DETROIT
Your to mach ta to churn,
your mouth dry, you feel Ii e
Ughtheaded. You're in hoc •
You can't believe it' happenirlg
to you. You wor rd. Your work
is good. Your I t performance p­
praisal bov vera . 0 can
they lay you off'? It m t be a mis-
e, but it . n't. You' been laid
off!
Yo� clean out your d k. You go
home and cry. All sorts of que no
run through your mind.
"What will I tell my family and
friends?· Ho do I P Y the bill 1"
Now what do you do?
CHANCES ARE that you or
omeone clo e to you ha gone
through tbe 10 of a jOb. It doesn't
Qttcr what you tall it-a layoff,
reduction in force, forced e rly
retirement, plant ct iog. etc.--the
�fIect is the same. You are out of
work and your life will never be the
same again. .
For the sake of this article, let'
assume you are the one who just got
the axe. Where do you go from here1
How do you survive? The intent of
thi article is to give you orne tips to
help you survive this diffic\J]t time.
The steps to surviving a layoff are
straight-forward. You hed your
tears and get over the pain and the
hurt feelings. You ass your job
kills. You market yourself until you
find accepteble job.
I CRY A LIT11..Et Being t
after loosing your job is normal. I
good to yell, scream, and cty to get
over the pain. You have to get the
pain out into the open if you are
g9ing recover. Cry long and bard,
but oot for more than a day or so.
Avoid depression. Definitely avoid
liquor, drugs, and all other artificial
depressants and stimuli. Get on with
your life. All your energies need to
be focu ed on moving forward
toward your new job, not lingering
on the old one.
DEVELOP A POSmVE AT­
TJTUDE ABOUT YOURSELF.
Count your blessings. If all you lost
was your Job, you may be in pretty
good shape. At a minimum you
didn't 100 e your home and family.
You also didn't loose your health.
� long as you are healthy, you can
find work. You are sgll the same
"good" person you were the day
before you lost your job. Remem­
ber, your status a parent spouse,
lover, friend, neighbor, church mem­
ber, etc. bas not changed. You are
still the same person.
You just have to change
employell.
� ALWAYS CONSIDER
YOURSELF EMPLOYED.
Today, however, you are sclf­
employed with the objective of find­
ing a paying job. Get up and go to
wor every day from 8:00 am to 5:00
. pp;l. It is very important that you
keep· a standard work schedule.
And, Inee the personnel offices
of most companies are open only
between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, these
are your �w work hours. Keep a log
of all job search activities. Keep a
log of with whom you have poken
and to wbom'you have sent rcswn .
Put in 40 hours each week looking
fur a job. Remember that your wor
i not complete until you tart your
DC paid job.
l ASSES YOUR JOB SKILLS.
Consider all work experience
bether paid or unpaid. Compare
JOur kills to the job openlnp Ii ted
in the DC paper. Develop separate
. \.lID for your primary and seeon-
ry skill. When describing your­
. ielf and your skills whether in
riting or in person, the ter-
minolOgy IDOIt commonly used in
Ind try.
: If you acronyms, 0 atate or
Ust their meaning. When you iden­
tify your kill , co ider the broad t ,
scope of those '11. Don't limit
yourself to your current job or in-
pp 1 uon,
pect
1.
2.
If- mpl y d
IOdin your
P id
perfect job of er c me nd
bankrup y.
ThorruJs Wims' W! Prelidmt of
EDI Po. Emplo Smrlc of
McLun, VA a1IIl 1M Qllthor ofWrlI­
ing Your Winnin Ruwne subtltl«l
Get Your Re.fUIM ThrOflgh TM Cor­
porate Personnel Ol/ice (pb:
$14.95). His company conduc a
variety 0/ out-placement rvices in­
cluding a er! 0/ inar. which
are opt!1l to t� ptlblk. He CCIII be
reached at his offICes at 1420 Spring
Hill Road, Suite 300, McLemt, VA
22102 (703) 893-6822.
d' tant
earchin for
JO 0
Ye , you hould look for the perfect
high-p yin , low , fulfillin
job you have alw y wanted. But
remember, "a not operfectjobbea
no job at 11." In tbe hrinkin job
mar et of t nineti, pt job if
offered. It could mean the difference
between financial urvival until the
CIAL U VIV . Cut
your personal expenditure.
Eliminate unnece ary expense .
Revi your sav accoun and
any other liquid . De elop a
plan for surviving while your un­
employed. Prfortize your bill .
Rent/mortg ge and utlliti hould
come first. Tra portation and food
ID...,.., .. �,�
n re where job re p nntul. If
the m [or ind try in your rea hu
down, you may have to move in
order to find employment. Widen
A A Driver' Air B
ith a lap/
ShO\.1Idelf belt i the
driv r safety
m available today �
\ .
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CHRYSLER· PLYMOUTH· DODGE· DODGE
TRUCKS
. J E E P
E A G L E
WIth tbelt.
·Exc ude Viper
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