Turn a Layoff Into an Opportunity By Turning Your Passion Into a Profession

Early Retirement…Resource Action…Downsized…Laid Off…or Fired, it doesn’t matter the term you use, when you leave a full time job on somebody elses’s terms after many years of hard work and dedication it’s always a time of anxiety and uncertainty.

However, if you turn that OBSTACLE into your next OPPORTUNITY, make that STUMBLING BLOCK a BUILDING BLOCK and turn that TEST into your next TESTIMONY everything will be okay.

Last week’s Podcast, Social Media Sunday with the Delaware Blogger, my guest, Shamma Casson and I talked about the next phase after our layoffs from Corporate America.

According to Monster.com there are also several things that you should do before you leave the office for the last time and I will list the first two below, however, I ask that you click this link to hear the entire Podcast and then leave a comment as to any suggestions you have for others facing a layoff or a resource action.

5 Steps to Take When Your Are Being Laid Off according to Monster.com

Then, follow these five steps to make sure you’re leaving the building with your dignity — and everything you need to land on your feet.

Don’t Leave Without Your Contacts

If you don’t have a backup of your contacts at home, the very first thing to do is to get your contacts, says Ryan. “If you’re in the conference room and being seen out the door, you obviously can’t,” she says. “But if they let you go back to your desk and sit down — and most companies will let you do that today — save your contacts. If there’s someone hovering, just say, ‘Look, I’m just downloading my Outlook contacts.'”

Your contacts are paramount to jump-starting your new job search. “You want to write to each of your contacts and let them know that you’ve been laid off and give them a paragraph about what you’re looking for,” Ryan says. Your network will immediately start looking for work for you — while you’re distracted dealing with other tasks.

Don’t Leave Without a Layoff Letter

“Get something in writing about this termination before you leave the premises,” says Ryan, a former human resources executive. Unemployment is not retroactive, so you should go to your local unemployment office within 48 hours, and having such a letter will help.

“If you walk in with something in writing from your former employer saying that you were laid off and you worked there from this date to that date, it will speed up the processing of your check,” she says. And because most unemployment checks aren’t as much as regular wages, it’s important to bring in as much money as possible as quickly as possible.