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You thought everything at your job was fine. You’ve worked there for years. You were worried something might happen (given the way things are) but you didn’t really think it would happen to you. However, like the nearly 900,000 other people in your position last year, the worst has happened and you were laid off.

 A lot of people meet their new-found joblessness with depression and ambivalence; while others feel cut loose to do anything they want. Both of these responses have their place, but eventually there comes a time to get back on the proverbial horse.

Nonetheless, the question looms for some of the recently laid-off: What does it mean to get back on? It’s hard to market yourself after having been out of the job-finding loop for a significant amount of time, and the environmental climate seems so arid that doing nothing is just as productive as doing something.

This is the misconception, of course. There are jobs and other possibilities out there, but they’re not going to come to you. You have to go to them.

Change Your Outlook.
The first thing to do when beginning the process of getting back on the horse is to change your attitude. It’s not fun losing your job, but nobody wants to feel ingratiated to you. Grieve and recover. Life is not over. Look at being laid-off as a new beginning.

Re-market Yourself.
Put your name in at some temporary job agencies or get help updating your resume. There are non-profit and government agencies that can help you make yourself marketable so you can catch the eye of employers and professionals. You don’t want to look dated, so you may be due for an update.

Further Your Education.
‘Updating yourself’ might mean upgrading your education. Statistics from National Center for Educational Statistics show that non-traditional/adult student (those over 25) enrollment increased 26% between 1997 and 2007, from 14.5 million to 18.2 million students. Most of this number is comprised of adults who decided to go back to school after being laid-off.

Re-focus Your Goals.
Going back to school can give you time to cool off and refocus. In the current job market, most positions require at least a Bachelor’s degree, if not a Master’s. Though an education is an investment, if you’re working to re-market yourself, the return on your investment will be invaluable. You can more finely hone what it is you want to do, draw the attention of potential employers, and expand your mind.

Network, Network, Network.
As the face of communication changes, so too does the face of employment. Social networks double as employment networks, which continues the tradition of the adage that who you know matters just as much as what you know. Plus, familiarizing yourself with the ins-and-outs of internet networking can only work to your advantage. Get on some job and college networks and see what places you can go.

While times might seem tough, there are options. What are some other things you can do to make new possibilities for yourself in the professional world?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 at 6:41 am and is filed under Career, Job Search, Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.