Laid Off Twice, Not So Nice

What do these three people have in common?

Susan Guldenschuh, an HR supervisor in Kentucky

Russ Singletary, a researcher now working for an Atlanta company

Attorney Inna Efimchik

Laid off? Close.

All three are victims of a phenomenon that seems particular to this downturn: The double layoff…

How to Negotiate a Job Offer in an Employer’s Market

Finally, the hours of prospecting, submitting resumes, attending networking events, developing new relationships and attending job fairs have paid off. A company has made you an offer.

Now what?

In this environment, you may feel like you’re lucky to get a job offer at all. But you also want to be paid fairly. So how do you cut a good deal? Follow these guidelines.

Laid Off and Learning…to be a DJ

While the kids return to school in the coming weeks, adults impacted by the recession have been returning to the classroom as well. For an increasing number of the recently laid off, unemployment has turned into the chance to explore the creative jobs they dreamed about as a kid.

At local community colleges and private learning centers around the country, the New York Times reports, “hundreds of thousands” of newly unemployed white-collar workers have begun taking advantage of low-cost classes. While many are using the additional schooling as a way to beef up resumes or transition into new careers, an increasing number are checking out the classes simply as a way to pass the time and have a little fun while they wait for a new job in their current profession.

Still wondering what opportunities exist for those with unlimited free time and a steady stream of unemployment checks to fund a foray into fun education? A few ideas…

Career Scams to Avoid

As if the whole sub-prime mortgage debacle wasn’t scam enough, schemers have been out in fuller force since the recession began. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, there was a 33 percent uptick in scams last year.

Companies billing themselves as “career marketing specialists” have started specifically targeting professionals and managers in recent months, for example, capitalizing on the massive number of laid off executives looking for work anywhere they can.

To make matters worse, consumer advocates report that the sheer number of people working as scammers is on the rise, since an increasing number of unemployed workers are turning to identity theft and other money-making schemes as an additional source of income during the downturn.

Of course, the best protection against recession scammers is knowing what game they’re trying to pull…

Networking for Non-Networkers

Network, network, network.

After getting a JD from the University of Michigan and working at one New York’s top law firms, the last thing I anticipated was to be scrambling for a job. Welcome to the new reality. Part of my severance package was career counseling from an outplacement firm that offered coaching classes on networking. “Network” was their mantra—and if I’d heeded their advice more closely back in March, I might have avoided a few missteps.

Lots of people, including me, chafe at the idea of leveraging their contacts to meet people who might be in a position to help. And I’m not suggesting, as the New York Times recently did, that you start hitting people up for business cards on the subway. But it doesn’t take a degree in math to know that the more people you know, the more likely you are to hear about career opportunities. And assuming you make a good impression, anyone you meet is one more person who can recommend you, serve as a sounding board for ideas, or even a potential client once you have landed that dream job.

As I’ve learned the hard way, there are better and worse ways to approach people. These tips will help to make your networking more effective and efficient and get you on your way to landing a job—or at least figuring out the next step…

How Not to Look Desperate

Desperate times can lead you to show how desperate really are to land that job. But no matter how tough a time you’ve been having—dwindling savings, unemployment running out, bills overdue—that’s the last impression you want to give a prospective employer.

Job hunting is like dating. People are attracted to confidence and turned off by the hard-up. So how can you seem self-assured while looking for work and land that job as the market heats up? Keep in mind these dos and don’ts.

DO
Remember that the more you have going on, the less desperate you will feel…

Lemonade Makers: The Unexpected Impresarios

Brandon Howard and Fisayo Esconsay, both 28, were roommates at the University of Maryland. When the economy took a dive, Esconsay’s law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, warned associates they should look for other opportunities; Howard, who worked in music marketing for Steve Stoute and Jay-Z, was laid off. In September, they plan to open Recess, a new nightclub located a block from the White House. They talked to Recessionwire about why they’re betting the project can thrive.

Nightclubs are a notoriously fickle business. What makes you think you can pull this off in this economy?

Esconsay: I’ve been promoting events in D.C. this whole time, through the economic downturn. The nightclub business hasn’t realty taken as much of a hit as other businesses. I’m not sure if people are looking for low cost alternative for entertainment or what, but the nightclub business hasn’t missed a beat.

Howard: People have to look at opportunity. In the recession you have people who are trying to move the ball ahead. Those are the people who are going to come out on top…

Off the Page…and Into the Real World

I couldn’t help but laugh when, right as we were approaching the final stretch of the presidential campaign, the economy went off the deep end. I laughed because I sure as hell didn’t need the 24-hour news cycle to tell me how bad things were.

I’m a screenwriter, a card-carrying member of the Writers Guild of America, and though I have had nine movies made (credited and uncredited), business has been abysmal from about six months before the November ’07 writers strike to…oh, say, today. Tomorrow. Next week. The foreseeable future.

I weathered the strike, as I had weathered a previous career dry spell. But the weathering, ladies and gentlemen, is over. I’m looking for a real job. But as I awaken to the lifeless moonscape that is the present economy, I have to wonder: what was wrong with me that I didn’t start looking for one sooner?

I know most of the answer to that. I had it in my head from a young age that being “talent” was an end in and of itself – if you can make 100 percent of your living off said talent, you win. That’s how my grandfather did it as a commercial artist. That’s how my cousin Molly Picon, legend of the Yiddish stage, did it. That’s how my TV producer cousin Bruce has been doing it since the ‘80s.

A very short time ago, I wasn’t certain whether this notion of purely being a screenwriter was more important to me than my marriage. Two things changed that in a hurry. The first was news that a paying gig I had been counting on wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The second was our checking account balance…

You’ve Got the Job! See You in Six Months

Is there such a thing as job security without a job? In this recession, anything’s possible.

To balance a strict hiring freeze with the need to secure talent, more and more employers are signing up new hires with delayed start dates, some as long as six to eight months away.

In a new CareerBuilder survey, one in ten of more than 2,500 hiring managers, HR managers and other recruiters said they’ve recently offered positions with postponed start dates. The move allows them to develop staff for the future, while keeping the current headcount down as the recession lingers.

Less than half of these recruiters said they provided a pay incentive to new hires who were willing to wait out the downturn, the survey found.

The new strategy comes as employers face the allure of a buyers’ market for talent at a time when few have the resources to take them on…

Cabin Fever? Meet at the Apartment.

Even with the sun finally shining, starting the week alone in the city can be a drag. On the first Monday of every month, Meet at the Apartment, an uber-stylish meeting space in Soho, is hosting a day of workshops and hanging out for consultants, freelancers and job hunters.

Throughout the day, there will be interviews with entrepreneurs on how they launched their businesses, and a lesson on networking from One of Those People Who Knows Everybody. They’re throwing in free wifi, coffee, snacks and office supplies. Please don’t embarrass us by walking out with your pockets stuffed full of Post-It pads…