You are now unemployed. What should you do?

Article originally published in the Philadelphia Business Journal on March 25, 2019

It could happen to anyone during their career. Your employer could part company with
you for any number of reasons. You need to move forward and search for another job.
The following guidance will help you in this process.

Never burn bridges

If you depart on good terms with your previous employer, they may be willing to help
you obtain future employment by being a reference or introducing you to potential
employers in their network.

Remain on friendly speaking terms with your former boss and the HR department. By
not burning bridges, they might be an asset in helping you land your next job through
their industry connections and by providing a recommendation for you.

If you feel that you have a legal case against a former employer, think before filing a
lawsuit, which becomes public information. You need to consider the pros and cons of
doing so and weigh how it may affect future employment opportunities.

The process of landing your next job starts with your reputation

A future employer will perform due diligence on you. To the extent possible, they will
ask your former bosses and colleagues with whom you have worked about your
character, ethics and integrity, your accomplishments, and your strengths and
weaknesses.

What type of leader are you? It’s one thing to hold your direct reports to high
expectations. It’s another if you are a tyrant, micromanage your direct reports, or
permit a tyrant who works for you to damage the organization below them.

Develop a great reputation. It will follow you.

Differentiate yourself from your peers in every job you hold

Just as businesses differentiate themselves to gain competitive advantage, individuals
need to do the same. You will need to differentiate yourself from all of the other
individuals applying for a job. In your resume, differentiate yourself so you are one of
the few candidates invited in for an interview.

During the interview, describe your career progression and how you have been
promoted to positions of increasing responsibility. Talk about innovations that you
have initiated. Describe the results you have achieved that have helped your previous
employers advance their businesses. Give examples of how you are tenacious,
customer/client focused and embrace continuous improvement.

Talk about how you have de-risked your decisions, and how effective you have been at
selling your ideas. Describe how you are team-oriented and how you have empowered
your direct reports and encouraged them to develop a feeling of personal ownership in
what they do at work.

Get out of your comfort zone

At each job you hold, take advantage of opportunities to advance your skills and build
experience that will qualify you for future assignments. Volunteer for projects outside
of your comfort zone. Your resume should show that over time, you have been
promoted into positions of increasing responsibility. This is what the resumes of your
peers will show. At a minimum, ensure that you keep pace with them.

At times you will experience failure. Those are learning experiences upon which to
build. Recover quickly from failure. As Albert Einstein once said, “If you have never
failed, you have never tried anything new.” Winston Churchill said, “Success is not
final, failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”

Build your personal brand

Ensure your bio, resume and LinkedIn profile are always up to date. Write and publish
articles in areas of your expertise and of interest to readers on industry trends. Be a
speaker at industry events. Build a Twitter following and become known as a thought
leader and influencer in your industry. Be careful not to reveal confidential company
information in what you say or write.

Build your personal brand and reputation to become recognized as being a top
performer by potential employers so that they come after you when a job opens within
their organization.

Network, network, network

Most likely, you will get your next job through people you know, who are aware of a
job opening within their company or within the company of a colleague. Meet with
those who you know and ask them for job search advice and guidance. Ask them to
introduce you to others who also might give you advice and guidance.

Throughout your entire career, you should be networking with people both inside and
outside your industry. They can introduce you to the hiring manager, the HR
department or the search firm hired by the employer to search for candidates. You
want to raise your visibility and avoid having your resume being just one of the
hundreds submitted for an open position.

Attend conferences and meetings where you can meet others. It is more effective to
make two or three meaningful connections that can be helpful in the future, rather than
just spending time giving out multiple business cards to attendees who you will never
talk to again.

Learn and practice the skill of working a room, join conversations in progress and how
to conclude a conversation and move on to meet others.

Exude the right attitude

There are people in this world who see possibilities and abundance, and those who see
only scarcity and limitations. Which type of individual do you think companies want
to hire? Be that type of person.

When you are the boss …

Notice I did not use the words “fire” or “terminate” in this article. I used the words
“part company,” which is more humane. When it comes time for you to part company
with one of your direct reports, treat that individual with dignity and respect. That is
how you would like to be treated.

The day you start a new job, you are preparing the search for your next job by building
your resume. You will look back and realize that going through the job search process,
albeit challenging, was an opportunity to grow as an individual and as a professional.

Stan Silverman is founder and CEO of Silverman Leadership. He is a speaker, advisor
and nationally syndicated writer on leadership, entrepreneurship and corporate
governance. Silverman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering
and an MBA degree from Drexel University. He is also an alumnus of the Advanced
Management Program at the Harvard Business School. He can be reached at
Stan@SilvermanLeadership.com. Follow Silverman on LinkedIn here and on Twitter,
@StanSilverman.