If you have recently lost your job, resist the urge to wait too long to begin your search for re-employment. No one is arguing that you will need time to adjust to the fact that you are without a job, because whether you were fired for cause or separated from your employer in a company wide reduction-in-force – the effect on your mental state is the same. You feel abandoned, betrayed, even frightened. A large part of our sense of self comes from the type of work we do and the contribution that we feel we make to society, to our families.
By all means, take a few days to process what has happened in your life. But lick your wounds quickly – and then get back out there and begin your search. There are two reasons why speed is of the essence.
1. The longer you are out of work, the less interest you will generate to potential employers.
2. It is not unusual to hear of someone looking for a new opportunity for over 1 year. I hate to tell you how many of the people I talked to last summer about good jobs, that decided to wait out the summer before seriously considering new opportunities, for a myriad of reasons, who now regret that decision to wait.
As evidenced by the following story* of Marc, waiting can be costly.
Marc, a graduate of Northern Illinois University, with a Masters from Keller Graduate School of Business, had been Director of Marketing and Sales with a worldwide leader in telecommunications in Chicago. He had been there most of his professional career for 14 years. In March 2008, he was laid off with several other executives at his level and above. Marc received a 6 month severance package, had an instant offer to consult 20 hours a week doing product development work for a small boutique shop that had previously been a vendor to him at the job he just exited. Marc is an involved dad with two sons that play baseball, so he decided to coach their sports teams this summer and to take his sons on a six week driving vacation to Colorado where he had grown up. Afterall, why not take this time while he is still receiving severance to enjoy life a little?
In early August, just as he was wrapping up his consulting assignment as a product development consultant, an executive search consultant about an opportunity to join a growing international product development company to deploy a new international sales team contacted Marc. Marc thought the position was interesting, liked and respected the company it was with. There were three problems the way he saw it. First, the base salary was only $120k and he had been earning a base of $130k when he was laid off. Second, he wanted to finish out the summer with his sons. Third, since he really hadn’t begun his search yet – he was not prepared to pursue anything aggressively because he felt a better opportunity might be around the corner. After numerous calls with the executive search consultant weighing the pros about the company, the opportunity, the strength of the product and the international nature of the opportunity, Marc decided that the cons out-weighed the pros and he decided to take a pass on exploring the opportunity.
Marc has stayed in contact with the executive search consultant that originally contacted him. He began his search in earnest in September when the market took its first significant nose-dive. He has had a few interviews, but nothing has materialized. He has expressed his regret for not having pursued the opportunity this summer – at this time he would be grateful to have a base salary of $120k.
Who knows what would have happened had Marc pursued that opportunity. Perhaps they would not have been interested in hiring him. Perhaps he would not have been interested in the company. Perhaps he would have gotten the job. One thing I do know, is that he wishes he would have went on the interview. It never costs anything to have a conversation with new people to expand your network - particularly people working with organizations that are still hiring.
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