Surviving No Man's Land

Later this month friends of mine will find out if they are part of a down/right-sizing at their company or if their jobs will remain intact. This is a challenging position to be in. Over the weekend we talked about the stresses they are experiencing while in “wait and see mode”. If you, like several of my friends, find yourself in this situation here is my (completely unsolicited) advice…

Be involved

No, I’m not suggesting you crash the Board of Directors meeting ---that would NOT be a great career move! I’m simply asking you to remember that it is YOUR life and you get to make choices. Do not allow life to happen to you without your involvement.

It’s possible the company will keep your position and you in that position --- doesn’t mean you don’t still have a decision to make. You make this decision passively every day you go to work – I’m suggesting you make it an active, conscious decision that this is what you want to do…and this is who you want to do it for. It will make a world of difference in your approach to work.

It’s the difference between I “have” to go to work and I “get” to go to work.


Don’t create invisible monsters

It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will, to quote the Chris Farley SNL skit, be “living in a van down by the river” if you lose your job. Don’t create invisible monsters. Focus on the real and plan accordingly.

True, this probably isn’t the best time to go on a major shopping spree or buy a new BMW..... AND…..you don’t need to be stocking up on canned goods in a Y2K kind-of way either!

Deal with what’s real --- it takes a lot less energy.


Be prepared --- it’s not just for Boy Scouts anymore

It’s always a good idea to have your resume up-to-date regardless of what’s going on. Why?....what if you run into someone at a networking event who shares that your DREAM JOB is available and the cutoff for resumes is that evening….you don’t want to be scrambling to put together a resume in that adrenaline-fueled moment!

It’s also a good idea to have one or two professional recruiters take a look at your resume to provide some feedback before sending it off in an attempt to land your dream job. The jobing.com career fairs offer this opportunity, you may have friends in the HR profession, and you could look into a personal career coach – I have heard good things about Coach Joan (http://coachjoan.com/) as well as Coach Cogswell (http://www.coachcogswell.com/) although I have not worked with either of them directly.

Be prepared....it reduces stress considerably!


Find the Silver Lining

Talk to 5 people who have been laid off down/right sized in the past five years and I’m confident at least one of them will tell you it’s the best thing that could have happened to them.

Sometimes people will share that they knew it wasn’t the right job for them…….but they stayed out of comfort until they were asked to leave.

Other times people will share that they had a secret dream they had never pursued until life gave them the opportunity through being downsized.

What is your silver lining??


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In a future post I’ll share the down/right-sizing story of Joan from Wisconsin…….Until then, know that you can and will survive “no mans land”!

Wishing you the very best with your endeavors,

Nora Burns, SPHR
www.insightfulendeavors.com