Business and economic information you need to know
Jan 26, 2009 10:48 pm US/Eastern
Always Be Prepared To Search For A New Job
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Amanda Hornyak, who's been out of work for six months, looks for job on a computer at Opportunity Links, the employment training center for Licking County, Ohio November 3, 2008 in Newark, Ohio.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
With thousands of jobs already lost each day in this New Year, you may be at home wondering if you could be next. The experts say you should prepare to cope with job loss even when you have a job.
If you called our Neighbors 4 Neighbors phone bank, then you must be in need of a job. 300 people called Monday, the 26th of January, looking for help.
"I need a job. I am looking for a job. I can't find a job," said one counselor to CBS4's Jorge Estevez who asked her what kind of questions people were asking.
Shockingly, the best time to look for a job is reportedly when you already have one. "I have not, but perhaps with this wake-up call you are delivering to me that perhaps I might think about that," said Colleen Adams, a South Florida worker who has a job.
However, Adams can't rely on the ten years she's been with her company and neither can you. Your wake-up call begins with your resume. Make sure you keep it updated and load up the skills section of your resume, which highlights what you can do at your job. "Everything you can do. No matter how small," said one counselor.
Also, keep your cool and don't take getting fired personally. "You are going to go through an Emotional stage you a have to cool down," said another counselor during CBS4's Neighbors for Neighbors Phone bank.
If you maintain your cool, then you can network with your now-former boss, even as you're getting fired. "That is the first thing you have to do," said one counselor.
Register with unemployment sites, even if you already have a job. "It's the extra things that you do," said one counselor.
Make sure to ask for extra training at work. "They'll be happy to pay for it, so you can upgrade your skills and help them better," said one counselor.
And last but not least, do more than just save. You need to prepare a budget, pretending your family just lost one income. It's not bad luck to prepare. "Kind of have a plan so you can have less of a panic factor," said Colleen Adams.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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