After-shocks from not having a job….what to do now!

Well, here you are, jobless, wondering what just hit you, or perhaps it happened weeks or months ago, and you still can’t believe it. I know….I’ve been there. So many questions, like:

• I’m only good at one thing (IT or Scientific, which is pretty specific and specialized), and I’ve been doing that pretty well all these years. At least that’s what everybody told me all this time.
• I just got this job a few months ago and made plans based on that. Now that it’s gone, what am I supposed to do? As an IT guru or scientist or regulatory affairs expert (for example) I don’t always have tons of choices. With so many companies (random examples: Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), IBM, BiogenIdec….this list could go on for a long time and is not intended to be either exclusive or inclusive)….there are opportunities, but sometimes workforce reductions.
• This is really going to look bad on my resume. How will I explain this when I interview for a new job?
• Where can I find another local job where I can keep doing the same thing?
• How am I supposed to tell my spouse, my kids, my neighbor, my friends, the folks at church? And exactly what am I supposed to tell all those people? This is embarrassing! I am a highly paid and educated professional! I am an IT professional, a bench scientist, a lab tech, a programmer, etc.
• Where do I start?

These are common questions that really need to be answered, although your case really is different than anyone else. I think I’ll just start from the top and talk about each bullet point. This is going to take some time to completely cover, but I think it is good to go through them one week at a time.

I’m only good at one thing and I’ve been doing that pretty well all these years. At least that’s what everybody told me all this time.

Everything happens for a reason. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but I believe it is true. You are actually good at more than one thing…you’ll see. Sure, you did one thing for years, but you will discover that you have other skills not yet uncovered because they weren’t needed until now. If you only had your job for a few weeks or months, maybe it wasn’t a good choice in the first place. Maybe the company didn’t do the right thing saying the job needed to be filled. Who knows? The point is, you are multi-faceted and you will end up OK…diffferent, but OK….wiser, but OK.

So, who to talk to…ask people you worked with to provide references for you. We’ll talk more about that in another conversation. See if your company provides job transition services. Again, we’ll talk more later. Check local churches about job-seeking services. Again, lots more later on this subject.

I always try to leave you with something to munch on…..so try this….I think it is interesting!

http://www.msmoney.com/mm/career/transitions/changing_jobs/changing_jobs_intro.htm

Contact me anytime!

Greg Miller, CRSP
IT and Scientific Recruiter
919-451-4501
milga1@aol.com
My LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorykmiller 

Tags: Add new tag, BiogenIdec, Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, IT, jobless, regulatory affairs, Scientific, scientist