have done in the past FOR OTHERS and therefore THIS IS WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU!'"

9. Jobs are given to the people who sell themselves best. Don't be afraid that the qualifications you have aren't the absolute perfect fit for the jobs you apply for. Maybe someone else looks better than you on paper, but people get hired who are best at selling themselves.Buy a mousepad for job hunters

10. Research, research, and more research. Find out about the company you are asking to work for. Find out everything you can about them. Ask yourself if you would be happy working for that company. Talk to people who are already working there.