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Staying connected after a layoff.

Article Excerpt
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"Rolodex n. (obs.) a rotating file device used to store business contact information" --Wikipedia

This is not your grandfather's recession. Today, laid-off workers have myriad resources available to help them stay in touch with former colleagues. Online communities are popping up all over the internet. Networking and alumni organizations are industry-specific, company-specific, regional, and/or international. News about skilled and talented alumni/ae looking for work is widely available to potential employers.

In this downturn, whether having lost their jobs because their company downsized, their government positions were RIF'd, or their organizations were overextended and had to make cutbacks, laid-off workers are using new and innovative tools creatively and successfully to stay connected with their former colleagues and to energize their job searches.

In his article in CIO Magazine (1), David Ramel points out that electronic social networking tools allow one to get more targeted more quickly. He also points out:

* The closer you are to the IT industry, the more likely you can take advantage of the newer electronic social networking tools, and

* Younger laid-off workers are much more likely to use the newer electronic social networking tools.

Writers for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, however, warn the newly jobless to be careful with their online presence and their in-person social attributes. Jenna Wortham (2) (NYT) wants her readers to tidy up their Facebook profiles because potential employers are researching applicants' content for provocative photos, references to drinking and drugs, poor communication skills, and other "alarming" behavior. Christina Binkley (3) (WSJ) learned through interviews with high-level human resources executives that in the aftermath of a layoff, style is critical. She cautions job candidates to: give themselves time to cool off, prepare to present themselves as physically and mentally upbeat, rein in resentment, be careful what they post to the internet, and update their wardrobes.

Shining Examples

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I met Rachel Resnick at a local SLA meeting. She had written "Hire Me" on her name badge, and guess what? A couple of attendees provided leads for her. Rachel had been working for a...

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