Between a Rock and a Time Piece

IF you're lucky like I was, your former employer will give you an advisor as part of the severance package. This person will be a practical professional who will guide you through the process of a job search. This can be a fleeting association or long relationship depending on the length of your severance package. It can also be a life line if you have not made any connections in the job market for a long time.

There are two general philosophies of job hunting in today's marketplace. One says networking is the primary focus. The other suggests an ever expanding contact process on the Internet hiring sites and specific company websites. Get on the merry go round and ride it until an employer picks you off. The first focuses on human contacts at the highest levels possible, the second focuses on volume contacts in venues many employers go to hire. They both take time, in this economy lots of time.

Either way you go, you need to know yourself first. Job loss is new territory psychologically. First, its a no fault situation. Whether you could have prevented it or not, performed better or not, been more valuable or not, its all in the past. Focus on finding a past time you enjoy. You now have enough spare time to take an emotional rest every day. Second, find an activity to get you out of the house each day. A volunteer effort, a service organization of some kind. Regular activity and the regular requirement of keeping an appointment sharpen or maintain the discipline required on the job.

In terms of time that leaves the job search itself. Whatever path you pursue, make regular appointments with people. Whether its headhunters, networking contacts, job fairs, keep getting connecting with people. Practice speaking to others. These efforts are similar to an interview. You stay in a comfort zone with people so the interview will not be a shock when it comes.

Searching for a job is as much about inside your head as whats on your resume. Getting in to the interview is a step, getting through it and out of it with a job envolves skills you have always had. Keeping them sharp for when you need them is a lot like keeping a fine time piece working, constant care and attention.