So you're laid off? Now what?
Feb. 1st, 2009 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI've tried to write two posts providing job-hunting advice and deleted both, because they sounded incredibly not sure what the word is - smug? bossy? pretentious? This may fall into those categories as well.
Also when I was hunting for work, the thing I started to hate the most was unasked for job-hunting advice. I felt overwhelmed by it. If one more person told me what to do with my resume or how to interview or how to write a cover letter, etc - I was going to kick them. The best advice I got was from someone equally annoyed by the process, the_red_shoes - who sent me to a site that does a rather decent job of explaining how to write a successful resume and cover letter.
Go here: http://kenshi.livejournal.com/109519.html
I can tell you a few things I learned from my own grueling experiences in the trenches.
1. Tailor your resume to fit the job description. If you can use language from the job description in your resume and demonstrate what you've done to help each company you were with or firm, or whatever you want to call them. Online applications in particular - this helps a great deal with. People who search for resumes - hunt for key-words. If you use words from the job description in your resume, cover letter or in your online application - your entry is more likely to be grabbed.
2. Don't put your educational background first unless you are applying to a position that specifically calls for that or you have very little work experience. Don't for example, put BA in English and 1990 for a job that is in banking, contract management, computer programming, or human resources. Actually I can't think of many jobs you want to put BA in English at the top of your resume for. I have a BA in English and a Law degree and I put them at the bottom of the second page. When I started doing that - I got interviews.
3. Research the company and focus on the duties of the job. Don't focus on the benefits and the pay - while important, the most important bits should be the job duties. If you don't like the job duties, they aren't interesting, you don't understand them or know anything about how to do them? Don't apply. I did this once - I let a recruiter send me to an interview for Deritives Contract Negotiator. What I know about Investment Banking, I can put in thimble.
4. At the interview - focus on what you can do for the company. How you can help them. Not what they can do for you. [ETA/Clarify: The hiring interview or when they are offering you the job - you can focus on benefits, pay, and vacation time - in my last job interview sitch this occurred at the second interview, after they told me that they wanted to hire me. In some cases it may not happen until after the second or third interview. Depends on the company. Best rule of thumb? Wait until they offer you the job to bring it up. If you are that worried about benefits, etc - most companies do put the info on their websites and often you will see it in the position description. This brings up another issue - what if the application requests that you list the amount of money you want to make? What do you put down? Try to be vague - put down "negotiable" or open to negotiation. If they want to pinpoint you - ask what the range is. Try to avoid telling them an exact figure if at all possible. OR do research online to figure out what the market rate is for that position and list a price at that range. You don't want to sell yourself short, but you also don't want to go too high and lose a chance. This happened to me a couple of times.]
The first interview is about what the job is, the duties and responsibilities of the job, the work environment/culture, and management style. You want to know what you will be doing for that company, what their problems are, and what you would be responsible for.
5. Priorities for taking a job:
*Do you like the job duties? Would you enjoy doing them? Can you do them? Have much do you have to learn? Remember - it's not the company's responsibility to train you. They'll have to to some extent anyhow. Is there a future in this job? A career path?
*Work place/environment/management style/culture - do you like the work environment? Can you deal with the person who interviewed you? Do you like who you may be working for? Be careful, first impressions aren't always on target.
*Pay and Benefits - will they pay you enough that you can afford it? Will it cover your needs?
*Location - how far is the commute?
In regards to being laid-off? Best thing to do is hit the ground running. Don't take a lot of time off. Longer you are out, the harder it will be to get back in. Also, if you know you will be laid-off, now is the time to contact everyone you know, dust off the resume, figure out what you want in a job - what you liked/disliked in the old one, and apply.
Sites to apply to: Depends on your career goals and speciality. Craig's List tends to fit people in IT, Marketing, Academia. I've not had much success with it and it requires a bit more work. Careerbuilder is pretty good, but you have to work at it - you get a lot of spam. Monster.com - same deal, but also pretty good. I got several interviews through both. Idealist.org - is a site for non-profit and humanitarian type of work - difficult site and I never got any jobs from it. But if that's your area, worth a try. Nytimes.com - never worked for me. Nor did the journal.org (Wall Street Journal). Often it's a good idea to grab a Fortune's 500 - find companies that look promising and apply directly to their sites. Or sit in Barnes and Noble and scan the trade mags - pick the companies that look like good bets.
There are other sites. There's one for IT jobs or computer jobs - DICE.com.
Places to research companies - include The Better Business Bureau, Wiki (don't depend on it), Fortune's (depending on the company), Business Week (also depending on the company), trade magazines, and Newsgroups, Facebook, etc. The more you know about the organization that you are applying to, the more likely you can get the job.
Before every interview - I googled the company I was interviewing with. I looked at every bit of info I could find. Then I'd write up questions based on my research. Careful not to ask anything that would piss them off.
I've made every mistake in the book and been on every interview sitch imaginable. Phone, in-person, you name it. When job-hunting, leave your pride at the door, and put on an armor of teflon. Look it as an information gathering session - if they reject you, it means you don't fit the company. And there's a better fit out there.
How do you know after an interview if you got the job?
There's no way of knowing. You don't know. I've had long phone interviews and in person interviews that lasted 6 hours, one that lasted all day. Didn't get the job. While I've had other job interviews that lasted an hour or a half, and I got it. Some employer's have told me that they know within the first fifteen minutes, other's take longer.
The job I have now, I thought I screwed up the first interview - was convinced I didn't get the job. They hired me. An interview I thought I nailed - I completely lost the job.
No way of knowing. I only wish there was.
That said, if you have not heard back from an employer within one week of the interview, it is unlikely you got the job. Of course this depends on the employer. But in most cases, the more time that passes without any response, you didn't get it. They do not have to contact you or respond.
While it is a good idea to follow-up, be careful about it. Don't pester. Just do a quick follow-up - by email. That's the best method. Phone is not a good idea, unless they ask.
And finally, if at all possible, try not to take a job out of desperation. If you do take one, about 80% of mine were, keep your resume out there, and keep pounding the pavement, find time to interview even while you're working. Because if you really hate your job, you won't be there long. I learned this the hard way.
Also when I was hunting for work, the thing I started to hate the most was unasked for job-hunting advice. I felt overwhelmed by it. If one more person told me what to do with my resume or how to interview or how to write a cover letter, etc - I was going to kick them. The best advice I got was from someone equally annoyed by the process, the_red_shoes - who sent me to a site that does a rather decent job of explaining how to write a successful resume and cover letter.
Go here: http://kenshi.livejournal.com/109519.html
I can tell you a few things I learned from my own grueling experiences in the trenches.
1. Tailor your resume to fit the job description. If you can use language from the job description in your resume and demonstrate what you've done to help each company you were with or firm, or whatever you want to call them. Online applications in particular - this helps a great deal with. People who search for resumes - hunt for key-words. If you use words from the job description in your resume, cover letter or in your online application - your entry is more likely to be grabbed.
2. Don't put your educational background first unless you are applying to a position that specifically calls for that or you have very little work experience. Don't for example, put BA in English and 1990 for a job that is in banking, contract management, computer programming, or human resources. Actually I can't think of many jobs you want to put BA in English at the top of your resume for. I have a BA in English and a Law degree and I put them at the bottom of the second page. When I started doing that - I got interviews.
3. Research the company and focus on the duties of the job. Don't focus on the benefits and the pay - while important, the most important bits should be the job duties. If you don't like the job duties, they aren't interesting, you don't understand them or know anything about how to do them? Don't apply. I did this once - I let a recruiter send me to an interview for Deritives Contract Negotiator. What I know about Investment Banking, I can put in thimble.
4. At the interview - focus on what you can do for the company. How you can help them. Not what they can do for you. [ETA/Clarify: The hiring interview or when they are offering you the job - you can focus on benefits, pay, and vacation time - in my last job interview sitch this occurred at the second interview, after they told me that they wanted to hire me. In some cases it may not happen until after the second or third interview. Depends on the company. Best rule of thumb? Wait until they offer you the job to bring it up. If you are that worried about benefits, etc - most companies do put the info on their websites and often you will see it in the position description. This brings up another issue - what if the application requests that you list the amount of money you want to make? What do you put down? Try to be vague - put down "negotiable" or open to negotiation. If they want to pinpoint you - ask what the range is. Try to avoid telling them an exact figure if at all possible. OR do research online to figure out what the market rate is for that position and list a price at that range. You don't want to sell yourself short, but you also don't want to go too high and lose a chance. This happened to me a couple of times.]
The first interview is about what the job is, the duties and responsibilities of the job, the work environment/culture, and management style. You want to know what you will be doing for that company, what their problems are, and what you would be responsible for.
5. Priorities for taking a job:
*Do you like the job duties? Would you enjoy doing them? Can you do them? Have much do you have to learn? Remember - it's not the company's responsibility to train you. They'll have to to some extent anyhow. Is there a future in this job? A career path?
*Work place/environment/management style/culture - do you like the work environment? Can you deal with the person who interviewed you? Do you like who you may be working for? Be careful, first impressions aren't always on target.
*Pay and Benefits - will they pay you enough that you can afford it? Will it cover your needs?
*Location - how far is the commute?
In regards to being laid-off? Best thing to do is hit the ground running. Don't take a lot of time off. Longer you are out, the harder it will be to get back in. Also, if you know you will be laid-off, now is the time to contact everyone you know, dust off the resume, figure out what you want in a job - what you liked/disliked in the old one, and apply.
Sites to apply to: Depends on your career goals and speciality. Craig's List tends to fit people in IT, Marketing, Academia. I've not had much success with it and it requires a bit more work. Careerbuilder is pretty good, but you have to work at it - you get a lot of spam. Monster.com - same deal, but also pretty good. I got several interviews through both. Idealist.org - is a site for non-profit and humanitarian type of work - difficult site and I never got any jobs from it. But if that's your area, worth a try. Nytimes.com - never worked for me. Nor did the journal.org (Wall Street Journal). Often it's a good idea to grab a Fortune's 500 - find companies that look promising and apply directly to their sites. Or sit in Barnes and Noble and scan the trade mags - pick the companies that look like good bets.
There are other sites. There's one for IT jobs or computer jobs - DICE.com.
Places to research companies - include The Better Business Bureau, Wiki (don't depend on it), Fortune's (depending on the company), Business Week (also depending on the company), trade magazines, and Newsgroups, Facebook, etc. The more you know about the organization that you are applying to, the more likely you can get the job.
Before every interview - I googled the company I was interviewing with. I looked at every bit of info I could find. Then I'd write up questions based on my research. Careful not to ask anything that would piss them off.
I've made every mistake in the book and been on every interview sitch imaginable. Phone, in-person, you name it. When job-hunting, leave your pride at the door, and put on an armor of teflon. Look it as an information gathering session - if they reject you, it means you don't fit the company. And there's a better fit out there.
How do you know after an interview if you got the job?
There's no way of knowing. You don't know. I've had long phone interviews and in person interviews that lasted 6 hours, one that lasted all day. Didn't get the job. While I've had other job interviews that lasted an hour or a half, and I got it. Some employer's have told me that they know within the first fifteen minutes, other's take longer.
The job I have now, I thought I screwed up the first interview - was convinced I didn't get the job. They hired me. An interview I thought I nailed - I completely lost the job.
No way of knowing. I only wish there was.
That said, if you have not heard back from an employer within one week of the interview, it is unlikely you got the job. Of course this depends on the employer. But in most cases, the more time that passes without any response, you didn't get it. They do not have to contact you or respond.
While it is a good idea to follow-up, be careful about it. Don't pester. Just do a quick follow-up - by email. That's the best method. Phone is not a good idea, unless they ask.
And finally, if at all possible, try not to take a job out of desperation. If you do take one, about 80% of mine were, keep your resume out there, and keep pounding the pavement, find time to interview even while you're working. Because if you really hate your job, you won't be there long. I learned this the hard way.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-02 03:12 am (UTC)but when you want advice and find it in a book or blog, which you sought out on your own, then THAT is taking charge of your own life...
so i think that writing books on the topic is all good.
Regarding the above, I once was advised to never mention money or vacation time until AFTER they offer you the job. Even if you know you'll need to take a week off for a family reunion, it is easier to get the time when they have already decided that they want to hire you. Before then it could be one more reason to pass on you. And of course after you're hired they could say that it doesn't fit with their vacation policies, so really at the job hiring meeting is the best time to negotiate (perhaps the only time to negotiate).
no subject
Date: 2009-02-02 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-02 10:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-02 10:18 pm (UTC)A good business librarian, assuming you have time, can provide advice on the best sources. I've been to the NYC Business Library - there's more than one. One in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan. I've been to the Manhattan one. Was a bit overwhelming if memory serves, but it did help me when I was hunting info - back in the 90s, before I had internet access.
Now, I think you can actually do research via the libraries databases from your own computer. I know I have. And you can often access informational databases such as EBSCO, Wilson, etc via the library - all you need is your library code. (I remember doing that in 2000 or thereabouts.)
Thanks for mentioning this.