Category: Professional Development

  • Why losing your job is not the end of the world and what to do if it happens

    An essay on the interoperable relationship between business and fear, in particular as it relates to the current world economy, especially having to do with the prospect of losing one’s job vis-à-vis layoff, by David ‘Bucky’ Schwarz Jr. Esq.1

    Donald Trump

    Well, the unthinkable happened: You got canned during a recession

    If you’re anything like me when I got laid off, your mind will be reeling. The kind of reeling that happens after your dog unexpectedly dies or when you find out your sweetheart actually wasn’t so sweet and sort of operates an escort service at night and is kind of well known throughout several large metropolitan areas. It’s ok though, this reeling feeling is completely normal. But what to do about it?

    In the immortal words of Douglas Adams: “Don’t panic.” You’re not going to starve tonight because you lost your job today (unless you’ve seriously miscalculated your budget, in which case, why are you reading this? Start panicking!). For most jobs, there is typically a delay of a week or two between the hours you work and when you get paid for those hours. So you should have at the very least one paycheck (in addition to your severance package) coming your way; if nothing else, you should be able to eat for at least a week. When being laid off, it’s important to remember that things like this are not personal. The economy sucks, nobody has confidence in it right now, and people are scared. These kinds of things happen – and are most likely not your fault.

    As trite as it is to say: it’s not you; it’s them. Try to put yourself in the position of those heartless bastards who just let you go. Do you think they’re enjoying this? Do you think they like having to tell their colleagues that they don’t have a job? Do you think they get kicks out of exercising their power to ruin people’s lives? Of course they don’t. They never wanted it to come to this. But they have no choice. No one, except for maybe Rich Uncle Pennybags enjoys having to let people go. So don’t take it personally, and don’t let it get to you.

    Let’s take a step back for a second. Pretend that you know you’re about to be laid off, but it hasn’t happened yet – a lovely daydream, I know. But, it’s a daydream to have, because you can plan out how you’re going to negotiate a better severance package. If you weren’t aware, and you take only one thing away from this article, take this: everything in business is negotiable. Everything. It’s just a matter of finding the person who has been empowered to negotiate. And I guarantee you someone present during your layoff will be empowered to negotiate with you. So negotiate your severance package. What do you have to lose? (The correct answer is nothing).

    When I was laid off, I made the mistake of being in a daze when I talked to my boss’s boss and I just accepted their two week severance pay, not even realizing I could negotiate for better terms. It was especially sickening, considering I busted my hump for that company and my lack of negotiation meant I would have to dip into my savings. Don’t make the same mistake; whatever discomfort you might feel about negotiating for more money is going to pale in comparison to the discomfort you feel when you take money out of your savings for food. And that is not a good feeling – so cowboy up and negotiate yourself some free money. How do you actually negotiate for your severance? There are several good articles on the interwebs dealing specifically with that subject. And if those don’t work out, there’s always the Google.

    Ok, back to the present – now what? Continue to “Don’t panic.”

    You’re not going to starve tomorrow, and hopefully your negotiations went well and you’ll have a good amount of scratch coming your way. Even if the negotiations failed, don’t fret about it. Take a few days for yourself. If you’re anything like I was, for the next week, your mind will be aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention. So use the next few days to compose yourself. Take some time for self-reflection, meditation, and getting completely stinko. Look back over your time with the jerks who just threw you out on the street. Analyze what you did well and what you did poorly. Look at the mistakes you made during your tenure there. Examine how you handled yourself during the layoff period. Think about what you would change and what you would do the same. Learn from your mistakes. Store all of these conclusions away for the future – they can only help you grow in your career and as a person.

    Next, take some time off – real time off. The kind of time off where you block out anything related to work, resumes, job skills, networking or synergy. I can’t state this enough: use this time to completely unwind. Just because you were laid off doesn’t mean you can’t have a mini-vacation, as long as you’ve got the funds – and even if you’re low on funds, there’s always unemployment – courtesy of your former employer and the gubment. Catch up with friends you’ve been too busy for. Do some non-work related things you’ve been meaning to get done. Finish reading How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

    When I was laid off at the end of September 2008, I was worried and confused about what to do. I didn’t know if I should tell potential employers that I had been laid off, or if I should try to keep that fact concealed. I decided that I would only divulge that information if asked. However, at this point (late March, 2009) there is no reason not to tell people you’ve been laid off. With the economy in the proverbial commode, and unemployment hovering around 9%, layoffs are to be expected and don’t really reflect poorly upon you. However, there is a silver lining to this economic downturn: with all the layoffs there is now a great support network for people who’ve been laid off. There are literally thousands of people out there blogging and tweeting about what it’s like to be laid off and what to do if it happens to you. Get connected to that network – they may be helpful in finding your next job.

    By this time, you should be ready to start back up with your job search

    Luckily (for both me, the author and you, the reader), how to write a resume and land a job is beyond the scope of this article, but there are literally millions of resources out there devoted to just this topic. Tap into those resources. Use your network to let people know you were laid off and are seeking a job. Get on the Facebook, the Twiter, LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Start talking to headhunters – let them do the work for you. Don’t give up. It’s tough, but it’s completely manageable if you break your tasks into small, manageable chunks. I’ll leave you with a nugget of wisdom my former boss provided me when he was searching for a job:

    “You’ll find out who your true friends are when you search for a job. Your true friends will tell you about every opportunity employment they find. Use them.”

    tl;dr:2 economy sucks, layoffs happen, not your fault, negotiate for a better severance package, unemployment benefits lol, take some time off, network, get a job, ?????, profit.

    David ‘Bucky’ Schwarz is a 25 year-old web developer living in Cary, North Carolina. David enjoys reading, photography, programming, and driving. He blogs here, tweets here, and rocks a mean pair of aviator shades. Any questions? Ask then in the comments!

    David is not actually an attorney.
    Internet slang for “too long; didn’t read”

  • How to Write a Killer Resume

    Be concise and direct

    Don’t say “got a better idea of” or “was exposed to” when describing experiences; be specific and detailed – it’s obvious when you’re fluffing. “Mastered the fundamentals of Object-oriented PHP” is much stronger than “was exposed to scripting languages” and gives you a bit of wiggle room if your interpretation of “mastery” and “fundamentals” are different from the person interviewing you 🙂

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  • Why You Need A Website

    A primer on why I have a website

    In the spring of 2006 while still a student in the FSU College of Information‘s Information Technology program, my class was tasked with creating what they called an Interactive Resume (IR). An IR is essentially a website that showcases a student’s skills and experiences. It was also my first exposure to something that would make me fabulously wealthy web design. A gifted communicator and opportunist to boot, I immediately “got it” and set out to build my first real website.

    My first one wasn’t too exciting, but it got the job done (smile). I build it using a free template from solucija.com. My site has seen quite a number of revisions since then, and here are a few things I’ve learned since then that might be of interest to you.

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  • 10 ways to keep your job in a recession

    1. Have a positive attitude

    Stressful economic conditions are bad for (almost) everyone – why make it worse? Wake up every morning in a posture of gratefulness that you’re employed, and make every effort to radiate that positivity to others. Choose not to add to the chatter at the waterhole (or break room, as it were) about who got fired, who might be next, and what so-and-so in HR said. Until you’re actually fired (God forbid), the anxiety and uncertainly are self-imposed. Be positive.

    2. Save your company money

    There is no better time than now to pitch the idea to your boss that you’ve been sitting on. Everyone in management – all the way up the ladder – is looking for ways to save money and keep things running smoothly. You have an idea to streamline inter-departmental communication?

    You’ve got an idea to sell additional work to the client on one of you company’s largest accounts? Your proposal will likely get more consideration now than it ever would have before. Be proactive.

    3. Make sure you’re visible

    Do you work until 9pm on Fridays without anyone besides the janitors knowing? Have you been modest as to how you’re able to complete your tasks so thoroughly? Stop being so modest. If you’re working hard, there’s nothing wrong with being recognized accordingly. It’s ok to brag a little, as long as you do it tastefully.

    4. Proactively augment your skills

    With departmental budgets drying up faster than government funding for education, it’s unlikely that the week-long training in Dubai you’ve been eyeing will become a reality.

    Can you buy a book to study for that certification you’ve been wanting instead of attending the vendor-sponsored training in Miami? Consider using this opportunity to “take one for the team” and postpone it until business picks up again. Your boss – and conscience – might thank you for it.

    5. Communicate regularly with management

    There should never be a question as to what you’re working on and why it’s valuable to the company in the mind of your manager. If you’re working on something that’s due in six weeks, give weekly status reports to your boss. Stay on management’s radar with quick, strategic, semi-frequent updates  or questions regarding whatever you’re doing.

    6. Don’t overdo it

    It’s good to be noticed for doing the right thing, but no one loves an office superhero. Unless your office is totally devoid of politics and infighting (it’s not), you’ll want to avoid situations where people have a reason to gang up on you.

    People who don’t like you will be even more enraged when they see you going the extra mile. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t strive for excellence in your tasks – you should. Basically, try not to walk around in your Superman costume.

    7. Be a part of the community

    Most companies and departments have some type of quarterly gathering where attendance is optional. While it may be tempting to skip out on these events, you’ll definitely want to dust off the Hawaiian shirt or sun dress for this quarter’s get-together. Why not? Everyone’s in the same situation together, and this is a great time to show your commitment to the company, your team, and your coworker’s potato salad.

    8. Align your goals with company goals

    If you secretly aspire to be a professional ballroom dancer or fire-eater in the circus, now is not the best time to keep you coworkers informed about your progress. People will be subconsciously sizing each other up to find weaknesses and faults. An employee who doesn’t seem to have a great interest in being there is a prime target for termination.

    9. Be a people person

    Being important to the company sometimes takes a back seat to being liked by individuals in the company. The goal isn’t only to make yourself useful; you also want to be an integral part of the positive office chemistry.

    Be known for your ability to work well with people. A smile when someone needs it, a jump when someone’s car breaks down, and openly recognizing someone for their assistance with a presentation or report will pay dividends in the long run. Simple acts of genuine kindness will help bolster your network with advocates who will stick up for you behind closed doors.

    10. Don’t be careless

    Sending personal emails while working, irresponsible use of your company credit card, and missing deadlines are excellent ways to get noticed for doing the wrong thing. You don’t want to make yourself look bad and more importantly, you don’t want to make you manager look back. Constantly evaluate your productivity and tasks while asking yourself how you can make your manager’s job (and life) easier.