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#JobSearch : Lost Your Job?  First Steps First. Great Ideas to Get Through the Unemployment Period.

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Nothing is more worrisome than being out of work and dreading the bills coming in the mail that you can’t afford to pay.  Scarier yet is not having funds for job shopping (gas money or interview clothing).  Here are some ideas to help you get through the unemployment period and make time without a job work to your advantage.

Your full-time job while unemployed is applying online for jobs. Once you lose your job, you should immediately research your state’s unemployment benefits options.  In some states, a two-week waiting period must be reached before application; in other states, you may be eligible on the first day of unemployment. You must file for the benefits. In most states, you may do so online via an Internet-based application. The state will require forms completed pertaining to the circumstances leading to the job loss. Be truthful. If you were fired, state the honest reason. Not all states deny unemployment benefits for being fired unless the termination was for extreme reasons (e.g., embezzlement, equipment destruction, theft, avoidable OSHA-related safety incidents, or vandalism).

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

 

Article continued …

Regardless of the waiting period, the employment commission in each state is one of the best places to search for a new job.  Many companies post job openings to comply with the EEOC mandate for the 3-5-day public posting of positions, and they can do so for free. The state also supplies job listings within an easy commute to your city and surrounding areas.

Apply directly to public job openings – some companies will allow resume uploads into their Automatic Tracking Systems (ATS), even if there are currently no job openings (this is called ‘resume farming’  by recruiters). Alternatively, apply online by uploading your resume to proprietary resume databases, e.g., Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Indeed, or USAJobs.gov (resume loading for the job seeker).

You don’t want a blank space on your resume where you were unemployed if you can avoid it. Recruiters are not fond of seeing extended periods of unemployment (the UNNA syndrome – Unemployed Need Not Apply). However, after the 2009 housing crash and the COVID pandemic, they are more used to seeing these phenomena of long periods of unemployment. The good news is that there are two rich opportunities to add content to your resume, allow you to meet new people, and network for new employment opportunities.

First, offer your time or assistance to non-profit organizations or obtain training to enrich your job skills. Many small non-profit organizations (NPSs) are desperate for grant writers, volunteers, mentors, and specialists. There is a shortage in these skills for many small NPOs who can’t afford to pay salaries for these job skills – your local paper may run lists of NPOs needing assistance.

Second, if you can’t do the education or training and can’t offer assistance as a volunteer, the next best activity is to go into business for yourself as a consultant. Shop the market for companies needing your skill set as a 1099 consultant (a local city business license may be less than $50).  You never know when your skills sets may turn into a more realistic method to replace that lost salary.  Recruiters will note you didn’t let the dust settle after a job loss and view you as a more viable candidate.

While you are unemployed, get the training (or education) you didn’t have time to take while you were working, and add industry or trade certifications to the achievements on your resume. Take classes to advance your education beyond the courses or degree you last achieved.  There may be inexpensive adult education classes in your city that provide insight into a fresh new topic for you. Computer skills are one of the hottest training needs in any industry. If you gain insight into how software or a process works, it will move you ahead of the job’s competition.

As you achieve the training, education, or volunteer work, add it to your resume as the most recent ‘employment’ activity.  The longer you are unemployed, the more obvious the non-productive activity and the less viable a candidate you become to recruiters.  Filling that gap with volunteer activities, education or training, and/or part-time consulting work demonstrates you are still a viable and highly qualified candidate.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., is an associate of First Sun Consulting, and the owner of D. Boyer Consulting – providing resume writing, editing, and publishing consulting services. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@DBoyerConsulting.com or http://dboyerconsulting.com.  

Bio: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., manages and operates a consulting firm in Norfolk, Richmond, Colonial Beach (Dahlgren), and Gloucester, VA.  Her background is 24+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry.  She is the author of 940+ books on business, human resources research, career search practice, women’s studies, genealogy lineages, and adult coloring books.  Her books are listed on Amazon.com under her author’s page for Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

 

FSC Career Blog | September 19, 2022

 

Your #Career : On Thin Ice ( #JobTermination) ? …. Have you Ever Wondered If you Were on Thin Ice at Work? You are Doing your Job, Contributing to the Company and Even get Good #PerformanceReviews . But Something is Different.

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Have you ever wondered if you were on thin ice at work? You are doing your job, contributing to the company and even get good performance reviews.  But something is different.  You can feel it, but you can’t quite pinpoint it. Maybe you were left out of a meeting. Or someone made an odd remark to you.  You wonder if you’re being paranoid, if you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

To write my book, “Fired:  How to Manage Your Career in the Age of Job Uncertainty” I interviewed 65 people who lost their jobs.  I asked them if they saw it coming.  The vast majority of them said they were completely shocked.  Then, I asked them if looking back, they could see some of the signs.   With hindsight being 20/20, many of them were able to identify warning signs that their jobs were in jeopardy.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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One of the biggest signs was changes in interaction patterns at work.  For examples, meetings were canceled or removed from their calendars.  Co-workers avoided them or cut conversations short. There were even out of the blue comments like “Are you still here?”  or “I hope you quit before I have to fire you.”  Most of the time, the people I interviewed said they  brushed off the comments and kept working.  But in hindsight, they could see that these were signs they were about to be let go.

The unfortunate reality is that many people are aware of an impending termination before the employee is told.  Human resources, security, information technology, the supervisor’s manager may be notified  that the dismissal is coming.  Sometimes word leaks out and others become aware.

Knowing someone is about to be let go is awkward.  It’s hard to “act normal.”  People generally don’t want to be fake or lie, so they avoid.  Others make nervous jokes.

The lesson here is: Pay attention to changes in interaction patterns at work and listen to that little voice inside of you telling you something is wrong.  Then develop an exit strategy and a back up plan in case you need them. 

Dr. Nancy Koury King is a guest author on the FSC Career Blog (https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/) & is a participating member of the FSC LinkedIn Network ( www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork ) . 

As mentioned above, her publication of the book, “Fired:  How to Manage Your Career in the Age of Job Uncertainty”  & is available on Amazon below.

https://www.amazon.com/Fired-manage-your-career-uncertainty/dp/1978407130

 

FSC Career Blog (https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog)  | March 25, 2018

Your #Career : 7 Signs You’re Going to Get Fired…Sometimes, Firings Really Do Come Out of Nowhere. But Often There are Signs that your Job is in Jeopardy Long Before you’re Officially Told you’re Being Terminated. If you’re Seeing Any of the Following Signs at your Office, it Could Be Time to Start Updating your Resume.

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Few people are excited to hear they’re losing their job. But even worse than being on the receiving end of a pink slip is an unexpected firing. You think everything is rosy at work, until your boss calls you into the corner office and lets you know you’re being let go. Being blindsided by a firing is damaging to your self-esteem and can make it harder to get back on your feet and get your career back on track.

Free- Under a Bridge

Sometimes, firings really do come out of nowhere. But often there are signs that your job is in jeopardy long before you’re officially told you’re being terminated. If you’re seeing any of the following signs at your office, it could be time to start updating your resume.

1. Your coworkers are acting weird

Sometimes, it’s easier for people outside of a situation to see the writing on the wall. If your office mates suddenly start forgetting to invite you to meetings, leaving you out of important email chains, and giving you pitying looks in the break room, be wary.

Coworkers who start treating you like a pariah may suspect that you’re on the way out the door, perhaps because they’re plugged into the office grapevine. Once you end up on management’s bad side, people may steer clear to avoid being tainted by association. Or if colleagues suddenly have a lot of questions about how you do your work, it may be because they suspect they’ll soon be taking on your assignments.

“Most often your peers already know, and the firing is only a surprise to the one getting canned,” Robert C. McMillan, author of The Next Gen Leader, told Men’s Health.

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2. A computer could do your job

If a computer could do your work just as well – or better – than you can, watch out. While fears that a robot could take your job might sound more like science fiction than reality, they’re not something to brush off, especially if your field is in the midst of big technological change. Remember, your company has little incentive to keep you on if there’s technology that is easier to manage than an actual person and cheaper to boot.

“If the type of work that you do can be done by a machine instead of a person, you may need to look for another type of job. It’s usually just a matter of time before your company decides that a machine can do your job for less money,” Cheryl Palmer of Call to Career told Monster.

3. Your responsibilities are shrinking

If projects and assignments that you once managed are being handed off to other employees or eliminated entirely, don’t get too excited about all the extra free time you suddenly have. Gradually making you a less essential part of the team could be a sign that your company is preparing to let you go.

“If you’re a high-level employee and they put you on a special assignment and take away other responsibilities so you can focus on that ‘special assignment,’ start fixing up your résumé, because you’re on your way out the door,” Suzanne Lucas, a former HR executive and the Evil HR Lady, told Reader’s Digest.

4. Your performance reviews are slipping

Quarterly or annual performance reviews may be a way for your supervisor to give you feedback on how you’re doing your job, but they also protect your employer. If you were warned about problems with your performance during your most recent review and have failed to improve, you’ll have a harder time making a case for wrongful termination.

A single bad performance review doesn’t necessarily mean your job is toast, but if you don’t take the warning seriously and shape up, you could be in trouble. And if you’re put on a performance improvement plan, that can be an even bigger red flag.

“If you’re put on a performance-improvement plan, you’re cooked. I might look you in the eye and say we’re going to do everything possible to make this work, but that’s just total BS,” an anonymous HR director at financial services firm told Reader’s Digest.

5. Your relationship with your boss has changed

Increasing conflict with your boss is definitely a sign that things aren’t alright at the office. But if your once-chummy supervisor has stopped inviting you out to lunch, is less friendly or communicative in meetings, or is distant when you stop to chat in the break room, that’s also cause for concern. It could be he knows you’re about to get fired and it’s making him treat you differently.

“Humans, no matter how polished and experienced they are, if they are uncomfortable with a situation, will start to subtly shun it,” Stephanie Daniel, a senior vice president with Keystone Associates, a human resources consulting firm, told Fast Company.

6. You’re receiving more critical feedback in writing

If notes and emails picking apart your work suddenly start landing in your inbox, watch out. Documenting problems with your performance in this way could be a sign that your job is on the line.

“If your manager used to give you feedback in person but now she’s putting critical feedback in emails or memos, it’s possible that she’s creating a paper trail to build a case for firing you,” Alison Green of the “Ask a Manager” blog wrote in an article for U.S. News & World Report.

7. You feel that something isn’t right

While you may not be able to pinpoint the specific warning signs, if your gut is telling you that something is up at the office, you should listen. A general feeling that something is off – perhaps due to subtle changes in company culture or shifts in your job duties — could indicate you’re moving to the top of the “to fire” list.

“You will feel things and your job is not to judge or pooh-pooh them but to let them sit in your right brain and percolate for a few days. Is there a change in the air temperature? If so, you’ve got to mention it,” wrote Liz Ryan, the CEO and founder of Human Workplace, in a LinkedIn post.

While you’re trying to figure out if your gut is right, you’ll also want to take control of the situation by getting ready for a job search.

“If you can self-assess that staying with the organization is going to cause you some inordinate amount of stress, you’re better off making the move earlier rather than later,” Michael Townshend, owner of Carpe Diem Coaching,told Daily Worth.

 

 

CheatSheet.com | February 1, 2016 | 

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