Photo via Flickr by Bob Jagendorf

So, if you have read the news or spoken to anyone in the last year, you are aware that there are layoffs happening. Everywhere. (P.S. If you don’t want to read depressing news all the time, read Alltop’s Good News!) Most likely, you or someone you know has been laid off. Instead of ignoring the possibility of getting let go, prepare for it. You can’t control the economy or your organization’s budget, but you can control how you react to it. Here are some lessons learned from the other side of the fence:

1. Don’t take it personally: If you are laid off, you have not been fired. There was a restructuring, a budget cut, a massive recession, etc. It is not you, so getting angry and bitter will not help you now–see points 2 & 4. below. (Granted, there are things you can do to make your job recession proof, but we’ll cover that later.)

2. Don’t yell and try not to cry: It is hard to control emotional reactions (I will admit, as a woman, I think this might be harder for us), but as best you can, this is not the time to air all of your grievances with your now former employer.

3. Say “Thank You”: Regardless of how long you have been in your role, there are likely people there who you connected with, who mentored you, and who will now be able to help you in your job search. Say thank you, for all of the responsibilities you had and all of the skills you were able to learn and use in your position.

4. Hand out your personal email and phone number: Again, these are the people who can help you, and will want to help you most in your job search. Make sure you keep the lines of communication open and cordial. I would venture to say that most employers do not relish laying people off. It is uncomfortable for them, too. So, they will have extra incentive to help you in your next step. The best option is to hand out your personal business cards (which you should make now and have on hand, anyway. you’ll need it for your next job search, employed or no.).

5. Make a list of contacts: Please note, I am not condoning stealing business from the organization you just laid off. I am, however, condoning making your network as wide and broad as possible. What better place to start than with the people both internal and external with which you have most recently worked.

5. Leave well, then leave your work behind: Many people are awful at work-life balance. Here is your chance to get it right. Before you leave, make a to do list (or just hand the one over you haven’t finished) of all of the things that you meant to get done, but haven’t yet. Hand it to someone who you trust to get these things done. Then leave. And stop worrying about your former responsibilities. You have a new job now: Looking for a Job.

6. Call your friends and family: Job searches aren’t easy, and you need their support. On the flip side, if you are the one talking to your laid off friend, see Penelope Trunk’s excellent post on How to talk to a friend who’s been laid off.

Anything I missed? Add your thoughts in the comments about things to keep in mind when being laid off.

Memory

Every year I make at least one memory box. They are very simple and tend to just be a shoebox that I keep under my bedside table and toss in movie stubs, theater playbills, letters I receive and articles that are particularly historic. Recently my mother has begun giving the three children (now adults, clearly) back everything in her house that is actually ours. I kept coming across these memory boxes.  The boxes help me recall all of the events of that year, as my memory is not my strong suit, and as I sorted through them from the past 10+ years, I began sinking back into those times, feeling emotions, insecurities and amusing memories all over again.

It was a great way to start the year and to be reminded that I needed to shut the boxes. These are wonderful memories and a good reminder of my past, but in starting a new year, I want to be sure I am not dwelling on the past full of adventures across oceans, failed relationships, very successful and continued friendships, lost jobs, missed opportunities and places I love, but where no longer live.  It is not that the past is bad, but it has passed.

3 Words as Goals for 2009

So, let’s look forward onto new goals and opportunities for 2009. As Julia wisely put it, we cannot expect to remake ourselves at the beginning of each year, but rather continue forward in who we are, hopefully improving a bit along the way.  How do we do this? By making plans and goals. I say goals rather than resolutions taking a page from Chris Brogan. So, as he set the fine example (do read on Chris’ blog the purpose of this approach, as he explains much better than I), here are my 3 words for this year : Expand, Evolve, Expect.

Expand–I want to expand my:

• professional network. helps with the job searching, general knowledge and just feeling like you know what is going on outside of your usual bubble. also, new people are fun. more on this later.
• mind. I want to read about things I know little about like furniture making, starting an organic farm, or new cutting edge business practices that could be expanded to developing countries.
• world. I love to travel and recession or no, I will be going abroad this year. Who’s with me?

Evolve–As I continue to grow as a “young professional” in DC, I want to be sure that I am not growing into a place of comfort where I finally have it all together, but rather, I want to continually evolve and change and collect experiences that move me in that process. New and challenging friends help, for sure.

Expect–There is a lot of expectation this year, but much of it focuses on preparing for the worst (economy, environment, cleaning up our international political standing, etc.). Instead, I will expect good things. That is just who I am and I will continue to expect that as long as good people go around proving to me that people are in fact good. Granted, there are a lot of awful things happening in the world at the moment, but every time I turn around there are people working to reverse, combat, uplift, empower and change those atrocities. So, I will expect good.

What are your 3 words for the year?

Photo by Perfect Stranger®