You're Fired, Now What?

It can happen to anybody, like me! Yes, you get the call from your director with the appropriate apologies and warm feelings. Now what? Perhaps you have kids, a mortgage, a pregnant wife, is this the end?

Take heart! Since you are a good manager, you have taken the time to build strong networking relationships in your company, right? You have also spent time getting the right training for this eventuality. You'll be fine, at least that's what everybody tells you. RingCentral Online - Free Trial plus 10% Off

Losing a job is one of the most difficult emotional, financial, and stress-inducing situations a person can face. Like somebody who has lost a loved one, a person who has lost a job often has diminished, higher order thinking skills. They also have diminished short term memory. The physical brain responds to emotional stress by focusing on life-preserving functions. It re-directs capacity from high-order thinking to low-order thinking. Sadly, many are unaware that it is happening. Now that you know what will happen, take action!

If you lose your job, for the first couple of days, make sure you write things down, more so than you normally would. Try to avoid making major decisions for up to 6 weeks, if possible. If not, make sure you consult a trusted friend who can give you an unbiased opinion. Land your next best job. Get started. www.Doostang.com

Additionally, use your social network. Notify your friends and colleagues on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter that you are immediately on the market. Ask for advice, leads, and support. Consider all opportunities thoroughly and make sure you have folks you trust to give good advice. While Web 2.0 is awesome, don't count on your three, excellently written blogs to generate sufficient income (http://www.economicefficiency.blogspot.com and http://www.cleanerairforcities.blogspot.com).

Finally, when it comes time to leave your current job, do so with dignity. Be positive in your exit interview. Personally give your best wishes to those around you, even the person who fired you. It is a small world and gestures of courtesy and professionalism are well-remembered. Please remember also that your life is more valuable than any job or amount of money. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, get help immediately! Contact SAVE.org, tell a friend, your religious leader, a police officer, anybody, just get help.

Unemployed? Use Your Social Network!

Have you lost your job or will soon? Surely, it is a stressful time and not news you wanted to hear.

However, life is different than it was five years ago. With the ubiquity and acceptability of social networking sites, finding new work is now just a little bit easier. Executives & Professionals: Changing Jobs?

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Linkedin offer an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances, as well as make new contacts. They also offer new outlets to float trial balloons and seek advice.

If you have never used these sites, you probably should. Both are free, though they are different in nature. Facebook is focused on social aspects and is informal in nature. Linkedin is focused on business networking.

The first step to utilize these tools is to create an account. Its pretty simple and only takes a minute.

The second step is to build your profile. For Facebook, you may wish to consider leaving your religious and political affiliations blank. While it is illegal to discriminate against a job applicant on the basis of political or religious affiliation, you never know what hidden prejudices a potential recruiter or contact may have.

For Linkedin, your profile can be built by cutting and pasting from your resume. Since the site is pretty flexible, take time to highlight successes or any other item that may not have made it into your resume. Also, make sure your overview is a very tight marketing statement about you. RingCentral Online - Free Trial plus 10% Off

Thirdly, use the networking features of the site to connect to as many people as possible. You would be surprised how many of your old friends from high school and even elementary school are on Facebook. Also, Linkedin shows you where your former colleagues moved on to. Also, find groups, such as college alumni or company alumni, as well as specialty to join. In each instances, you can find out what is happening in the areas that are most pertinent to you.

Finally, once you have your friends established, tell them what you need. An example from Facebook would be, "Jack is currently looking for a new position as a welder," or for LinkedIn, "Susan is considering new opportunities in high-tech marketing." When your friends or prospects check your profile, they quickly see your interests and needs. Further, who better to help than friends and family?

While there has been a significant amount of hype around social networking, it does work. Not only does it allow you to reconnect with old friends and scattered relatives, it also allows you to join with others in shared interests. If you are looking for a job, these contacts can spell good leads as well as emotional support. Don't fear the future, explore it with others!

Managing Fear During a Layoff

You have had a strange feeling that something isn't right. While things seem to be doing OK in your business, they aren't their best. All of the sudden, senior management has gotten very quiet.

Then BANG! Two or three folks you know send emails that they have a short amount of time to find jobs in the company or they are out.

What happened? Am I next? What is going on? These are very real concerns and serious questions. If you hear about folks having been laid off, there is at least some chance that there will be more firings in the future.

The way to handle these feelings and realities is based on the amount of control you can bring to the situation. Aside from doing your best to make the business successful, try to have a positive attitude. Additionally, make sure that you have taken precautions in the event that you are next. Update your resume. Make sure your profiles on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. are up to date. Verify both your business and personal networks are up to date. In short, manage your sphere of control and influence.

In most cases, the decisions about who stays and who goes aren't personal. They certainly may feel that way, but usually aren't. If you are able to keep your job, be happy and diligent. Also, be willing to help those who lost their job. It is a small world and kindness goes a long way. If you do lose your job, try to see the opportunity in change. If possible, maybe it is a good time to go back to school. It also could be time to start that business or write that book you have dreamed about.

Life is hard, unfair, and often brutish, but you don't have to be. Optimism and a positive attitude can make difficult situations bearable. If your business is cutting their work force, be proactive and know your options. Like the motto of the Boy Scouts, "Be Prepared!"

How to Turn Down an Applicant

You have finally found the perfect match for that open position. They have the right skills, education and experience. So how do you handle the candidates who just didn't make it? Nobody likes to deliver bad news, but the delay can be very painful for the ones not selected.

As I have written in my other articles, common sense and courtesy are great guides to difficult decisions, as well is the golden rule, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." Interviewees have invested time and emotion and are hoping for the best. When they are turned down, it isn't easy for them or you.

Once you have made your selection, promptly reply to the successful candidate. For the unsuccessful candidates, a prompt reply allows for closure. Where possible, email or call as soon as you can. Provide feedback that is helpful, e.g. consider more education, dress more appropriately, improve your resume. These types of positive feedback not only reduce the sting of rejection, but also empower the candidate to improve.

Finally, if the unsuccessful candidates show potential, keep up with them. Consider using LinkedIn or Facebook, or some other kind of social networking tool. That rejected candidate today might be the perfect candidate tomorrow!

Web 2.0 Framework for Business

By now, everyone is familiar with the basic Web 2.0 concepts of social networking, blogging, Facebook, etc. What people aren't familiar with is the cultural shift that Web 2.0 is making in the workplace.

As employees are used to using the Web 2.0 applications outside of work, as we know nobody uses them during work (wink, wink), except for things such as corporate blogs and knowledge bases, these applications change patterns of thinking and behavior.

I found a great chart referenced by Luis Suarez at ManagerNewz. It highlights the cultural shift and behavioral differences mentioned above. I hope to do more posts on this topic in the future and found this chart perfect to create the framework for those posts. Here is the link: http://headrush.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/manager2_0.jpg

Network, Network, Network

We have all heard it before, "Its not what you know, but who you know." Networking is definitely the way to improve your chances of success, whether that is success at work, in your social life, or just in your everyday dealings.

Many people find networking difficult, as it is "like a muscle, you've got to work it," my wise, older friend Jay tells me regularly. I agree. As gregarious as I am, I haven't taken networking seriously enough, nor have I viewed it as a discipline. The first step is to admit you have a problem...

I was reading an article at Forbes, titled "How To Network Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder." It is a great article, and here is the best quotation:

"Successful networkers make themselves visible--they put themselves out there. And they back up that ubiquity with credibility."

So how do you do that? Here are the steps Forbes suggests:

1. Join Professional Organizations
This is the first and most basic step to networking. But do more than just attend monthly meetings. Join a committee or run for the board so you get visibility and earn credibility among more senior professionals. Get to know the leadership of the organization since those people know so many others in your field and can introduce you to influential colleagues.

2. Lunch
It’s important to network within your company too. These are the people you will run into for years even after leaving your current job. Lunch is an easy way to get to know colleagues. Instead of working through yet another lunch, set one day aside to eat outside the office with co-workers. Don’t stick with your three closest cubicle-mates; invite those people from different departments you speak to and e-mail regularly but rarely see in person.

3. Give and Receive
Have a short and snappy description of your job ready for when you meet new colleagues, attend a business event or meet clients. The goal is to get people to remember you. Reciprocate by showing an interest in what others do.

4. Find a Mentor
Look for someone on the job who has accomplished the things you hope to achieve. Pop by the person’s office now and then to ask for advice and for a critique of some of your work. If you get advice, heed it and then report back on how you implemented it.

5. Your Starting Class
Get to know people who started their jobs around the same time you came on board, to follow their careers throughout your own. They’re people who eventually become senior employees and are in a position to hire or recommend potential new employees. A brief e-mail every few months to find out how they’re doing will go a long way.

6. Pay It Forward
Building relationships takes credibility, and you earn that by helping other business professionals. If you help a colleague from another department meet a deadline or solve a problem, that person is more likely to introduce you to his or her network.

7. Be Visible
Don’t just attend industry conferences; give presentations while you’re there. Also, write for an industry trade publication or start a blog about your field. People will introduce themselves to you and seek your advice.

This is great advice from Forbes. Now all you (and me!) have to do is follow it, and exercise that muscle. Don't forget social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and your college/university alumni groups.