Rebound A Proven Plan for Starting Over After Job Loss

by Finney, Martha I.

• ISBN13: 9780137021147
• ISBN10: 0137021143
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-23
• Publisher: Ft Pr

Summary

This book will help you get back on your feet, develop a plan of action, and find your next great job!

Author Biography

Martha I. Finney is President and CEO of Engagement Journeys, LLC, and an internationally-respected expert in employee engagement and leadership communications. A business journalist for 20 years before becoming a full-time consultant, she specializes in helping organizations achieve greater employee loyalty, retention, and passion.

 

Finney is author or coauthor of more than 13 books, including The Truth About Getting the Best From People (FT Press) and HR From the Heart with Yahoo’s Chief People Officer, Libby Sartain. Her original research on the American workplace has been featured on CNN, NPR’s Morning Edition, and in major newspapers nationwide.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
About the Author	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
The Inner Game of Getting Laid Off	p. 3
What to Expect When You're No Longer Expected	p. 4
Mixed Feelings	p. 6
Bewilderment	p. 7
Crisis in Self-Worth	p. 7
Alienation	p. 7
Isolation	p. 8
New Career Realities and New Career Rules	p. 10
You're Still in Control	p. 16
Preparing for a Layoff	p. 21
Are You on the Layoff List?	p. 22
Voice of Experience: Rob	p. 23
Financial: What to Do Before You Get Laid Off	p. 28
Set the Tone for How You Leave	p. 32
Accept the News Gracefully	p. 32
Mourn Authentically	p. 33
Regroup Strategically	p. 34
Plan Your Exit	p. 38
Voice of Experience: Caroline	p. 42
Know Your Rights	p. 47
What You Can Expect from a Severance Package	p. 48
Stop! Just Say No	p. 50
Show No Emotion	p. 51
Gather Data	p. 51
Make No Commitments	p. 51
Ask for Special Treatment	p. 56
A Word About Noncompete Agreements	p. 60
Not That It Matters to You, but It Hurts for Them, Too	p. 64
When You've Been Laid Off	p. 69
Financial: Control Your Spending	p. 70
Food	p. 71
Insurance	p. 72
Telecommunications	p. 73
What Do I Do with All This Rage?	p. 76
Voice of Experience: Anna	p. 82
The Kids Can Handle the Truth	p. 86
Good Things to Remember	p. 92
Voice of Experience: Charles	p. 93
Voice of Experience: Simon	p. 96
Landing Your Next Job	p. 101
The Importance of Having a Plan	p. 102
Learn to Love Networking	p. 108
Using Social Networking for Your job Search	p. 114
Build Your "A" Player Status Even Though You Are Not Employed	p. 120
Be a Thought Leader	p. 121
Be Googlable	p. 121
Be Expansive	p. 121
Be Opinionated	p. 122
Be Generous with Your Connections	p. 122
Be Generous with Your Talents and Skills	p. 122
Be a Consultant	p. 123
Remember That Your Former Employer Might Also Value
Your Skills and Abilities	p. 123
Be Curious	p. 123
Be Willing to Be a "B" Player	p. 123
Be There	p. 124
Talking About Your job Loss in Interviews	p. 126
How to Evaluate the Job You've Been Offered	p. 132
Organizational Confidence/Internal	p. 133
Organizational Confidence/External	p. 134
Personal Confidence/Internal	p. 134
Personal Confidence/External	p. 135
Should You Take a Job with a Company That's Laying People Off?	p. 138
Some Good Reasons to Take the Job	p. 138
Signs That the job Might Not Be the Best Choice	p. 139
Go! Just Say Yes	p. 142
Voice of Experience: Deborah	p. 145
Start Your New Job with Confidence	p. 148
Voice of Experience: Sarah	p. 152
Never Be in This Situation Again	p. 156
Appendixes	p. 161
A Step Away from the Fridge! Reach for This Instead	p. 162
The, Best Things You Can Do	p. 162
The Inner Game of Getting Laid Off	p. 162
Preparing for a Layoff	p. 163
Know Your Rights163
When You've Been Laid Off	p. 163
Landing Your Next Job	p. 164
The Worst Things You Can Do	p. 164
The Inner Game of Getting Laid Off	p. 164
Preparing for a Layoff	p. 165
now Your Rights	p. 165
When You've Been Laid Off	p. 165
Landing Your Next Job	p. 166
The First Things You Should Do	p. 166
The Inner Game of Getting Laid Off	p. 166
Preparing for a Layoff	p. 167
Know Your Rights	p. 167
When You've Been Laidoff	p. 167
Landing Your Next Job	p. 168
B Greg and Martha's List of Automatic No's	p. 170
Resources and Suggested Reading	p. 174
Index	p. 180
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Rebound Rebound PrefaceWe're all human. And because we're all human, we share the habit of marking the moments that change our lives forever. The majority of those moments are cause for celebration (or at least track predictably along what we consider to be nature's plan): births, birthdays, graduations, weddings, babies, grandbabies, even the gentle, timely passing of dearly loved ones, are all cause for noticing and remembering.But we also mark the times when everything we took for granted goes to chaos and yet another illusion is shattered. Those can be private tragedies or national catastrophes that rock our world and in a twinkling send us hurtling into the next phase of our lives. From the Baby Boom generation and moving forward into the Y generation, we have more in common than we might think we do. And that is this: We're constantly being reminded that nothing is certain. And, come to find out, promises are made to be broken. Huh, what do you know?The biggest promise that has been repeatedly broken in the past 30 years has been that the "system" (whatever that is) is airtight, foolproof, and self-perpetuating. A net of stability we can depend on if we simply walk the straight and narrow. Follow all the rules, make a plan and stick to it, go to college, pour heart and soul into your job, go above and beyond the call to make yourself indispensable, and you'll be fine. That path leads to security. No? Oh. There goes another illusion.Of course, every generation has had its share of troubles, and we'd be major babies to whine that we've gotten the raw end of the historic deal. I would choose these times over any prior era right this very moment. No question. However, for me, "these times" began in 1977six months before I was due to graduate from collegewhen my father came home unexpectedly from an assignment abroad. After more than 25 years with the Central Intelligence Agency as an undercover case officer, he was in the middle of teaching a class in Mexico City when a rap on the glass door delivered a pink slip into his astonished hands. Adios, muchacho . Or as his students cooperatively called him, Sentilde;or Feingold.From my perspectiveself-absorbed and involved with schoolworkhe had merely come home ahead of schedule. But he left for work the very next morning, so nothing otherwise was out of ordinary. I would learn later that he had a meeting with an outplacement counselor his first day back. Incredibly, the counselor observed, "You seem angry, Mr. Finney." (As if that were going to pry open a "cleansing" outpouring of emotions from a guy who kept secrets for a living.) If my dad were a member of a younger generation, he would have said, "Damn straight, I'm pissed." But instead, he rose to his feet, walked out the door, turning his back on his life's passion, mission, and calling. Why not? His life's passion, mission, and calling had turned its back on him.That happened right after a period when my father was anxiously and responsibly giving me the advice to choose a "recession-proof" career, and that meantto his loyal way of thinkinga job with the federal government. But