Comments on: The Just-Laid-Off Checklist

By: Thule

Thule — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:44:51 +0000

I finished reading a book called Third World America written by Ariana Huffington of the Huffington Post. It doesn’t make the problem go away of being unemployed but it helps to understand the dynamics of the corporate world and how our economy is so volatile. I try to read anything I can to understand the pain of why I have been floundering and cannot keep a job. Not a victim here, but I wish my circumstances were better! I was let go a day after my birthday, the weekend before FEMA would have had to pay me holiday pay. Nice, eh? It’s been a very long, agonizing month. Learning people have been unemployed on average of six months and as long as two years drives me insane!

By: Sara Clemence

Sara Clemence — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:03:00 +0000

Hey FiredTwice–I think it’s time to MAKE friends! I wouldn’t think of networking as all that separate from developing friendships. Get in touch with people you used to know. Meet some new ones. Catch up. See what’s going on in their lives. Explain that you have a lot more time to re-form connections with old friends. Take them out for coffee.

You might also want to check out this story we ran a few months ago:

http://www.recessionwire.com/2009/08/24/networking-for-non-networkers/

By: FiredTwicein03

FiredTwicein03 — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:57:34 +0000

Great list. The only scary thing is networking. I’ll be frank, I don’t have hardly any friends. Not really. I mean, I’m married to a wonderful woman and have a kid and stuff, but I’ve long lost connection to old college classmates, friends, etc. How does one go about networking when you really have no friends?

BTW, just some background, I’m employed now but I was laid off/fired (same thing, really) twice in 2003. Traumatizing really, and I’ll never forget that. One thing I did that helped was diet and exercise and get in shape. That helped my mood a lot, and it helped during interviews (I’m guessing) given too many people are superficial and will hire/promote/etc based on outward appearances.

By: Kathryn Jackson

Kathryn Jackson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:50:18 +0000

Excellent hints and tips here!

It’s so good to see people looking for opportunities despite the circumstances…

No matter how long it goes on for (days, weeks, months) the recipe never changes…it’s right here in these great hints, though you could also phone your KITA friend (the one that Kicks you In The proverbial) to check that you’re still on track with doing something about your situation…not just getting more sorry for yourself)

Hang in there, and if your approach REALLY isn’t working then check the approach you’re using is the right one. Try a new way of finding a job – ask for support, get feedback. Keep moving forwards, don’t ever stop.

Kathryn Jackson, author of How to Keep Your Cool if You Lose Your Job (Longacre Press; 2009)

By: Understated

Understated — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:12:30 +0000

What happens when you’ve been unemployed for MONTHS, though? What do you do to feel better then?

By: Laidoffguy

Laidoffguy — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:27:23 +0000

Thanks. I just lost my job and this really helped me to feel like it’s not so hopeless.

By: Import

Import — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:24:54 +0000

I like this list.

I love being busy, challenged, interracting with people, and to me, that is the part that sucks about not having a job. I wake up with nothing to do, nowhere to go and no people to talk to.

To fill my days, I go to the gym, then try to focus on job searching. After that, I do something else productive until 5pm. I stop at that time as I would at work.

After 5pm and on weekends, I am in a better state of mind. I have the hardest time during times when I know that most people are working. I say most because everyone know in my city is working except me.

I have reached out to people, and it’s frankly embarrassing. These are people who saw me rise to the top. Not I have to beg even the people below me for help finding a job. I feel like the lowest of the low.

It also hits me when I think of blowing through my finances with nothing coming in. I pray, but I need a true miracle in the form of a very high paying job, or I fear that none of these survival methods will prevail.

I wake up aggravated that I woke up to another day, unemployed.

By: Travelogged

Travelogged — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:22:17 +0000

This is a really great list and I certainly agree with your last item (plan a trip). I not only planned a trip, but I started a travel blog, http://www.travelogged.com, too.

It’s so hard to travel when you have a job — we get so few vacation days and then even figuring out when to take them is stressful. Remember, it takes time and money to travel and at least right now you have the time!

If you absolutely can’t go away after you get laid off, then look for fun things to do in your city. Take advantage of your free weekdays to enjoy places that are packed on the weekends, like museums and movies.

By: Martha Finney

Martha Finney — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:04:08 +0000

I’d like to add another couple of tips to this great list:

1. Explore the possibility of freelancing with your former employer. They may need to reduce full-time headcount, but they also need to get the work done. You may end up making more money as a freelancer than as a full-timer.

2. Call your former coworkers. Don’t wait for them to call you. They may be worrying about saying the wrong thing. If you make the first call, you get to set the tone that’s upbeat and positive. You’ll be seeing these people throughout your career, so you might as well take control of the tone of the rest of your career as soon as you can haul yourself up off the sofa.

Martha Finney, author, Rebound: A Proven Plan For Starting Over After Job Loss.