What happened to the floor?

OK, it's been a while since I blogged last, but as those of you recently in the unemployment line know, it pretty much knocks the wind out of you. So let me put into words some of my feelings about this new transition.
George Bernard Shaw said that "The purpose of life is a life of purpose". When you lose your job, you lose a sense of who you are.
I contend that most people need a structure in their life in order to function. Whether it is to punch a time clock or enter into your studio, it is good to have a direction in order to go forward.
My brother-in-law Ron is an architect. He works out of his home. I am in awe of his retiring into his "office", the sun room, at 8:00am every weekday. I come to visit when we are in NYC, (my sister Vic and he live in Jersey) he works on his drawings, answers phone calls and does site inspections among other things. I am thankful for his flexibility to get me to the train, but in awe of his dedication to work amid the distractions of home.
We all need a place to go. My recommendation after you lose your job is to immediately go to unemployment, even if you left under not so good conditions. If you were laid off as I was, you will be eligible for benefits after the first "waiting" week.
Many states give you the option to register on line. Others will require you to show up in person. Needless to say, whatever you choose, make sure you know where your state will offer you counseling and training.
For me, I go to "Career Central". It is close to my home and offers me counseling on my resume and cover letters, classes on interviewing and a bank of computers that I can work at for two hours at a time if they are busy.
I thought that I had a very solid resume. It clearly stated my qualifications and I made sure that my actions were quantifiable, as in how much I saved the company. What I learned was that the format was wrong. Jobs today have so many applicants that your resume needs to be in a scan able form. What that translates out to is: can your resume be scanned easily by eye? Reformat to burger dots. It must give the reader your information quickly. My counselors informed me that my resume is given less than three seconds for reading. How much information that person can glean off my resume is crucial. The other thing I learned stopped me in my tracks. Many companies use a machine to screen for certain words in the resume. That makes it vital that you compose a resume for each position that repeats words in the ad. When you read the ad, pick out the action words and make sure they are repeated in the body of the resume.
What a change from even a few years ago that pretty much guaranteed you another job if you had the qualifications and did well in the interview.
I set up a schedule to be at Career Central three days a week. I took every class they offered on resume writing, cover letter composition ( the other big abyss) and how to interview. My counselors were happy to help me, took time to make sure I understood what they presented, emailed back and forth to me on the days I didn't go to the center so I would have a fresh look to my resume. They were over worked and over whelmed with the large number of new people every week, but were patient and anxious to help anyone who wanted to do the work.
Once I made the format change on my resume, I started to get job inquiries that were more in line to my job description.
So my advice is this. Plan on being jobless for at least several months, minimum. Take advantage of everything your career office can give you. Remember, you have paid for this for a long time. Accept unemployment benefits for what they are, a bridge until you are again employed. Remember that you will pay taxes on the money you receive, so do what you need to prepare for that.
You are not begging for anything, you deserve what you can get. Do your home work, make your schedule and get that resume updated.
Good luck and let's see where this goes.

Starting the Job Search

As many of you know, I was laid-off from Stainmaster Carpet on December 1, 2008.
In as much as the company tried to prepare us with October's meeting and a discussion of the P & L, you always hope in you mind that it won't be you or that the economy would change before a RIF (reduction in force) would be needed.
I was as kindly laid-off as possible and fully understand that it came to my immediate bosses so swiftly from "above" that they were unable to buffer the act for me. I want to thank them for their compassion and caring. I know they had no input in the decision.

So I have started this new process almost completely in the dark. What happened to the "job search" since I last had to look??? Well folks, it is almost all on- line and if not on- line, then it is through networking. What a "Brave New World" Aldous Huxley!
I have been utilizing the options and classes and computers at my local Unemployment Office/Career Central here in Albany. It is staffed with wonderful people who are happy to help and make a difference in your ability to move forward. More about them later.

My advice to all in my position is to think electronically. Get your Facebook.com going, look at other sites like Linkedin.com for people in your industry (or a new industry), become familiar with the job search engines like Indeed.com, tell everyone you know that you are looking and think creatively. Or at least that is my approach.
So stay tuned and let's see how I do.
Best of luck! Let's stay in touch!