Construction Career Management

Construction Career Managements

What advice do you have for surviving a layoff?

Losing a job can be one of the most stressful events in one's life, often resulting in loss of income, reduced self esteem, depression and illness. Executives should consider the following tips:
- Don't take things personally. You were laid off because of business and not personal reasons.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. This could turn out to be the best thing that could happen to you.
- Seek career counsel. Obtain self-assessment testing and research the job hunting marketplace to learn how to become effective at finding yourself a new and more appropriate job.
- Check to see if you can qualify for unemployment.
- Arrange with your employer COBRA insurance for coverage after being laid off- usually lasts up to 18 months.
- Budget your current savings, income and spending to make sure you can survive the drought.
- Update your resume and distribute it online to search engines, job boards, recruiters and prospective employers.
- Network every contact you have and let them know of your situation.
- Visit trade associations and societies to locate who is hiring and where the opportunities lie.
- Work several hours every day on marketing yourself to employers of choice.
- Keep healthy. Focus on rebuilding your body and mind during the down time, and get in shape for your new career.
- Don't panic, or battle the decision. Use your energy to find a brighter future.
- The stigma of being laid off is not as bad these days given the common dilemma of cutbacks nationally.
- Obtain the best severance package, outplacement assistance and health coverage possible, even if it involves litigation (rather the threat of litigation since you may not want to burn bridges and have nobody else want to employ you.
- Obtain references in writing. Once you leave the firm your value and influence diminishes dramatically, and often you become the scapegoat and easy target for problems of others since you are no longer there to defend yourself.
- Networking is crucial. But don't jump straight in and start talking with your contacts until you know what it is you want from them. When you are networking, rather than specifically asking for a job, seek information about your industry, find out which construction employers are growing & changing.
- Be open to temporary assignments. They add to your visibility and can lead to full-time jobs, he said. And they are better -- in the eyes of prospective employers -- than being unemployed.
- Be ready to compromise on the size of the job but not on the reputation of the new employer.
- Don't hold out for the perfect job since there are none. If the job is 80% what you want, take it.
- Be prepared for a long struggle- sometimes up to a year for high level executives to locate the right job.