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I was laid off yesterday. No prospects. What should I do?

I graduated from college 3 years ago, and don't particularly like my major. I got a decent job two months ago, but was laid off yesterday due to the soft economy.

I feel so lost - in the past it has always been my choice to leave a job. I'm a shy person, and suck at job searches. I have no networking contacts, no prospects. No ideas.

What should my next step be?

Asked By: Matt - 3/30/2008
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
Here's some things both DH and I have done when we've had to leave a job or got caught in a layoff.

First, do all the paperwork to apply for unemployment insurance so that your basic needs are met. Avoid dipping into saving if you can. Take advantage of opportunities to use whatever job services the unemployment office has available. I've fount them useless for more than getting myself in the right frame of mind...but that's what you need right now.

I'm sure you are already looking into the classifieds. Pay attention to the jargon used in ads in your field.

Start getting your resume together. We'd usually put together 2 or 3 versions of Dh's resume. Why? So that he could target them to particular jobs. One would appeal to engineers, one leaned more towards electronic instrument technicians, and the year we did 3 versions, he got a job in research and development without the required PHD and loved that job.

I used to sit down and make a list of what I liked to do. I'd make a list of my skills. I mean even the off beat ones like:
gardening and cooking. I didn't put them anywhere on my resume but my purpose was to get an overall picture of what I could do. Example: my huge veggie garden required such skills as planning, organization, mapping, minimal soil testing,
researching what grew well in the desert, what wouldn't. As you look carefully into this sort of thing, ideas will come pouring out and you sure need them now.

You mention that you don't like your major. What did you do in your previous positions that you enjoyed? How can you apply those skills to a new field?

Depending on your field you might try contacting head hunters. Call around because often the fees are paid by companies and not you.

If you were in a company had had a whole slew of layoffs, don't pass up the job fairs. There will be some.

Read anything and everything you can find about job hunting.
You may or may not find useful tips. But again this keeps you focused.

Go visit HR departments and fill out applications. If it's common in your field to send out resumes, do this. Follow up with phone calls if you are sincerely interested in the organization. Resumes and Apps get filed and forgotten until companies are looking then somebody will call HR and ask "Who do we have on file that can do this or that for me?"

Review lists of questions you might be asked at interviews. Sometimes when you fill out an application, the HR people will ask a few questions. You might not notice until you get back in your car and drive away that you've just been through a "mini-interview."

Keep in mind that you only need to get "1" job. As an old mentor of mine used to say, "If you throw enough stuff against the wall, sooner or later some of it will stick."

Make a point of getting some R&R into your job hunting weeks. Distraction is important. It allows you to get out of your own way so creative ideas will pop front and center.

I wish you good luck.
Answered By: Sew What? - 3/30/2008
Additional Answers ()
File for unemployment thru you local labor department or employment security commission (ESC) and search for another job. Call first, if you can get thru, to find out their procedures. There's a one week waiting period that won't be paid, but the rest will be, so the sooner you file the better, though there are some juggling measures that can be taken if you want prime earning quarters counted. There are resources thru these departments, but usually better jobs are to be found via agencies and ads I take it you've been working for more than 2 months during the year (even with another employer..it is all earnings that are considered) and will qualify. You are not required to accept jobs that pay far less than what you were earning.
Answered By: itsjunglepat - 3/31/2008
Go down and flip burgers to help with the money drain. Then look around for some more training in a field you like. Now you know what to think when you see illegals working and you are not. Good Luck
Answered By: Jim - 3/30/2008
There is only one answer. GO SELF EMPLOYED. Find a niche in the market and fill it, it's not rocket science just do it!!
Answered By: andrew l - 3/30/2008
Check this out. It is really cool and anyone can do it. I know this because if I can any one can. Shy or not it doesn't matter. I felt the same way. I'm from a small town with not much opportunity until I found this and this doesn't matter where you are from.
To achieve new results it takes actions not yet performed.
Check it out it changed my life. www.moneymesiah.com
Answered By: Jesse P - 3/30/2008
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