How to Profit from Losing Your Job

By John Truitt
Although it is undeniably a traumatic experience at first, losing your job is not the worst thing that can happen to you, nor does it have to be the end of your career or present lifestyle. It can in fact be the beginning of a more exciting and rewarding career, if you're smart, keep a positive mental attitude and have a strong desire to come through your present situation a winner. Below are some positive steps I emphasize in my outplacement and career coaching sessions that you can take to put things in the proper perspective, find new opportunities and actually profit from being unemployed. First of all:

Don't Blame Yourself

Most people who lose their jobs today are not let go because of poor job performances, but because of unpredictable economic conditions, corporate mergers, acquisitions, "downsizing" and massive lay-offs. Many however will agonize for months over why they were let go while others were kept on the payroll. Once it happens the why of it is ultimately immaterial because it is history now.

Instead of getting bogged down in self-analysis and self-doubts, try and put it behind you quickly by focusing your full attention and efforts upon finding a new and even better job as soon as possible. Even if you were fired because of a poor work record, use the time you've been given to find the kind of career position you will care enough about to take more pride in the quality of your work.

Turn Negatives Into Positives

The "horror stories" of unemployment can haunt us daily when we're out of a job. The openings advertised either don't fit or seem to be hidden behind mountains of corporate red tape. Most counselors and social organizations who mean well seem to spend more time helping the jobless "cope with being unemployed" instead of helping them find employment. Coping with unemployment is not the answer.

It is easier to solve your unemployment problems than it is to cope with them.

Sure you're out of a job, anxious, depressed and the bills are mounting up but this is no time to take up a new hobby as some would suggest. The only conditions we have to cope with are those we can-not change like the death of a loved one, a terminal illness or the weather. Unemployment is only a temporary set-back, not a permanent condition. Can you imagine a football coach telling his team that because they are behind at half-time they should learn to cope with losing?

Teaching people how to cope with being unemployed is just as ridiculous. I realize that financial pressures can be almost unbearable, but to be a winner you must ignore your fears and negative thoughts so you can instead concentrate upon finding a way to win. Use the time you've been given to mount a full-time professional effort to find the kind of new career opportunity you really want.

The faster you find a new position the faster your unemployment problems will be solved for good.

If you receive severance pay from your former employer and find a new position quickly, you could actually end up earning double pay during the remaining term of your severance payments. That's a real profit.

Act now!

Regardless of what some psychologists and other career counselors may suggest, don't "take off a couple of weeks to think things over" before you begin your job search. Once you begin procrastinating a "couple of weeks" can easily lead into several months before you know it. Those who follow this kind of poor advice not only end up having to explain why they're unemployed to prospective employers, they then have to overcome the suspicious implications of why they've been unemployed for such a long period of time. You can see how this quickly becomes a hole that gets deeper every day and almost impossible to climb out of a winner.

Begin a systematic professional job search immediately and if you wish, postpone your start date for two weeks after you accept a new job offer so you and your family can have a vacation together without worrying about what will happen after you return. Knowing you have a job when you get back will make any such experience much more enjoyable for your entire family.

Aim Higher

After losing a good job many people mistakenly assume they will never find another position that pays as well, so they don't even try. They apply for lower level positions and usually end up hearing the words "over-qualified" everywhere they go. If instead you concentrate your efforts towards finding an equal or even better career position than you had be-fore, employers will appreciate your qualifications, and you will be able to choose from the kinds of opportunities that will allow you to take full advantage of your knowledge, skills, experience and career goals. Make your next career move a step ahead rather than a step backwards. Whether you're under-employed or have been unemployed for an ex-tended period of time, you are still unique:

You are worth more today than at any previous time in your career because you have more knowledge, skills, experience and professional contacts.

Decide upon three specific positions that you would really like a first, second and third choice. If you aim higher you could very well find a better job with a better company, better boss and even higher salary than you were earning before. On the other hand, it is virtually impossible to find a better job if you don't try.

It is actually easier to find a great job than it is to find a lousy one.

You'll put in a much better effort to find a more challenging and rewarding career position than you will to find "just anything" and it will not be difficult to keep motivating yourself to work for something you really want either.

Arrange Interviews With Decision-Makers

Once you've selected three "target positions" plan a systematic professional effort to reach the persons in different companies who would be the immediate supervisors over those positions. Executives, entrepreneurs, managers, department heads and supervisors know their organizations better than anyone. They are the real decision-makers, and the first to not-ice an increase in the workload or the need for additional or more qualified personnel. Avoid a company's HR Department unless you've already contacted all the department heads or are seeking a position in Human Resources. I’ve worked with some of the best HR professionals (many of whom are good friends) for over thirty years, but most would be the first to admit:

Personal Screens, Management Hires

You aren't interested in being screened, you want to be hired. Don't spend all your time emailing resumes either.

Employers Hire People Not Paper

Unsolicited resumes may never reach the real decision-makers in a company. Most are considered "spam", re-routed through personnel or simply deleted or trashed in "File 13". The long months of waiting for replies that never come can destroy even the most positive job seeker's confidence. Rather than emailing thousands of resumes.

You can use the telephone to find opportunities and arrange interview appointments in minutes instead of months!

Begin your inquiry into a company by contacting the person who would be your boss if you win the job you really want. List every company and decision-maker you can find. The names and phone numbers of management personnel and executives in different companies will often be listed on a company's web site under “contacts”or “management”. Browsing by job title and company may help you identify them through various search engines online. Many key people are listed in professional trade directories for different industries which may be found in your local public library's Business Reference Section. Most libraries provide access to online data bases like Zoom Info, Hoovers, etc. These resources are particularly useful when you learn of an opening and want to identify and contact the department head over that position rather than just apply online through personnel with the rest of the herd.

Use the telephone to con-duct a full-time Telesearch and quickly establish direct contact with as many of these decision-makers as you can. Don't call the boss and ask if there are any openings. You'll probably get a "no" even if there are. Use a brief Telesearch Introduction to arrange an interview appointment instead:

"Jim, my name is Joe Johnson. I have seven years of experience in our business and would like to drop by your office tomorrow after-noon to discuss working for you would three o'clock be convenient, or would four-thirty be better for your schedule?"

Excerpted from my first book TELESEARCH: Direct Dial The Best Job of Your Life (Facts on File & Collier Books), this kind of approach is short, simple and to the point yet ends with a "choice of two" to make it easy for the employer to say "yes" to an interview. If he or she has an opening, is interested in hearing more about you or in sharing ideas with you about a new opportunity, you'll get the interview.

The major difference between a Telesearch call and most "net-working" calls is that the employer feels you are most interested in working for him, not just networking for any information you can find about any job openings anywhere. You appear more professionally focused, and he immediately knows you are arranging an employment interview instead of the more confusing, often fruitless "information interviews" suggested by some networkers.

Turn Resume Requests into Interviews

If the employer requests your resume by email, be sure your resume highlights your greatest accomplishments with each previous employer, then send it as a Word attachment with a brief message like this:

“Per your request my resume is attached for your review. I’m looking forward to meeting you and will call tomorrow morning to arrange the most convenient time for an interview.”

After emailing your resume some employers (particularly those in other cities) will start asking interview questions when you follow-up by phone. This is a good thing so it pays to be prepared. Unless it’s a long distance call, if possible try to set up a face to face interview “so you can better determine his needs and answer his questions more fully and appropriately.” If the employer persists use your best interview skills to win an offer or face to face interview.

If an interview is not possible, then fall back on networking, and use the call to find out if the employer knows anyone who might be able to use someone with your experience. Many will offer to forward your resume to other hiring authorities. You can even call back a few days later to ask if he or she has heard of any-thing. That's the "magic" of Telesearch, how you find opportunities and arrange interviews quickly while encouraging an army of professionals in your field to help network for you at the same time! For best results:

Use the telephone to make employers want to meet you; use the interview to make them want to hire you.

Don't try to read your resume or interview for the job over the phone unless the employer really insists. Just arrange an appointment for an interview and get off the line. The entire conversation should last no more than three to five minutes unless you're getting a lot of referrals. Smile, speak with enthusiasm and control conversations with questions to get the best results from each call.

If you make just twenty calls per day and only get one “yes” each day, you’ll have arranged ten quality employment interviews in just ten days! The more employers you meet the better your chances of finding the one that needs you the most. If you interview effectively ten inter-views with these kinds of decision-makers will ultimately result in at least three to five definite offers.

Look For Opportunities Not Openings

You have to fit into an "opening" which at best can be difficult, but employers will normally try to structure an "opportunity" around you, according to your background, knowledge, skills, ability and level of professional expertise.

There are many more opportunities than openings available in today's job market.

Regardless of economic conditions every business needs to either make money or save money. By showing how you can help a firm increase sales, profits or productivity; improve efficiency, lower costs in any area or save expenses, you can quickly create an opportunity for yourself within that organization. Here again the trick is to talk with the person who needs your help the most and can make the decision to hire you on the spot. Then sell yourself to that decision-maker. Yes, job-finding is selling too. It is the biggest sale of all in fact because it pays your en-tire annual salary! Start selling yourself with twenty Telesearch calls each morning to get all the interviews you need with key decision-makers fast.

Interview For Offers

Many job seekers approach interviews with fear and apprehension when in reality each interview should be viewed as a golden opportunity to change your life for the better. Whether you’re interviewing face to face or by phone, put in the necessary time and extra effort to master proper interviewing skills so you can make every shot count, and whatever you do, don't forget to ask for the job.

There may be several subsequent interviews before an offer is extended, but regardless of how the company impresses you in the beginning, use each "live" opportunity in every interview to practice your skills to win a definite offer.

A selection of solid job offers gives you a choice. Without offers you have no choice.

If you research the company, dress professionally, interview enthusiastically and effectively, appear "open" to salary and show a strong desire for the opportunity, you can influence the employer to want to hire you. Although budgets and company policies must be considered.

If an employer really wants you he or she will find a way to hire you.

Smart executives and managers always keep their eyes open for good talent and have been known to make room for those they view as valuable additions to their organizations even when there are no specific openings. There may even be someone on the employer’s team who is under-performing and should be replaced. Stay focused on winning the offer.

If you prepare for each interview, are open to salary and always ask for the job, you'll be able to choose from a selection of offers.

After confirming that you have a definite offer tell the employer what it will take for you to accept his offer. The right kind of offer will be a more attractive opportunity than the old job you lost, with an employer that really needs your professional expertise and will appreciate your services even more.

Think Like a Winner

Times may be tough in your profession but complaining about the job market or "crying over spilled milk" will not help anyone find employment. Put past events behind you for good and invest your valuable time and efforts creating better opportunities for yourself in today's new economy. When you use the telephone to find and create opportunities for yourself you don't have to wait for an opening to be advertised or posted on the internet and you eliminate the competition. You are in complete control of your job search.

The more calls you make the more opportunities you will find.

You can profit from being unemployed by making the most of your extra time. Yes your time is still valuable even if you don't have a job. Now for whatever reasons you've been granted the time you need to find the very best job of your life! Stay busy, maintain a positive mental attitude and give your job search your very best. Seize the opportunity you now have for a new beginning and make the most of it. Keep your attention and efforts focused upon finding the kind of career opportunity you really want and don't quit until you find it.

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