Celebrate!!..You Have Just Been Laid-Off

By Gordon Miller

Author

The Career Coach: Winning Strategies for Getting Ahead in Today's Job Market

That's right, celebrate! According to research for my new book, The Career Coach: Winning Strategies for Getting Ahead in Today's Job Market, "downsized" people who used the experience to re-invent how they viewed and approached the job market, typically found a new job that was more satisfying and often times paid more money.

The key is re-thinking. Re-thinking how you go about finding a new position; like not sending a resume but instead sending a job proposal. Re-thinking about not getting back into the same old career rut, but re-packaging your skills to find a new career path.

Becoming a "change agent" is a great way to get started.

The best way to deal with change is to embrace it. You're going to be much better off endorsing and proposing change. I think it was Heraclitus who said, "everything is changing, save the law of change." The good news is that most of the changes are positive. We will have lots more career choices than ever imagined, mainly because even in a modest economy, there will be a labor shortage.

So how do we, the workers, become agents of change and prosper in the future job market? Here are ideas:

1. Think Impact: Think about what will happen tomorrow as a result of the decisions and actions I'm taking today.

2. Think Future: We are all going to have to be more proactive. We've all talked about that for years and have never have really been effective at it. Tomorrow's companies are going to want people who are looking down the road and are not satisfied with the infamous status quo. They will want people who are creative-thinkers and problem solvers.

3. Think Creatively: Thinking out-of-the-box is not reserved for geniuses and right-brainers. Things are moving so fast in Corporate America that the "olde ways" don't get it anymore.

4. Think Change: What we're talking about here is re-inventing yourself. The best way to do that is Research, Research, Research. Spend some time each day investigating how your industry and your company will be changing. Then, re-spin your persona to fit the new direction.

5. Think Others : No, you won't have to go to Touchy Feely classes or wear a New Age badge to accomplish this. Just understand what impact you have on people, whether they are fellow employees, or customers, or vendors. Try to understand what's going on with them.

6. Think Open Communication: Expand your ability to communicate. Some of us have trouble with that. Maybe more than just some. To improve, you can practice with people you trust (ask them for honest feedback on how well you communicate). You can take classes on the subject. You can read books on it. The key is this: the change agent of the future is someone who can communicate clearly, succinctly and quickly.

7. Think Technology: It's vital you improve your information technology skills. You don't have to be a propeller-head or a geek. But you do have to know what role technology plays in the future of your work, and what level of expertise you will need.

Finally, and maybe most importantly: Think Innovation! The winners will be those people and companies which consistently innovate by developing new products and service solutions.

 

Gordon Miller is a career coach, speaker, and the author of The Career Coach: Winning Strategies for Getting Ahead in Today's Job Market (Doubleday). He can be reached at gordonmiller@group56.com or http://www.group56.com .