By Lou Ann Lathrop
In 2008 and early 2009, headlines announcing mass layoffs seemed to become a routine part of the daily news. Nevertheless, no matter how commonplace job cuts may seem, becoming one of the hundreds behind a headline can still come as a surprise.
For the first few months since my own position was cut, I was in shock and denial, but it soon became clear that with so many people out of work and organizations taking cautious approaches to hiring, my job hunt, like everyone else’s, could last many long months. As a quality professional, I fully understood the need to plan for the challenges that still lay ahead.
Here are the practical tips for survival that I have managed to develop during my job search.
Adjust your lifestyle to match your means:
- Save all the money you can. Pay off the debts you have as soon as possible.
- Live as frugally as you can:
- Find hobbies, activities, and forms of entertainment that don’t cost money.
- Before buying something new, try to use something you already have.
- Cut your cable television.
- Always plan your driving schedule to optimize gas.
- Never waste food. Try to cook at home and carry a lunch. When eating out, see if you can get more than one meal out of it. Now is also a great time to get serious about losing weight.
- Always look at the facts of your situation. Have a budget, and monitor it weekly or daily.
- If you can’t donate money, donate unused items that you have. Items still are tax deductions if you log them.
Take care of yourself, physically and emotionally:
- Exercise almost daily.
- Eat healthy food daily, drink lots of water, and take your vitamins daily.
- Don’t be afraid to tell people what’s going on with your career (but try not to complain too much).
- Always have several people that you contact regularly (more than once a week) for mental and emotional support.
- Keep a gratitude list and review it daily.
- Never take yourself too seriously.
Use your quality training and mindset to stay focused and organized:
- Always have some type of list of what needs to be done.
- Use the concept of “keep the flow going.”
- Once you start a project, get it done before picking up the next one.
- Practice 5S at your desk. Keep only the essentials on your desk, and save all job search information in the right place on your computer and online.
- Keep all of your e-mail contacts in a single place you can easily access.
- Treat everyone that you deal with as a customer. Try to answer everyone promptly. Follow the Vince Lombardi rule of always showing up early.
- Every year, make a list of your accomplishments. Update your resume every time your role changes.
- Every day is a new day, so never quit trying to get better.
About the Author
Lou Ann Lathrop worked for GM for more than 25.5 years, holding engineering and managerial roles in quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, manufacturing, and product engineering. She has bachelor of science and master of science degrees in electrical engineering and is a certified GoFast Coach and GMS (GM Lean) Coach, along with being a certified United Auto Workers/GM Quality Network Representative.
A senior member of ASQ, Lou Ann is past chair (twice) for ASQ’s Automotive Division and is a current member of ASQ’s Board of Directors. On the board, Lou Ann serves on the business planning committee and on the Division Affairs Council as vice chair, and she co-leads the Marshall Plan for Healthcare. She is the leader of the Michigan Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) coach recruitment team along with coaching practices.
