Wednesday, October 21, 2009

10 tips: what NOT to do when you've been laid off

Please, please DON't do any of the following. It's career suicide.
1. Call all your friends and contacts upon hearing of your redundancy. You will be more emotional than you think. You are likely to bitch and whinge about your ex employer. You know that's never cool and you will regret it later. By all means tell your closest mates and go down the boozer and let off steam there. But don't...
2. Go drinking every night. You can fool yourself that you're networking and some hot job lead will pop up but I've yet to meet someone who actually got an interview and job offer through a recommendation from a kindly drunk.
3. Switch on your pc first thing and surf your mind away. It's so easy to spend hours on facebook/bebo/twitter. I should know. Social networking has its place but it eats into the most productive parts of the day 9-11 and 3-5.
4. Purchase track suit bottoms because they're so comfy. Slippery path....enough said.
5. Blame everyone else for your misfortune and take it out on your family. How you react to your redundancy will impact your nearest and dearest most who care for you and worry about you. I know it's cheesy and hard to do but remaining positive is the most powerful thing you can do. That's not to say that you shouldn't lose the rag occassionally...if you want to rant whilst swinging a hurley on O'Connell street, just make sure your disguise is pretty good.
6. Expect the offers to roll in. Nor expect friends to ring you with contacts and job opportunities. It's all legwork I hate to tell you.
7. Turn up for the interview on the basis that they should take you as they see you or if it's meant to be, it will happen....The amount of practice and roleplay you do, following the guidelines of top selling interview books, will really help. I
8.Don't go casual. If you are better dressed than the interviewer, that's actually a good sign.
9. Have a CV that exceeds 2 pages. It doesn't matter if you have 20 years director level experience. Even CEOs know this rule. Your CV should be an appetiser, so that they want to find out more...highlighting your key achievements. It is not an autobiography.
10. Accept the first offer. Really! All employers chance their arm and offer a bit less than they are willing to pay, especially in recession. In your joy at finally getting a job offer it's easy to rush in and accept. Thank them for the offer and politely state that you were expecting more for someone with your abilities. Ask them if there is room for manoevre. I guarantee you that they will not retract the offer but will instead offer you more.
Good luck!

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