After the Pink Slip: Getting the Most Out of Being Unemployed
After the Pink Slip: Getting the Most Out of Being Unemployed
So you used to be a division manager pulling in six figures, or a mechanic, painter, teacher or construction worker. Now, after getting your pink slip, you spend most of your time sitting on your couch, surfing the net for a job at McDonald’s and watching news networks that update the grim economic and jobs numbers every fifteen minutes. Being unemployed is a definite setback, but this forced employment hiatus doesn’t have to be professionally stagnating. Below you will find seven cost-effective action steps that you can take now to regain some control of your present situation and prepare for future job success.
7 Action Steps For Getting the Most Out of Your Employment Hiatus:
1) Enhance the skills you already have.
You may have learned advanced level word processing or database creation and management skills while on the job, but do you have the industry certification to back those skills up? If not, consider studying for and taking the appropriate industry certification exams. These certifications give future employers a more definitive sense of what level they can expect you to perform at and just might set you apart from the competition. To get more information regarding software certification exams, refer to the website of the company who created the application(s).
Note: The cheapest way to study for these exams is to borrow the study guides from your local library.
2) Update your resume and cover letter. Since this probably hasn’t been done since you applied for your last job, now is the time to ensure that your new resume includes your most recent position and job duties. Also make sure that you include any awards, recognitions, references and volunteer activities you may have received or engaged in since your last update.
Note: Most public libraries have books filled with sample resumes in many different styles that you can use for free.
3) Use your employment hiatus for personal and professional introspection. Ask yourself some tough questions about your past work experiences, such as: did you actually enjoy your former job duties or was it only the paycheck that kept you coming back? What did you like or dislike about your former job(s)? Why? If it was only the paycheck, consider investigating other careers that may more closely align with your interests and abilities. Seize this moment and use it to your advantage by evaluating and updating your personal and professional goals.
Note: While speaking to a career counselor may be a good idea, honest and detailed journaling can do the trick as well-minus the expense.
4) After you’ve looked inward, look outward to find ways to investigate possible career and skill-enhancement trainings in your area. You don’t have to invest a lot of money into your investigation. For instance, go online and look up your local community college or university course schedule to find the dates, times and tuition prices to update your skills or embark on a new career path, volunteer in a prospective industry, job shadow with a professional currently working in the job you are interested in, research a possible career or industry online by using the Occupational Outlook Handbook or talk to friends and/or relatives already working in the industry.
5) Network. Use social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook to expand your professional contacts and your potential for accruing job leads.
Note: Both LinkedIn and Facebook are free of charge for registered users. Remember to maintain professional standards when using these networking sites. Refrain from cursing, kiss-and-telling, posting socially awkward videos of yourself, etc. These types of posts only turn-off prospective employers and thwart your job search.
6) Volunteer. The reasons for volunteering during your hiatus are numerous. Whether you use the opportunity to investigate a new career path, keep your job skills fresh, to get you out of the house and into the land of the living or solely to just do good, it can be a mutually beneficial and rewarding experience for you and the organization you choose to donate your time to.
Note: If you are volunteering to keep your job skills fresh, rest assured that you won’t necessarily be restricted to stuffing envelopes and filling food boxes when you volunteer. Many organizations are also seeking web developers, IT personnel, grant writers, advocates and other professionals to augment the services provided by their paid staff.
7) Keep moving forward. Potential employers want to see that you used your hiatus effectively, creatively and efficiently by enhancing your skills, acquiring new ones, volunteering and networking. This shows them that while losing your job was a definite setback, you rose to the occasion and kept moving forward—exactly what they want to see in an employee in their workplace.
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