How to Deal with a Tech Layoff

April 4, 2007
By

James Maguire

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• Finish Your Resume and Be Done with It

Some professionals endlessly polish their resume, hoping the right layout or a reordered list of tech achievements will be the magic bullet. That’s counterproductive, Challenger says.

“Don’t tinker with it during your entire search. Get it done early and be happy with it.”

• Post to the Tech Job Boards

Make sure you post your resume to the job boards, like Dice, Monster, Career Builder, JustTechJobs, etc. And of course search these same boards for new openings, and while you do so, check out what technologies are most in demand. Are your skills up to date in these areas?

• Call A Headhunter

Sending your resume to an IT headhunter can be a way to multiply your efforts. Instead of merely looking yourself, the headhunter is also knocking on doors for you.

Using a headhunter firm is a good idea as long as it’s a reputable company, says Spencer Lee, who recommends that job seekers ask for references before committing to an outplacement service. “Clearly those firms can be of great help.”

• Don’t Try to Find the “Perfect” Job

It’s natural that a professional would want an ideal position. But in practice this search for perfection may result in several reasonably good openings being rejected without fully considering them.

“I think you have to be open to things,” Challenger says. “If you get an offer you can always try and negotiate to a higher salary.”

Certainly you should turn down jobs that aren’t a good fit. “But a lot of people, they go into interviews or situations and say, ‘no, I wouldn’t want to work here.’ And they say no to things they don’t have.” And in some situations, this attitude is a merely a self-protective (and self-defeating) mechanism. “Its’ easier to reject them rather than get rejected by them.”