Financially Survive Unemployment

If you’re worried you may lose your job, it’s essential you start preparing for this possibility. The steps taken now can help reduce your stress and help you survive financially. Loss of income or just reduction in hours an be thoughtfully approached.

Pay attention to the company undercurrents. Most of the time, people don’t know in advance they’re going to lose their job. Being aware and prepared can get you through tough times.There are practical steps you can take to prepare for the possibility of layoffs.

See 9 tips to prepare and survive here.

Approach the Hiring Manager About a Job

Contacting a hiring manager about an open position is an excellent way to stand out from a crowd of applicants. But connecting with someone you’ve never met can prove tricky, especially when in-person events have been significantly curtailed.

Consider commenting on a hiring manager’s post on a professional networking site, or follow them on their company site. Find a way to interact virtually before sending an initial email, you’ll have a  chance of getting their attention.

See four distinct steps to the hiring manager here.

LinkedIn Profile Summary - Do's and Don'ts

Many employers will call on LinkedIn to see you, Be There.

A focused, well-written summary can make a great first impression and set the tone for the rest of your profile. Showcase what problems you enjoy solving and how you solve them. It can be a golden branding opportunity that you don’t want to skip out on. Keep it brief, focused and highly targeted to the types of roles you want to be considered for. It should feel a bit more conversational than your resume

See 3 Do's and 3 Don'ts here

Get Noticed While Working Remotely

Stay visible and grow in your career. Showing your worth can benefit during good times, for advancement, and bad times, like downsizings. You need to continuously demonstrate value to your team and organization.

It’s harder for remote workers to stand out. You have less face-to-face time with your team and leadership. As a remote worker, you need to know when it’s the right time to advance.

See 5 steps to stand out as a remote worker here.

The Active Job Search Program

Interested in an active job search group that provides support while you look for a new job?  As part of an active job search group, you will receive job-search skills training from experts, support from other people engaged in a job search, daily check-ins, and job lead sharing.  It is close to FaceBook for job searching sponsored by LatterDaySaintJobs.org.

Outside of meetings, you will follow up on job leads and reach out to networking contacts. Join in The daily check-ins provide guidance and support from peers, much of the work needed for a job search occurs between meetings. 

See the live link to the interactive site here.

Staying May Not Be Good

Consider the stress level at work, and not having the proper balance in life. Once someone is burned out, there is no turning back. A vacation or even a sabbatical may not fix the problem. You may have to quit.

Burnout sneaks up, it is not easy to measure. There are other more specific situations. Not getting paid the market rate is fairly easy. Lack of supervisor support, a changing role and lack of upward mobility are others.

See a more complete discussion here.

Unemployment Money Management

Losing your job is always stressful. The American Journal of Public Health says people who are unemployed have higher rates of depression and anxiety. But there are ways you can take control of your finances, manage your budget and ultimately land on your feet, even during long periods of unemployment.

Maintaining your financial health during a period of unemployment is key to managing your physical and emotional wellness. 

See steps to take stock of your situation and manage your money here.

Using Social Media to Find Jobs

You have probably researched everything there is to know about resumes, cover letters, interviews, and all of the other job-searching basics. You might not be as familiar with the newest Social Media techniques for finding jobs.

A high percentage of companies are using social media for hiring. Three out of four hiring managers will check out a candidate’s social profiles, similar to your investigating a companies website for opportunities and employee satisfaction.. 
 
Tap into the power of social media (while avoiding the pitfalls) here.

Specific Job Search Strategies

From initial job search strategy through a successful negotiated signing, you are involved in numerous activities. Handling this spectrum presents opportunities as well as pitfalls.

While one size does not fit all, there are key points that help paint a comprehensive process to follow. These include both things to do and mistakes to avoid. A collection of these considerations can help you get a grasp on the bigger picture.

Review the steps to take to find a job here.

Send a Thank You Letter

 A professional thank you letter, whether hard copy or email, helps build and maintain relationships in the professional world. It’s important to let colleagues, employers, vendors, networking contacts and other contacts know that you value their time and efforts.

Sending a thank you letter is a good way to build rapport with your network and communicate your future intentions. Situations that warrant an acknowledgement:

Being provided with a new networking contact.
Getting a lead on a good job possibility.
Following an in-person or video interview

See an outline of a typical letter contents here.

How to Connect with Hiring Managers

 Should you connect with a hiring manager, and if so, how you should go about it? If you’re well qualified for the opening, then connecting with the hiring manager is a natural next step. But how do you go about it, and is there more that can be done to ensure you land your perfect-fit position faster?

The hiring manager role is to find qualified candidates, so it’s OK to connect. But if a job posting explicitly states to only contact via a certain channel and advises not to use other channels, then follow directions. You can network with employees and decision-makers, connect with the recruiters on LinkedIn, or get a referral for the job. You just can’t apply any other way.

See a discussion on contacting Hiring Managers here.

Salary Negotiation Tips

If starting a new job or going for a promotion at the current one, you should be negotiating the salary. Salary negotiation can be scary. But what’s even scarier is not doing it. 37% of employees always negotiate their salaries—while 44% have never bring up the subject.

About 7% of women attempted to negotiate their first salary, while 57% of men did. Of those people who negotiated, they were able to increase their salary by over 7%. Whether you’re male or female, in your first job or your fifth, it’s time to learn how to negotiate

See a roundup of 37 expert tips here.

Questions to ask in your interview

You’ve passed the initial applicant screening process and made it through the toughest bits of a job interview: details about your work history, maybe even uncomfortable discussions around salary and compensation.

But when the exchange is turned over to you, do you have good questions to ask the interviewer about the job? Asking the right questions can not only leave a hiring manager with a stronger impression, but also help you identify whether the role you are chasing and the team is a good fit. Be ready with insightful questions.

See sample questions and topics here.

Waiting Long for an Interview Response?

In a competitive job market it may take longer than usual to get a reply from an interview. In an employer's market waiting for the perfect candidate can extend the response time.

Additionally there are more applicants for open positions, requiring time for reviewing. There is a surplus of talent available, companies can wait and pick and choose.

See a more detailed explanation of delays here.

What's in a Job Title?

Organizations rely on specialization and hierarchy to organize people and teams in order to achieve collective goals. The two most common elements of a job title relate to function and seniority.

A title shows a person's function or seniority in a company, but it doesn't  picture a worker's value. Organizations depend on clear demarcations between who is responsible for tasks and responsibilities and who is accountable for them. 

For insight into 'Titles' components, find a discussion here.

What to do When You Loose Your Job

It’s emotional and traumatic to be laid off, and even worse to be fired. You’re out of work, you’re out of a paycheck, and you will lose the bond you have with your co-workers. Give yourself some time to mourn a bit, especially if you loved your job. It’s a loss, give yourself some time and space to grieve.

Then you need to get practical and get over it. The quicker you get a job search up and running, the faster you’ll be thinking about your new job.

See a comprehensive list of activities to get you going here.

Jobs for a Midlife Career Change

Changing jobs is expected but, people are changing careers in their 30s or 40s. Changing a career is a significant change. It takes careful research, consideration, and strategy.

While there may be external factors that necessitate a change, the more important factors need to be personal. The personal issues can not be knee jerk reactions, they must be calculated.

See five questions to ask yourself here.

Important Company Culture Considerations

Pay is important. But pay only goes so far. Higher wages don’t cause employees to automatically perform at a higher level. Commitment, work ethic, and motivation are not based on pay. They are based on the culture offered by the employer.

When changing companies or in hiring on, pay attention to the softer characteristics of the business operations. Conversations with potential fellow employees or more subtitle inquiries during an interview might enlighten characteristics such as: Freedom, Targets, Mission, Expectations, Input, Connection, Consistency and Future.
 
See more details on these characteristics here.

Find and Utilize a Mentor Effectively

Regardless of where you are in your career everyone can use a mentor to help guide them. People with mentors get promoted faster, earn a higher salary, and are more satisfied with their careers. While most agree that having a mentor is beneficial, few people - especially early in their careers - know how to find a mentor and make sure it’s a productive and meaningful relationship.

Here are ways to help you figure out what you’re looking for, identify the right mentor for you, and set yourself up for a successful mentorship.

See 10 tips to find the right Mentor here.

Legitimate Online Jobs

Recently a so-called “gig economy” has emerged. These jobs involve workers making a living via contract work. These work-from-home jobs could see increased interest. With economic conditions, significant contract work takes place online.

This class of work has applications across varied professions, you may have the ability to perform this kind of work regardless of your background. Prospective gig workers have a choice of numerous online jobs encompassing a diverse set of backgrounds.
 
See a sample list of opportunities here.

Find the Hiring Manager with LinkedIn

If you need a job right now, you have to write directly to the hiring manager. This approach is a bit different than typically sending a resume. You're going to send the hiring manager a letter something like a cover letter, but different in its composition. It's called a Pain Letter, because

 it talks about the pain behind the job ad. It concentrates on how you can solve the problem. You will send it through the postal mail directly to the hiring manager's desk.

The two principal elements are: first, crafting the content of the letter in personal terms, and second, using LinkedIn to find the specifics of the managers title and location.

Find derailed background on these two elements here.

Avoid Overused Phrases, Consider a Summary Statement

Resumes don’t leave room for personality. Telling a coherent story in bullet form is tricky. The summary statement is a popular way to kick your resume off, see it here.

With a summary statement, you can cherry pick your most impressive accomplishments, spell out what your expertise is, and give an overall sense of what your career path has been. You’re always best off quantifying your results and backing up your skills with numbers here.

Review three overused resume phrases to avoid here.

Don't Miss the Most Basic Job Search Advice

Job Search has two principal parts: find the lead opportunity, and respond effectively. While you are looking for genuinely useful counsel, don't miss the obvious, the basics..

Things come down to a short list of sound, timeless job searching tips that will help fine-tune your strategy so you may sail through the process. You need to be responsive in matching requirements and in demonstrating skills.

See six search and response tips that should be obvious here.

Consider a Volunteer Position

While your full time 'Job' is obtaining a new one, consider the benefits of a volunteer position. This new non-paying opportunity shouldn't be full time but it will give you a break in your routine. You will need to rework your resume to point out the skills you can bring to the position. In the resume editing process you might see some improvements you can make.

Consider the volunteer job as temporary. Gaining the benefits of a change of pace, you may develop skills or discover additional exposure that can be included in your ongoing master resume.

For tips on writing a cover letter or e-mail see more here.

Cover Letter via Email

When sending an email cover letter, it's important to follow the company's directions on how to submit your cover letter and resume. Make sure that your email cover letters are written as well as any other professional correspondence.

Review some tips on how to craft a resume, composing the email, attaching or pasting and sending the documents.

See key points and examples here.

Identify and Utilize Transferable Skills

In a career transition, whether job or industry, leverage your transferrable skills. Transferable skills include both the hard and soft skills that are applicable in your current role and the job you’re seeking.

A resume is absolutely required. Additionally a cover letter gives you a chance verbalize your skills, talents and experience. This is especially important in a lateral move or in an industry change.

See how to identify and demonstrate transferrable skills here