"Off," I mean. Laid off.
I cringe each time a connection on LinkedIn opens his or her post, "After X years, I'm leaving my position at..."
As someone who was once laid off, I know how deeply anxious you feel. What's going to happen to me?Much of the advice given to the laid-off, though well meaning, is shallow. It comes from Hallmark cards and self-published self-help books.
Here's mine, take it or leave it. It comes from experience.
- Don't surrender to depression and fear. That's easy to do, I know, but don't do it.
- Don't self-medicate.
- Don't spend money you don't have.
- Don't take advice from idiots (they're legion).
- Don't rely on a dusty old resume. Study state-of-the-art resumes and get outside help with yours, if you need it.
- Don't spend hours applying for jobs on line. Work your network. And build on it as you do.
- Don't jump at low-level sales opportunities you're offered (those businesses merely want to exploit you).
- Don't posture. Your usual baloney isn't welcome in a pandemic.
- Don't volunteer, unless your heart is in it and your efforts are valued (rare).
- Don't waste time. Spend four hours of every business day networking and four hours exercising. In the early mornings and evenings, read and participate in online workshops. Take the late evenings and weekends off.
- Don't surrender to "monkey mind." Try mindfulness mediation. Be patient with it.
- Don't bank on the "geographic cure." Moving to Austin or Atlanta or Anchorage won't land you a new job.
- Don't fantasize a new life. If you think it's time for a self "reinvention," realize it will take years, not weeks, to pay off.
What's your advice to the laid-off?
They need sage advice.
