Laid Off? Use your outplacement services to find a new position quickly. Image credit: AdobeStock
But you don’t need to face the job search alone if your employer offers outplacement services. They’re a benefit that many companies offer their laid off employees, because they protect the company’s reputation and make remaining employees feel more secure. As an outgoing employee, you should use the outplacement services made available to you. You can get a lot of career transition support for free. You’ll maintain your confidence and optimism throughout the job search, and you’ll find a new, and perhaps even better, position more quickly than you might on your own.
If your former company offers outplacement services to laid off employees, you might as well use them. The company pays for them, and you can get a lot of valuable support in finding a new position. You can get access to career transition counseling that could include advice to help you develop your personal brand, help with refreshing your application materials, and interview coaching and even negotiation support for when you do get a job offer. You may get access to recruiters and job opportunities that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. You can even get networking help, group or one-on-one careers counselling, and advice to help you target your job search.
There’s just no way around it – getting laid off is a massive psychological blow. It’s natural to feel panicked, confused, frustrated, and hopeless when you get laid off. But you need to keep your spirits up and stay optimistic, because a negative attitude can seep through into your interactions with recruiters and interviewers and taint your job search.
Just the fact of having outplacement assistance at your disposal can help ease the shock of getting laid off. It gives you a concrete plan for how to move forward and resources that can help reduce the feeling of overwhelm that can accompany looming unemployment and an unsupported job search. You won’t have to wonder what you’re going to do next. You’ll be able to start focusing on getting your next position right away, and you won’t have the opportunity to wallow at home, feeling sorry for yourself and procrastinating starting your job search.
Plenty of people move from one job to the next without a solid plan for where they want their careers to go. Getting laid off can be an opportunity to step off of the employment treadmill and think seriously about what you want out of your career and how you’re going to get there. Outplacement services give you access to careers counselling that can help you make a plan. After all, you’re more likely to achieve your goals if you can name them and break them down into actionable steps. You may decide that you need additional training or education to advance as far as you want to in your field, and career counsellors can help you find the resources you need for that training. You may even decide that you want to change careers altogether – a career counsellor can help you retool your application materials and reframe your transferable skills to help you orchestrate a career change.
Finding a job takes time, and when you’re searching for a job on your own, without support, it can take a lot of time. That’s part of what makes losing a job so difficult to cope with – you’re escorted out of the office carrying a box of your belongings, and you have no idea when you’ll next be gainfully employed. You could wind up unemployed for a week, a year, or longer.
When you take advantage of your company’s outplacement services, you’re minimizing the time it will take you to find another job. You’ll have the chance to optimize your materials and target your search, so it’ll take less time to find your next position. Most people who use outplacement services find a new position within weeks or months.
If you’re laid off and your company offers outplacement services, you should definitely take advantage of them. It’s the best way to find a new position quickly, so you can get on with living your best life.