Applying to New Jobs After a Layoff? How Professional Resume Services Can Help You Impress a New Employer

Contents

1. What to Do in the Days Following a Layoff Notice 
   • Don’t Take Just Any Job that Pops Up
   • Identify Your Accomplishments
   • Figure Out What You’re Looking for in Your Next Role
2. Do a Little Job Reconnaissance
3. Dedicate Time Each Day to Your Job Search
4. Choose YES Professional Resume Services to Get Ahead of the Competition

A layoff is usually bad news to employees, especially if they have been with the company for a while and don’t have another job lined up.

In the immediate aftermath, you probably want to find a new role immediately so that you don’t deplete your savings account. For this reason, many employees turn to professional resume services to spruce up their resumes and prepare for future applications and job interviews.

What to Do in the Days Following a Layoff Notice

Every company handles layoffs differently. Some will give you several weeks' notice before your job ends, while others will put the termination into immediate effect. Regardless of the timeframe of your situation, you’ll want to allow yourself a day or two to consider your situation and decide your next steps forward.

Taking a day or two off allows you to mentally process what happened. Use the time for a real break. Don’t start pounding the pavement immediately. Spend time with family and friends you trust to help you regain your balance.

A layoff isn’t your fault. Something went wrong with your company, and they needed to let people go to sustain their financial viability. You weren’t let go for cause or because your employer didn’t believe in you. External factors led to their decision.

Don’t Take Just Any Job that Pops Up

Sometimes, people get so stressed about the financial implications of a layoff that they focus on obtaining any job, regardless of whether it’s a good fit for them or aligns with their career path. That’s a mistake. Don’t take your eyes off the prize — a role you can be proud to add to your resume that will help create the life and career you want. That means investing the time to submit applications and go on job interviews.

Writing a great resume is vital to the application process. When you have a resume you’re proud of, you will feel more confident talking to potential employers and highlighting your achievements. Additionally, you’re more likely to receive callbacks and interview requests when you have a comprehensive resume highlighting your relevant skills and how you can benefit a new employer.

If you’re unsure how to create a compelling resume showcasing your expertise, professional resume services from YES can help.

Identify Your Accomplishments

Your resume probably isn't current if you have not looked for a job for a while. You’re likely missing details in it about your last position. You might be missing years of work history if you were promoted or switched jobs a few times within your organization.

Writing a great resume starts with identifying the critical components of your prior roles, including accomplishments and skills you picked up along the way. Two methods can help you reflect on what you’ve learned in your previous positions — the CARL or STAR techniques.

The CARL method refers to context, action, result, and learning. Essentially, you’ll identify a situation that stands out in your work experience and highlight what actions you took, their results, and what you learned from the experience.

For example, let’s say you were a sales manager with a goal of obtaining five new business clients during the month. You likely took specific actions to achieve your objective, like contacting new business leads or overseeing product demos. If your strategies succeeded, you accomplished your goal and learned something.

The STAR technique is similar to CARL and refers to situation, task, action, and result. You’ll identify a specific situation where you performed exceptionally well and describe the results you achieved through your actions.

Why write down your accomplishments

Writing down your accomplishments is often more beneficial than simply thinking about them. Writing them down requires your complete focus, which helps you make your ideas more precise. Additionally, you can refer to these notes when preparing for future interviews.

Most interviews include questions that test your reactions when faced with a challenging circumstance. You may be asked to describe times when you failed at work or your proudest achievement. You’ll be fully prepared to respond to the question when you have the answers at your fingertips. The conversation will flow quite naturally.

You may want to seek assistance from YES professional resume services and interview prep. We can help you develop your accomplishments to sound as impressive as possible. We’ll then incorporate your achievements into your resume and help you prepare to talk about them so that hiring managers understand and are persuaded by them.

Figure Out What You’re Looking for in Your Next Role

While there are definite downsides to experiencing a layoff, layoffs come with a few silver linings: You’ll likely have additional time on your hands following a layoff. You can use that time to spend with your family and friends or attend to your hobbies. You may have the opportunity to catch up on what you missed out on when you were always busy with work.

Some people find that a layoff presents new career opportunities they hadn’t considered before. For instance, maybe you have always wanted to start your own business but never had the time to devote to doing so. A layoff could be your chance to make your dreams a reality. Rather than wait for a new job, you could pursue what you’re genuinely passionate about.

Others may decide to pursue an entirely new career path. If you’re in a field that’s slowly becoming obsolete, a layoff is the right time to switch careers into something that has more stable job opportunities. For instance, maybe you’ve spent the past few years as a bank teller, but you’ve noticed the need for tellers has been swiftly declining as banks move away from on-site operations and toward online transactions. You could transfer your skills into another customer-service-oriented role that has more stability, like working as an administrator in a medical facility.

A perfect opportunities to fill education gaps

If your education doesn’t align with your career goals, a layoff is a perfect opportunity to pursue another degree or certification that aligns better with your ideas for the future. You could put full-time effort into furthering your education or study while working part-time to supplement your income.

Whether you stay on your current path or pursue a completely new one, the idea is to reflect on what you want for your future. Doing so will help you describe what you’re looking for when asked by interviewers, colleagues, or even your family.

If you’re unsure how to tailor your resume to fit a new career path or show your transferable skills, YES professional resume services can assist you.

Do a Little Job Reconnaissance

Before you start applying for new roles, get a feel for what employers are looking for in their applicants. That way, you’ll know whether your skills are up to snuff and if you’re missing any critical information or keywords in your resume.

You can use online job boards in your job search, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor. Search them for available jobs in your chosen profession, and carefully read the descriptions. Note any similarities between job postings, such as keywords, specific experience, and skills they share. If you note many similarities, future job openings in the same field will likely contain comparable language.

If you have the skills and experience they’re looking for but don’t list them in your resume, you’ll want to update the content to include them. Otherwise, a hiring manager or ATS system may automatically discard your resume simply because they don’t think you have what they’re looking for.

For instance, let’s say you’re looking for a new role as a finance analyst. You notice that many open job positions include keywords like “data analysis,” “SQL querying,” and “Python experience.” If you have experience using Python or similar data analysis tools, you’ll want to list it in your resume.

Identifying keywords and common themes can be confusing, especially if you have not looked for a job in a while. YES offers professional resume services that clearly explain your work history. We’ll include any keywords relevant to what employers seek.

Dedicate Time Each Day to Your Job Search

Finding a new job can take some time. You may need several weeks or months to find a role that aligns with your expectations. (The national average is five to six months, though that can be considerably shortened with expert assistance.) You’ll have to persevere and dedicate a few hours daily to the search process.

Most job sites include options to receive automatic updates whenever there’s a new job posting that fits your criteria. You can ask to receive daily notifications, which ensures you don’t miss an opportunity that might be a good fit for you.

Enabling notifications saves time in the search process, since you’ll receive recommendations tailored for your experience, skills, and requirements.

Choose YES Professional Resume Services to Get Ahead of the Competition