Eight experts offer advice on what to do when you’re let go

By Annette Richmond

Some people say the job market is improving. Others say not so much. But, whatever the state of the economy there’s always the possibility of getting let go. And whether you’re laid off or fired the experience is traumatic.

I still remember the first time I lost my job. The economy was down and business was slow. While I was in bed with the flu they decided they didn’t need me anymore. To add insult to injury, I was laid off over the phone. Talk about trauma.

Have you ever lost a job? I’ll bet the answer is yes. For this reason, I reached out to several experts with the hope of providing a few tips on what to do when you’re let go. What I got back was a ton of great advice. Everyone’s take was a little different. And I didn’t want to leave anything out.

Hence the one-off article became a four-part series covering the broad topic of “what to do when you’re let go.”

In part one, our eight experts answer my first question, “What are the first three things you should do when you are laid off or fired?” Here’s what they had to say

Read More

Sponsor Ad

How to stand out from the competition

By Carole Martin

If you’re a fan of the show “The Apprentice” with Donald Trump you know that the winner this season was a young woman named Brandy.

If you’ve never watched the show it is a show of elimination as the “stars” compete against one another and one person is “fired” each episode until there is only one candidate left. The last star standing gets the job offer – much as a scenario in today’s job market might go.

The show had an interesting scenario this season because the “stars” were chosen from several unemployed men and women who have been having a difficult time obtaining employment, or who are underemployed just to pay the bills. Maybe you could have been one of the stars as this is sadly a common scenario in the job market at this time.

The show progressed over several weeks with the suspense building as one after another the candidates were eliminated each week. There was lots of drama and I’m sure the producers kept it interesting by throwing in challenges to keep ratings up.

Read More

How to build on your natural strengths

By Catherine Kaputa

Ever since a certain assertive female decided she wanted to eat from a certain forbidden tree, influential women have been loved, hated, glorified, vilified, and misunderstood.

Our modern time is no different.

Yes, we've come a long way from the fifties and early sixties, when career women were viewed as a lesser version of men, and urged to pursue service-oriented "pink jobs," such as nursing and teaching. However, today our ranks in the corporate workforce still thin out above midlevel. Today, women comprise less than 3 percent of senior executives in Fortune 500 companies. So, whether we are boomers, Generation X, or Gen Y, we're still not where we want to be.

Do you know this woman? She could be in your office, she could be a friend, or she could be you. She doesn't lack talent or work ethic, but her life and career aren't on track. It can be hard for her to strike the right tone in the office. If she's too nice, she's viewed as weak and not up to the job. If she's too assertive, she's criticized for being severe. She seems to work harder than the men—for less rewards. She's suffering from an ailment that mainly affects women that I've dubbed "Female Behavior Confusion Disorder."

Read more

Interview Expert

Professional Image Expert

Carole Martin is a coach with over 18 years in Human Resources Management. She is an acknowledged expert in the use of behavioral interviewing techniques.

Ask Carole a question

Style expert Bridgette Raes is the author of Style Rx: Dressing the Body You Have to Create the Body You Want and the president of the NYC based style consulting company for women, Bridgette Raes Style Group.

Ask Bridgette a question

Resume Writing Expert

Career Development Expert

Annemarie Cross is a multi-award winning, triple certified Professional Resume Writer, Career Management Specialist, Speaker, and Author of 10 key steps to Ace that Interview!

Ask Annmarie a question

Annette Richmond, MA, is founder and editor of career-intelligence.com and The Career Intelligencer. She is author of several publications, ebooks and interactive workbooks on career management.

Ask Annette a question