The Job Hunter’s Toolbox, by Rob Sauls

Rob Sauls, Aka: The Job Hunter answers your job hunting questions.

Question: I’ve been laid off! What’s the first thing I do?

Rob’s answer: The first thing to do is not to panic. Sometimes it’s easy to lose focus and direction. My “R” words are the first steps designed to help you find gainful and meaningful employment.

Relax- don’t panic and stay focused. Finding your next job may take a while, keep your head and follow this simple outline. Take time to catch your breath and dream about your next ideal job. Ask your family for suggestions. Be honest about wanting their sincere help. Talk with your pastor, doctor and if needed don’t hesitate to seek professional help. You don’t want to fall into depression. I am not a physiologist, but from the reading I have done, depression is never good and it distresses those nearest and dearest to you.

Reassess your personal and career goals. Do you need to retool and/or reinvent yourself to meet the demands of today’s workforce? Create your Job Hunter’s toolbox by asking this question, “Am I worth my S.A.L.T.?”  S.A.L.T. is an acronym for Skills, Aptitudes, Lessons learned from life, and Talents. Create your toolbox by making a list of your SKILLS. Skills are the things learned that make you different. You learned to create PowerPoint presentations, but making it dance without losing the presentation message make you different and will set you apart from all the rest. APTITUDES are specific abilities that come naturally to you. Such as: creativeness, having a sense of humor or the ability to articulate. LESSONS learned in life. What has life taught you? List only positive things learned in life. You don’t need negative thoughts in your toolbox. Finally, what are your TALENTS? Can you carry a tune in bucket? . . . Are you able to do more than draw flies? Do you have the ability to listen to both sides of the story without jumping to conclusions, able to trouble shoot problems, or create, follow through and follow up on plans? Your TALENTS will help you break away from the other applicants

What Resources are available? You don’t have to conduct your job search alone. Services offered by the Department of Labor are invaluable in helping you reassess you career goals. Services offered by the Department of Labor will help you with your retooling, sharpening, and or with direction when it comes to retooling yourself. Did you ask you former employer if there is out sourcing help provided by the company/business? Some are so upset with their former employer and don’t want anything to do with them. As a result, they may lose out on valuable benefits that might be provided by their former employer.

Reconnect with family, friends, and former employers to build a job hunter’s network. Asking for assistance is not nearly as embarrassing as being unable to find employment. 

Next time: What’s in your Job Hunter’s toolbox?