Moving Forward

[ces67]

Hey Ad, just some practical stuff. I was out of work for 15 months. I was (am) the sole financial provider for my family at that time. Here's what I learned on my search. It's just my experience so use what's helpful and throw away the rest.

Finding a new job is a full time deal. Its a job unto itself. Is your employer providing anything beyond a notice date? If not, ask for time in some way to search for a new role. You are still dedicating your time to them which limits your time to search for a job. Is there anything that can be negotiated to help you here?

If they are not willing to offer anything then find time where you can to make a job search plan and act on it. It will be slow, tedious and often frustrating, but every action you take is one step closer to your next job. I was once at a sales conference where a successful salesman said "every 'no' gets me one step closer to my next 'yes'". Seems cheesy but it helps keep a positive perspective in the face of rejection.

Here's my disclaimer. I took a severance package over a relocation which resulted in my unemployment. The package helped but it was not as long as my unemployment. I had to apply for federal unemployment income just to support my family (a humbling experience). I had to drain my retirement and I did it with specific goals (eliminate debt and feed my family). My separation started in August 2008, which experts now say was the start of our last recession (lucky me...)

Get your "elevator speech" prepped & ready. This is a very short explanation of why you are looking for work and what you do. Keep it simple and clear and end it with what you're looking for and the value you bring.

Make a list of companies, organizations that you would like to work for/with. Then start looking for anyone you may know in these organizations to get a foot in the door.

Use the internet to look for jobs & research companies but don't allow yourself to get anchored to your computer. Research shows networking and who you know are still the best ways to get a job.

Find networking groups. I found churches who have formal ministries to help people network and find jobs. This actually led me to a job offer (which I turned down for another). One church actually formed "accountability" teams to help each other stay on task with their job search plans.

The main thing is to attack your job search like any job or project. Have a plan, work the plan, adjust the plan. Schedule small breaks to keep your sanity and as with anything, build your support group.

Over the course of my 15 months of searching, I ended up with 4 job offers. 2 were from direct association with former co-workers. One was through a church job search ministry and one was a completely random internet application (which ironically, ended up being the job I took).

Its like DB in some ways. There are a lot of things you can't control so let go of those and focus on what you can do. Like the others have said, you're intelligent and very capable and some organization is going to be lucky to get you. Its just a lot of work to find it. But like the rest of this stuff, the work ends up being worth it. (((Ad))))