How can you prepare for a layoff while giving your current employer a day's work?
It sucks to receive word that you will be laid off. There’s no way around it.
For many, receiving notice of a layoff or accurately reading the writing on the wall is a luxury in the sense that you have warning of the impending pink slip. It beats the unexpected announcement that you need to clear out your desk by noon. But the forecast layoff presents certain obstacles of its own: the struggle to prepare for unemployment while still giving your current employer a day’s work. Be sure to understand that making a lasting, positive impression at your current job could reap benefits down the road, writes Rob Sullivan in a recent article on TheLadders Career Advice, “Keep Your Job.”
[In] a potential layoff, ask yourself this question:
How might your behavior be different if you knew with 100% certainty your job would not be eliminated?
How would you focus the time and energy you are now spending in your job search to improve your performance in your current position?
If you find yourself worrying about the future and complaining about the way the company is handling the situation, what would be a more constructive way to channel that attention and energy?
How might your relationships with your co-workers be different if you didn’t feel you were somehow competing with them in a game of corporate musical chairs?
Take a few minutes to reflect on these questions. With minimal effort, you will quickly realize how many opportunities you may be missing. This is the time to take action.
And remember to weigh the risks of checking out of your job prematurely: With the number of companies affected by recession, any opportunity in your same industry may simply be trading one set of issues for another. Whatever the case, be sure you are running toward a legitimate opportunity.
The point is that casting yourself in the best light with peers, managers and other colleagues takes significant effort. You may know that you are on the short list for a layoff based on your salary or that your division will be forced to downsize. But it doesn’t mean you need to act like you know it. Being productive, positive and a team player are key to showing your value and maintaining strong connections in your network should that layoff actually occur.
(Laid Off by Kai Hendry via Flickr, CC3.0)
More on layoff advice and maintaining a proper mental state on the job search:
- Searching While Waiting on the Layoff List
- Staying Healthy Through Troubled Times
- LOST: Identity! Stop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence
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