I Just Lost My Job. What To Do Now?
One of the hardest and most frightening experience is to get a sudden call/email/meeting invite from your boss.
Millions of things will be going inside your head and with this hard time economy, only negative thought will be spinning around inside our heads.
You started talking, and the news came, we have to let you go ??.
Nothing personal, just a budget cut due to the COVID-19 or whatever non-sense they will tell you.
Your life is in limbo, you are shaking, you are in denial, you may be crying, you may be thinking this is the end of life.
Well, it is NOT. It happened to me, it happened to a lot of people at some point, and the GOOD news is, they survived and got a better job.
If I were writing this article in 2019, I would have told you NOT to worry, and that you would get a job in no time, and screw your employer, move onto the next one.
HOWEVER, with the COVID-19 pandemic, I can no longer tell you not to worry. You have to worry, especially, if you are like so many irresponsible people who live paycheck to paycheck and think it’s okay not to have a saving.
YOU LOST YOUR JOB……. WHAT THE HECK DO YOU NEED TO DO NOW?
First of All
You just went home after you were laid off and a million things are going through your head. Well, you need to organize that brain of yours or you will be homeless soon.
First things first. UPDATE YOUR RESUME. I’m assuming you keep an updated resume all the time on your computer, but if you don’t, update your damn resume RIGHT NOW.
Add all the skills and experience you’ve acquired since the last time you made the change and save that resume as a master file. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, use the master resume for every job you apply to. But, use this master resume file to make copies and optimize it for every job you apply to.
You will always have the Master Resume File and just make copies for each job you apply to.
Assuming that you are a Technical Consultant, and you want to apply for another consulting position, please check out the job description before applying. You will waste your time and get more depressed if you apply to jobs that will throw your resume away…
I like to use the term “Creating a Winning Resume“. A winning resume is a resume that will get you a job anywhere you want to.
It’s NOT magic to create a winning resume, rather, it’s an art of being meticulous and looking at the details that job description offer.
Things to look for in the Job Description of each position are:
- What skills are there?
- Education background/.experience they are requiring
- Job experience they are asking for.
- Am I qualified for this job? The answer to this one is ALWAYS YES, as long as it’s within your area of expertise and you are familiar with it. As Sir. Richard Branson said, “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” ?
To learn how to create a winning resume, I’ve made a YouTube video that details the process, enjoy watching it.
Additionally, you can use services to help you determine your overall resume score for each job you are interested in applying to.
Use services such as Job Scan that helps you to compare your resume to the job description of the job you are applying to.
It also lists all the Hard, Soft, and Relevant Skills that your resume is missing and gives you a percentage score. You will have to spend time tailoring your resume yourself.
Additionally, there are automated services like Smart Resume which we are currently developing that will help job seekers optimize their resumes for each specific job in one click.
I know it is an exhausting process and I’ve gone through it when I applied to 202 jobs and only heard back from 1. I had a master’s degree and I was clueless why I never heard back.
THEN……. one day I learned that recruiters never see the resume, it’s the Application Tracking System (ATS) Robot that rejects your resume because the text of your resume does NOT match the job description text.
ATS will be the topic for the next article.
ATS, analyzes your resume against the job description and if there’s a match, your resume will pass, if there’s NOT, you will get the rejection email “Thank you for your interest” nonsense.
Second of All
You need to file for unemployment. This is your right as an employee and your or your former employer contributed to it. You can visit the Covid-19 relief program URL and apply for the federal relief program.
Additionally, you are qualified to apply for your state’s unemployment as well.
Third of All
Get yourself ready to be learning like a mad person. You may have to temporarily change carrier until things settle down. Public libraries offer free learning classes through LinkedIn Learn / Pluralsight / and other learning platforms.
The bottom line is you need to bust your bottom to learn.
Other Options
You may do like what I did. I left my job to start my own business. This sucks, especially if you are the provider for the house and if you are living paycheck to paycheck.
However, if you have planned it and have some cash to back you up and if what you are starting is something that can easily bring in some cash, then you should really think about doing it.
If you need help getting your resume put together, let us know. We’re happy to help!!