Combating Job Loss: Setting Yourself Up for A Come Back

Unexpected job loss is tough. We get it.  If you have heard the headlines lately in the news it seems that every other week there are massive corporate layoffs happening all over the US. While most of us plan to continue our careers at places where we work often, decisions to lay off employees come because of external economic pressures and shifts in company priorities. While these reasons may explain why your job loss occurred it still does not explain how you will land your next opportunity. That’s why we are here- to help you move forward in your job search and find success with the right preparation.

First Things First- Assessing Where You Are

Assessing your skills is not only a good move but it is a great way to channel your energy into positive actions that will get you that much closer to finding a career that you will love. By now you may be feeling overwhelmed with all of the must do’s when leaving an employer ranging from what to do with your old 401k to what professional references you should consider using from your previous employer. However, the most important tasks are taking a deep breath-can we say woosah, assessing what career opportunity you would like to pursue next and then create a plan of action to get hired. Perhaps you have been interested in honing your excel skills and becoming an analyst but did not have the time due to your prior hectic work schedule. You will want to invest the time to think about what skills you’ve always wanted and search for ways to improve them. It is possible those new skills could lead you towards a promising career path you may have never considered before. Career advising can be a great tool to prepare you for alternatives and SkillUp has plenty of career planning and advising resources available to help you. Check out free training programs in our training catalog.

Practice Interviewing and Update Your Resume

After reviewing available training programs and assessing your skills now is the time to draft a great resume. If you were at your last role for a while, you should also consider practicing interview skills. A quick solution to keep when practicing your interview skills is providing specific examples when asked questions from your interviewer. A method called PAR which stands for Problem or Project, Action and Result will help you easily format your responses to questions like, “can you tell me about one of your most difficult projects you completed this year?” Being prepared for interviews are just as important as having a well written resume, too. While resume writing can have its challenges, tailoring your resume for the roles you wish to apply is a general rule of thumb. Understanding the job description, skills desired for the role and how to integrate those keywords into your resume will improve the chances of your resume being discovered faster through applicant tracking systems. There is help available to serve you with crafting your resume. When you have a moment visit our resume template resource for resume inspiration and tips. And in case you need to talk to someone or would like to join a community of upskillers who are ready to find their next opportunity feel free to attend our free group career coaching sessions.