Comments on: 14 things to do if you are laid off from a tech job

It's a setback, but also an opportunity. Webware's Rafe Needleman and company have some suggestions on using all your new free time.

[Plano TX CHL Instructor]

I have a different plan. Actually, 4 plans. I teach violin lessons, I buy/sell violins and accessories, I build and maintain simple websites, and I teach concealed handgun license (www,CHL-TX.com) classes. None of those are a living, but if I lose my day-job (again), I can expand those activities to provide at least my minimum expenses, and add other related money-earning activities. Never again will I EVER depend on only one source of income.

In my free time, I'm also an active member of my Lions club. Yes, I'm busy. But I love staying busy.

[peterbutler]

#1. File for unemployment benefits. If the HR of the company that laid you off did not help, most states have pretty good Web sites by now.

[TonyGore]

Good list - not all items work for all people. The most important thing is to be positive and not be bitter. The ideas that might seem "dumb" to some people are all ones to get you into a positive frame of mind. Easy to say, hard to do.

No-one wants to hire anyone with a chip on their shoulder. Interviewers will pick up on a negative attitude, and may well conclude erroneously that is why the interviewee was let go. (In places like the UK, being laid off still carries a negative connotation with some people, regardless of the facts, so it is even more important to have a positive attitude from the outset). When I think of the people I know who have been laid off multiple times, there is one common thing - they all have a negative outlook on life.

As a number of the posts point out, you have to treat it as an opportunity in life, not a setback.

The list is also a good reminder to people who think they are in same jobs. Try to keep a balance of life and skills - it makes coping with change easier. It also helps you tune in to the situation around you. Twice I left jobs because I could not see where the company was going - the first one, the R&D dept was closed two weeks after I left and the second time, the day I handed my resignation in, the head of R&D also got laid off in cutbacks.

I am fortunate because I have never considered that a job is for life and I love challenges. Working for myself for the last 13 years, I find the type of work I do changes over time - I end up extending my skills on a project and then find that there are other people who need these skills, or an odd skill mix.

I lived and worked in the US for a couple of years ago, and the thing I loved most is the positive "can do" attitude.

And to the people who have brought hate and politics into a constructive discussion about people going through hard times - do you want to work with people who hold entrenched views at odds with your own? I am a political activist, but I keep politics and work separate, and having stood unsuccesfully for election on several occasions I know that more people disagree with me than agree with me. It's called democracy and its the choice that matters, not that everyone who disagrees with you is inferior.

[aintnorainbowdorothy]

Just seems to me that no one, not Rafe or anyone else, seems to realize that being a consultant can be and is lucrative. Sure there are a lot of consultants out there, but get involved with a company that uses consultants, and if you have the right job skills you'll find this easily done. Of course that might mean going to school again, but there are a lot of ways to do this, i.e. audit classes, look for grants (they also help pay bills), as noted above go into a field that has nothing to do with computers. Going into a field that doesn't require computer skills just might lead the company to realize you have computer skills, hire you to do some small jobs and that leads to larger ones and then to a job back in computer work full-time. And learn that companies that are hiring might not, probably aren't, willing to pay as much as you were making. Get realistic about that. And don't be afraid to move to another state. There's lots of IT jobs out there, just not in Silly Valley.

[ApplianceBlog]

Great Advice. Everyone should have a blog, I started my Applianceblog.com site when I worked for Sears just to keep track of the jobs I was doing, in case I ever went on a job and forgot what the fix was before. People started coming to read it, and the search engine bots came to index it daily. And traffic increased then I added google adsense and they money started coming in. Then you join affiliate programs to link people to things they want to purchase from whatever you talk about on your blog.

I never set out to start my own business like this but it just happened, its hard work you have to keep at it daily, then when you see your blog make more money than your day job, guess what??? YOU CAN QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!!! Which I did in 2005 and have never been happier!!!

[JonathanPDX]

Also, make sure you send a letter of thanks to that CEO or other executives who bailed and got the golden parachutes worth 10s or 100s of millions while you're literally scraping to get by. Let them know how much you appreciate being part of the grease that lubricated their rise to financial freedom.

[Penguinisto]

Funny thing is, they got those 'parachutes' by way of negotiation... something you yourself can do in interviews as well.

That said, most CEOs don't get the good life or the golden parachute (IOW, that's the rare exception, not the rule). Oftentimes if they leave, it usually means that the business went under too - and if they're not independently wealthy, it means that they have to do what the rest of us do (and sometimes worse if they had investments that went 'poof' when the company did).

[compmary]

#11. Teach seminars or at the college level. If you are an accomplished communicator and your skills are current, you will be in demand. And the contacts you make, may lead to job opportunities.

[oldcrow74]

A totally useless list for many of us. If you're an old time mainframe programmer nearing retirement age, with few up-to-date skills, and who's been laid off because of ill health, there are few options. The list did give me a good laugh, however. Must be nice to be so out of touch with reality and still get paid for writing such drivel. Get a boyfriend or girlfriend. Start a business. What a hoot!

[geneven]

I think that going to a conference where $200 off is a good deal is an incredibly bad idea.

And ride a motorcycle? As someone who has owned several motorcycles, I say that the risk isn't worth it. ESPECIALLY if you are just learning. Anyone learning to drive a motorcycle almost gets killed AT LEAST once. And the odds just keep following you forever, waiting to catch up.

[globalist_agenda]

40% of Bush jobs were sham jobs.
Let's see. Create a housing bubble. Bubble creates demand for housing related jobs. Announce that "We (the royal Bush) created thousands of new jobs. The State of our union is strong." Bullish sentiment makes bubble even larger. Larger bubble creates even more demand for housing realted jobs. Must keep interest rates low and credit easy so we don't burst the bubble before our friends can bail out.

In 7 years 40% of the "new" jobs created were directly related to the bubble we created. Another 40% were created by deficit spending. So how many real, new jobs did we create? A heck of a lot less than the pretty boy blow-dried news readers tell you.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a9wVqOPk.T_4&refer=home
"``A sharp decline in housing prices could have a tremendous impact on the global economy; in the U.S. alone, 40 percent of new jobs since 2001 have been related to the housing sector. With low interest rates and excess liquidity, other bubbles may follow,'' the program read. "

[Lerianis]

Number one thing to do if you are unemployed right now: forget about finding a job until Bush is out of office and Obama is in. If McCain wins...... shoot yourself, because things are not going to get any better anytime soon.

[jzou]

wow, 40 posts and only one guy saw the universe for its stars. I'm not here to debate which point is good or bad, as so many of you seems to be doing, or whether a specific point applies to you. Since it is not possible for the author to cater to every audience. but I want to point out that the point behind this list is to keep yourself together in the event of a layoff don't get all depressed and stuck In the dumps. take a breather, decide on which course of action to take. Be it sending out more resumes or take a hike, or visit Mexico, start your own company etc. and then proceed with your plan.

[mozzor]

15) get hammer time

[djbusyb]

I guess most of this list is based on you being financially secure at the time of your layoff! Most people fail to have a $1,000 emergency fund and 3-6 months living expenses set aside. Too many people still live paycheck to paycheck.

[Paul947]

What about those of us in our 60s? I'm planning to move out of state to the Midwest where it's cheaper to live according to my brother. He thinks I might get a job working for the city or county or state.

I'm working. Yet I know many who are not...and I thought this might be useful information for my friends. Apparently it's meant to be a bit of 'comedy' by the writer. Pretty useless stuff for most people who really need to get back to working at REAL jobs in the real world.

[thejobcoach]

Thanks Rafe. Your list of companies that are hiring is just the pick-me-up readers need. I linked to it from my blog, http://tinyurl.com/b8stxc and encouraged folks to check it out periodically. I am collecting other information on jobs to publish as well.

One job search ploy I suggest to all my coaching clients is to create a blog. Hiring authorities use Boolean Strings to find candidates and a blog is a strong way to be found. I offer a free white paper on Blog for a Job at http://tinyurl.com/6gs3zx.

Keep up the good work and thanks again for the list.
Rita Ashley, Job Search Coach
www.jobsearchdebugged.com
My clients get hired.

[thejobcoach]

Thanks Rafe. Your list of companies that are hiring is just the pick-me-up readers need. I linked to it from my blog, http://tinyurl.com/b8stxc and encouraged folks to check it out periodically. I am collecting other information on jobs to publish as well.

One job search ploy I suggest to all my coaching clients is to create a blog. Hiring authorities use Boolean Strings to find candidates and a blog is a strong way to be found. I offer a free white paper on Blog for a Job at http://tinyurl.com/6gs3zx.

Keep up the good work and thanks again for the list.
Rita Ashley, Job Search Coach
www.jobsearchdebugged.com
My clients get hired.

[mailhacker]

Get a Girlfriend? Are you serious? That's like pumping gas into a Hummer. You would have gone around the block and guess what.. time for a refuel.