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People losing jobs during this period should be ready for a long haul. Some basic strategies discussed below will help.

 

While for some companies its inevitable to layoff workforce as businesses have shrunk, some are cleverly using the opportunity for layoffs, suiting their businesses. The opportunity for them is to en-cash the chaos without getting a bad name. In both the cases we are now seeing a cumulatively increasing number of people who are either out of jobs or on long furloughs. Some of them being already aware that furloughs are “easy to handle” layoffs.

 

Though there are companies that are still hiring and there are candidates that are getting jobs, the general scenario is not encouraging. And if you go as per projections from the experts, the things are going to get worse.

 

This effectively means that jobless professionals must be prepared for a long period of joblessness. Therefore, its important to prepare yourself mentally and take charge. To avoid a sense of burnout, low self confidence and a sense of loss, some of these strategies could help.

 

1.  Assess the situation objectively: Getting into the minute details of how you lost your job, who was to blame, how you could have saved the situation etc come from the fact that most of us are in denial for a while. This eventually leads to negativity that will come in two forms. One, you are bitter against your organization, two you are into a self-blaming mode and carry a guilt. Some of us tend to get irritable, dejected and bitter, however, an objective assessment will help you heal these and move on. Your negative behavior may adversely affect your family, your next interview and your relationships, generally.

 

Get an objective perspective, look at it as something that happened where you or your organization may not have had any better choices. Businesses fail, markets crash, people are laid off. This is just one of those things. You are still a professional with abilities and skills that will help you get another such job. Now or later.

 

2.  Reduce the burn rate: Now that the regular paycheck is not coming, its important to assess your finances, assets and setup a survival plan for a longish period. First, cut all the unnecessary expenses. This could be as small as giving up TV subscriptions (that you seldom watch), or as big as moving to a smaller house. Restrict expenses on entertainment or socializing. Each of us have their own priorities, however, you would know that suits you. Make sure that you involve all the stakeholders in these decisions. Your spouse, your grown up children and maybe your extended family.

 

3. Keep the job search on: Despite the odds, it IS possible that you may land up with another job. Make sure you are listed on all job boards; you apply to all relevant vacancies and you are flexible on salary and job location. Do not be overtly choosy, having a bad job is still better than having none.

 

Job search is a multi-pronged approach. Out of the various ways that you could find a job through, two are the most important.

 

I)       Job Search through job portals – indeed, Naukri, Linkedin, Shine etc

 

II)     Job Search through networking.

 

For both of these, make sure you have updated your CV and listed all possible things that may qualify you to a different job than that you had earlier. Create various versions of the CV to target different people / industry / company. This is not being dishonest, you are just showcasing your most relevant skills suiting them.

 

Do not apply to jobs that are too irrelevant for your skill set. The pitfall is that same recruiters will see your application for two diverse openings and label your CV as unreliable. Make sure you scan all the job openings on portals, target companies’ pages and all other relevant places on a daily basis.

 

One word of caution on networking for jobs; make sure that you do not make distress calls to your network connections. While many of them would like to help, they may not answer your call next time. This may sound odd, but all of us try  to keep away from negativity or a sense of guilt about not being able to help someone. Project yourself positively and without a sense of desperation. Most importantly, do not make the other person feel responsible for helping you out.

 

4.  Upgrade your education: You may want to consider enrolling into a professional course (most likely to be an online avatar) and upgrade your credentials and skills. Many professionals are using the work from home or the flexi time opportunity to do this. You may even choose to learn a skill that may give you chance to start a secondary income. Some good places are university websites, professional training companies, free learning portals etc. Not only this gives a sense of purpose to your time, it will reap good rewards in the long term.

 

5.      Start a side hustle: Yes, you got it right. Do not keep waiting for your interview call endlessly (though be ready for one, all the time). Start a small business. ANY business. This could be a part time job with a small business, a small business catering to the needs of your neighborhood, anything that you could make and sell online from home, the list is endless. You never know, some of these have a potential to grow into a full-fledged business. A word of caution here, do NOT invest too heavily into any of these. Try to put in as much sweat equity as you can.

 

Pandemics and business failures are once in a while phenomenon, and it is not your fault. Look at the situation as your next task and get on with it.  All the best.