Finding yourself out of work for whatever reason is usually filled with anxiety. Many things are swirling around your head.
And especially if you’re recently out of a job.... the rejection and the emotional toll it takes. Not only are you out of a job (that was a stabilizing factor) and a steady income, but you also just lost your work family and the friendships and camaraderie that’s been built up. The day-to-day interaction with people is so important.
You’re at an uncertain point in your life and it’s not a comfortable place to be in.
What’s the plan of action / the Game Plan?
Basically, what are the FIRST STEPS / NEXT STEPS in the process?
What actions are you going to take now? - And after that?
PLANNING, PREPARATION & IMPLEMENTATION - GETTING THE BALL ROLLING
How are you organized?
How do you search for job listings or explore opportunities?
- Cell Phone / Desktop Computer / Laptop?
- If you search on a cell phone, you are not doing yourself justice.
- It’s a small screen. You need to use more real estate to view all the possibilities that are out there.
How much time do you spend in search mode?
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:
If the ideal situation/job materializes, what does it look like?
What is the ultimate dream? What do you see for yourself going forward?
- Get back in the same industry you were/are in?
- Make a career change?
- Personal Fulfillment / Volunteer work?
- To stay active?
- How much responsibility do you want to have?
- Part-time work / Gig work?
WHAT ACTIONS ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE THIS HAPPENS?
- What will you do AND WHEN will you do it?
- Do you have a plan / a roadmap? For near-term / longer term?
- What is the result of doing nothing? What will happen if you don’t do anything? Some food for thought...
HAVE A ROADMAP
Draw up a plan of daily/weekly actions and follow it. For ex:
RESEARCHING
Identify your potential target audience.
What would you like to do? What fields/industries do you want to be in?
Start by making a list of them and the types of businesses to approach that appeal to you or that you know you want to look at. (Research).
Continually research new people/entities to contact – make this an everyday part of your schedule.
Set up Job Alerts in Indeed, Zip Recruiter, etc., and with companies directly... so you get prompted constantly with new job listings, opportunities, etc.
GET THE CONVERSATION GOING! EDIT THIS SECTION
Send out your new “killer’ cover letter
Make contact with people. Make Phone Calls / Send Emails / Leave Messages and Follow-up. BE INVOLVED!!
Option: Where are you in the scheme of things? What have you done so far?
(Put in different search words, terms, and criteria to get the most out of your searching).
Get comfortable researching – the info is out there, you just have to find it.
Be relentless and have a sense of urgency and determination.