When you've been laid off before, or just seen people around you lose their jobs, it's hard not to worry about it happening to you. Whenever you read about layoffs in the news, hear that your company's sales numbers were lower than expected, or hear rumors about a company merger, your mind might jump to conclusions. Instead of letting a wave of panic run through you each time your boss invites you to meet one-on-one, there is an alternative: changing your overall mindset. 

Earlier in my career, I had two operating modes when it came to work: “I’m happy with my job” and “I need to find a new job right this minute.” 

When I was happy with my job, I did excellent work at my day job and didn't worry much about the future beyond that role. I would learn new skills for the job, but I didn't always think about my overall career trajectory. 

Conversely, when I knew I needed to launch a job search, I shifted away from the work I was doing and started focusing solely on taking my next steps outside of my current role and organization. Only then did I shift to developing skills applicable to another workplace, meeting more people to help me get a new job, and planning to exit the organization.

I finally realized I didn't have to pick between these two operating modes. Instead, I needed to shift my overall way of thinking and adopt the both/and mindset that was also more long-term and sustainable.

I started focusing on myself as a working professional and what I needed to do to succeed personally, regardless of who my specific employer was. This included focusing on my ongoing learning and development, building my professional network, and planning for contingencies. This built up my career resilience, which helped me feel more confident that I would thrive regardless of my current work situation. 

When people think of learning, they often focus on formal degrees, certifications, and completion certificates from instructor-led classes. While these are valuable, and often a great foundation, ongoing learning can take many forms. Whether you attend a webinar, watch a TedTalk, read an article online, or listen to podcasts on your area of interest, you are continuing your professional development. 

Staying current with industry trends and continuing to learn and grow helps me perform well in my current role while also allowing me to be future ready. In an ever-changing world, continued professional growth is the best way to manage whatever happens next.

Too often, networking is depicted as a superficial act that involves making initial connections with people, then dreading the next day’s “Would you like to buy something from me” calls. I approach networking differently. My goal is to build mutually beneficial relationships with people. Interacting with these connections provides opportunities to share information, learn from one another, and help one another out along the way. 

I use LinkedIn to track my professional network. I connect with people I've met before and with whom I share something in common. My LinkedIn network includes former coworkers, individuals I've sat next to at in-person events, people I've attended an online event with, and professionals working in the same field as me. 

Regardless of my role, and even if it seems to be going well, I always have a backup plan, a backup backup plan, and then a couple more backup plans after those.

After weathering many layoffs and the unique challenges of each, I have a broad sense of the situations I may need to mitigate. Those include an unexpected job loss, choosing an interim health care option, and how to launch a post-layoff job search. 

Here are a few steps I have taken to help prepare for possible situations:

• Identified the people I'll contact when launching a job search. 
• Found a  few companies to contact for contract work. 
• Outlined my short and longer term layoff budget.
• Created supplemental income options beyond a full-time job.

How do you help yourself not worry about being laid off? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

This week, I'm taking a detour from my usual blog articles full of valuable insights on layoffs, job transitions, and career resilience. Instead, I'm going to channel my inner Oprah and share some of my favorite things with you. Some of these may be holiday gift ideas, and others might be items you pick up for yourself. These are all products I purchased for myself, have used, and would definitely recommend to others. 

I love notecards. When brainstorming ideas or figuring out how to organize content, I often write down each idea on a notecard and then move the cards around to optimize content flow.

A while back, I stumbled across these amazing dry-erase index cards. Not only can I write things on them and use them to organize content, but they wipe off, and I can use them again! This pack includes 45 double-sided laminated cards. They are also great if you want to make flashcards for yourself or your family to help memorize important content. 

In addition, I bought this excellent set of dry-erase markers. I love these because they include a variety of colors and also come with six black markers. Each marker also has a magnet and a built in eraser on top. 

If you've read much of what I've written here or posted on LinkedIn, you may know that I'm a HUGE proponent of CliftonStrengths. In short, many of us lack the awareness to understand what we are uniquely good at. In addition, we lack the language to describe how we naturally interact with the world as compared to what other people do. 

While you can go directly to Gallup's website and purchase access to the CliftonStrengths Top 5 report, instead, you can buy the StrengthsFinder 2.0: Discover Your Strengths Book, which includes a code to access the online assessment. It also makes a nice gift. I gave these to my immediate family last year for Christmas, and it was a fun activity. We each got to learn about ourselves and then had a chance to talk about our talents and strengths. 

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you determine your portfolio goals:

• What is your main purpose for having a portfolio? Do you need work samples to show hiring managers? Are you interested in sharing examples of websites you've built to entice potential clients to want to work with you? Is your goal to start to gather and label what you have just in case you need a portfolio at some point? Is it just because someone told me I should have one? Figure out your why, then plan accordingly. 
  
  
• Who is your primary audience? Who specifically are you creating this for? Answers may include recruiters, hiring managers, potential employers, colleagues, or people who may be looking for a freelancer.

 

• Who are your additional audiences? Who else might you want to access your portfolio? Perhaps the main goal is to share this with hiring managers, but a secondary goal is to share it with a colleague looking for ideas.
  
  
• What would you like your primary audience to learn about you from your portfolio? Is your goal to show your wide range of skills? Are you trying to do a deeper dive into your whole work process by going deeper on one comprehensive project? Do you want to show how you've used project management principles by highlighting projects in three very different industries? Choose your focus, then create accordingly.
  
  
• How much context or positioning does each work sample need? Can your primary audience just look at a work sample and garner what they need? If not, what context is needed, and how can you provide that?
  
  
• How and when do you want to share your work samples? Do you want them readily available? Does a potential employer ask you to include a link when you apply? Can you share work samples as needed? Or with a URL not just anyone can access?
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• How fancy does it need to be? This will help you decide what technology to use, your budget, and your minimum viable product (MVP). 
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• What is your level of commitment?​ Consciously decide how much time, energy, brainpower, and money you are willing to dedicate right away and on an ongoing basis to creating your portfolio. Be sure to get good and honest with yourself. 

A few years ago, when applying for jobs, I realized I needed an online portfolio to show hiring managers supporting evidence that I could use the learning and development skills included in my resume. I looked at job descriptions for training leadership roles that interested me and noted the specific keywords and skills that were most often included.

From there, I chose work samples to showcase those identified skills. For each sample, I included a brief introduction to position the value of each artifact. I shared a project plan, a pitch deck promoting a company-wide change, a facilitator guide, and microlearning videos on technical, soft skills, and business-related topics. 

​From a technology standpoint, my portfolio was a hidden page on my existing website. That portfolio page was non-searchable and not listed in website navigation, but it was available directly through the page's web address. As needed, I could include that URL on my resume, email it to hiring managers, or include it in an online job application. 

What are your goals for your portfolio? What kind of content do you think it makes sense for you to include? As you are comfortable, share your ideas in the comments.