Taken from Recentlylaidoff.com

Last week I had a short email exchange  with a former co-worker whom I had just learned  recently “resigned” from a former employer. Reading between the lines her version of “resigned” sounded like it might be more synonymous with another person’s “laid off.”

Either way she was out and onto better things, she assured me. The company wasn’t the same place she knew and it was time for a change. The longer and the more descriptive the back-story around her departure became, the less convinced I became of the amicable nature of it, but it got me to thinking about human behavior and the lengths we go to, to explain away our failures.

Don’t get me wrong. Failure might seem like a harsh descriptor in the scenario I’ve just described and while I don’t equate her imminent departure as one, judging by her reaction, she clearly did.

I’ve gotten the royal boot twice in my life and they were both in consecutive jobs. In the first, I was laid off after less than a month. It barely left a scratch on my resume or a dent in my career. In fact so small and insignificant was it, I left it out entirely from my resume rather than paying it any more airtime that it warranted.

The second job, however, made enough of a mark in my career and professional development to rear its head in job interviews. I debated going the “I left the job to pursue other activities” route, but in the end opted for an approach more true to my brand. In short, I ripped that band-aid right off and was upfront about the job – its strengths, the relationships I’d cultivated, the skillsets I’d developed.

As transparent as I was about the jobs strengths, I was also brutally honest about getting laid off. It’s never an easy convo, but after the 1st interview, subsequent ones were easier and I never left feeling shamed or incompetent, especially because I played up the desirable qualities I’d obtained as a result of this job.

It was a natural conversational piece and moreover, I kept it on the positive (employers love this) and started to gain a new appreciation for my former job and the person it allowed me to become. in fact, I felt strangely empowered and the point is, what I ended up projecting more often than not, to potential employers, was “What the heck was that employer thinking letting her go.”

I bring all of this up because listening to my former co-worker made me think of all the wounds a lifetime of professional experience will inevitably leave us. The ball’s in our court, however, with how we handle the situations life throws us. And as anyone who works in Marketing knows, it’s all about the angle.

And the spin. So think carefully about presentation and how you want to be perceived. If you’re lucky you won’t have to fake a thing.

It seems to be the way that when you get laid off all of the sudden people treat you like you’ve contracted the Ebola virus. I know it seems rather extreme to make such a claim, but let’s put it this way: At least lepers have their own colonies and community support groups.

What about unemployed people? Who do they hang out with when all of their friends are gainfully employed and successfully busy? Who keeps their spirits up? How long before they start googling, “employed support group” or better yet, go to MeetUp.com with the hopes of finding solace in the grief of other mourners?

I got laid off just shy of two weeks ago and have been in touch with a few people I knew from my old company. Some have been responsive to my emails, others not so much. It’s a fair assumption to say that those people I formed the closest professional relationships are the ones I still keep in contact with. One former colleague is even actively helping me in my job search and lending his expertise in the field I work in by giving me pointers and potential pitfalls to watch out for in any company I work for. It just so happens he left my company around the same time I was let go.

Apart from the infrequent interview here and there, I’ve been uber-active in the past week networking on LinkedIn and collecting recommendations from people I’ve worked with in the past. My greatest piece of advice I have for anyone (employed or unemployed) is to utilize LinkedIn as a resource to both network and work your profile so that it shines as your very own promotional vehicle. Position yourself so that you’re skills, summary, and recommendations are all aligned with what you want to do in your career.

Employers will take note!

Not to give any more props to Google, but how many of you have indulged in a little it’s all about me Web 2.0 style voyeur vanity and Googled your name recently? For many employers/recruiters this information is critical to their “background search” on any candidate and often what comes up first for most professional people is their LinkedIn profile. Don’t hide it away (unless it totally sucks-and then you should get working on it!).

Remember that it’s a much better use of your time to tap into your existing pool of resources and leverage that stuff than to go try and meet people based on the fact you’re all feeling pretty pathetic at the moment. Besides having LinkedIn is a one-stop shop for all that useful shit I mentioned at the start of this paragraph.

To boot LinkedIn (unlike a random “friend” from MeetMeUpBitch.com or whatever) doesn’t seem to mind much if I have a zit on my nose or not.

But wait, who are we kidding here? A zit on my nose? As if…