I originally ran this post on 6/8/10 when a few friends of mine were let go from a company with offices in Raleigh’s Forum business park.  Yesterday I had a few friends in Morrisville learn they’d need to start looking for work, so I thought it appropriate to run it again.  Keep your chin up, friends – good things are on the way!

Also, make sure to check in next week, I’ll be running a series on retirement investments and changing jobs – really excited about that!

6/8/10 – A few of my friends lost their jobs last week.  All of us who know them wish them the best and quickest journey toward their next ventures.  Along with that, I figured I’d offer the best job advice I have.

Don’t rub it

Losing a job can’t help but hurt a little bit.  Even the most well-adjusted person who has a complete understanding that the loss of their job had nothing to do with them feels a little sting at some level.

The trick is “don’t rub it.”

I learned a lot of what I needed to know about life from little league baseball.  One of the things I learned was that when you’re hit by a pitch or when a ground ball catches you in the chin – after the play, the coach will yell “don’t rub it!”

I’m still not sure what it means, but I think there are two things going on here.

1)   The coach doesn’t want you to put undue emphasis on your “ouchy” because you’ll focus on it

2)   The coach doesn’t want the other team to know they hurt you.

Either way, I think it applies here.  Read my post entitled “So you got laid off”.  One of the things I point out there is that you have to get over your lay off before you can make real progress toward your job hunt.  Do this in private with a good friend.

Once you’re done, be done, and don’t rub it.  Neither recruiters nor Hiring Managers have any interest in hearing your layoff story.  If that seems harsh, it is, but would you rather hear it from me or just not get the job?

Exercise

Aside from religion there is no more important aspect to a job hunt than exercise.

Set up a time to exercise.  Be diligent about it.

Exercise has been proven to help one keep a positive attitude and outlook as well as learn new things more quickly.  The job search is a set of skills like anything else, so learning quickly is a key to success.

Stick Together

Figure out how to stick together.  If it means creating a job hunt group, or accountability team with others looking for work, then do it.  A sense of togetherness will help with a positive attitude as well.

Share your experiences.

Share your opportunities.

Eat Well

Just because you’re at home, you don’t have the right to treat your body poorly by eating Twinkies all day.  Eating right will help your outlook, your motivation and your ability to actively job search.

Don’t Stare at the Screen

The biggest misconception about the job hunt is that a successful job hunt is one in which we stare at the computer screen all day waiting for the pixels on it to magically rearrange themselves into the words “you’re hired”.

It won’t happen.  I promise.

Job boards have their place, and email as a communications tool in networking and talking with recruiters is fine, but I think job boards should be 20% of a job search and no more.

What you need to be doing is meeting as many people as you can.  Learn about what they do.  Get to know them.  Attempt to help them in some way.  Don’t ask them if they have a job for you, but be clear about the job you want when they ask you what you do.

Reconnect with old co-workers and friends, find out what they’re doing.  Find out about their lives.  Every person you meet has the potential to help you find the next job.  Put them to work by clearly and concisely stating the work you want to do next.

Volunteer

People who have never had a break in their work life can’t imagine that unemployment is full time work.  It is.  You have to be working on your job search 24-40 hours a week to have positive results.

For that reason, get a volunteer job.  Doing something for others will help you feel better about your situation, show employers that you’re actively doing positive things, and that you use opportunities like having some time off to make the world better.

Keep Your Chin Up

Positive people get jobs.  Period.  Notice how much of this post talked about positive attitude and outlook?  Positive people get jobs.  I’ve seen it again and again in the last year that I’ve been working this business as a Job Search Coach.

Additionally, I’ve seen people’s lives change for the better almost the instant they decided the glass was half full!

By the way, having a positive attitude isn’t simply about seeing the future as all roses.  It’s also about planting roses!  So if your skill set is stale upgrade it.  If another career path is calling you, check it out.

You have the ability to change where you’re at and where you’re going.

Keep your chin up.  Good things are ahead!