By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady One of the benefits of having connections on LinkedIn is that you can directly send them messages without having a paid subscription. However, this feature has also been used poorly on several occasions. Let's look at how to use LinkedIn messaging effectively to continue building professional relationships and provide some guidelines for how to use this feature well.  The Value of Mutually Beneficial Relationships To have a valuable professional newtork, make sure those relationships are mutually beneficial. Networking is about give and take. Make su ..read more

by Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady It’s amazing how much of the job search process involves waiting to hear back and trying to communicate with the hiring team in a way that adds value. One easy way to strengthen your relationship with the hiring team is by sending a thank you note.  While you could send a paper thank you note, I usually opt for a thank you email message given the prevalence of virtual interactions.  During the interview process, your main goal is to position yourself as someone who would be an excellent direct report to the hiring manager and an awesome team mem ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady The Challenge: Describing What You Do Whether you're searching for a new role or thinking about your professional development, not having the right words to describe your skillset can hinder your progress. Identifying your career keywords will help you create effective messaging for your LinkedIn profile, resume, conversations with colleagues, and other written communications like email and social media posts. Where To Start: LinkedIn and Keywords Here is my recommendation for how to begin gathering keywords that align with your chosen profession: Id ..read more

by  Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady As a many-time layoff survivor, I have done quite a few job searches and had lots of interviews. Not long ago, I read an article about a job searcher who opted out of one hiring process. He did this after making it through three rounds of interviews and having the organization ask about arranging the next six (yes, 6) rounds of interviews.  I felt compelled to share my story about one seemingly never-ending interview process. Unfortunately, like with many things in life, it took a bad experience to teach me how to make better decisions. Job Int ..read more

Three Questions Your Resume Should Answer Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Recently, I have talked with many colleagues who are proactively updating their resumes. After we talk a little about what type of a position interests them, I usually give them additional feedback about preparing a resume to apply for a specific job.  ​As a many-time hiring manager, I have seen lots of bad and lots of sort-of-okay, and just a few resumes that were really, really good. For me, a resume needs to answer three fundamental questions. Having a resume that addresses each of these will helpg you get yo ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Through my seven layoffs and many conversations with others in post-layoff career transition, I have learned seven core lessons: Experience your emotions and manage your mindset.  Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Ask yourself, “What do I want to be next?” Examine your energy to take control of your time.  About Layoff Lesson Seven: Assess, Adapt, and Rise Above When you’re searching for a new job, there are always challenges. Like with any system you put in place to solve a problem, it’s helpful to compare the actions ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Through my seven layoffs and many conversations with others in post-layoff career transition, I have learned seven core lessons: Experience your emotions and manage your mindset.  Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Ask yourself, “What do I want to be next?” Examine your energy to take control of your time.  About Layoff Lesson Five: Help People Help You Life is challenging when nothing out-of-the-ordinary is happening. It's even harder when you're going through an unexpected job change. While I'm a fan of self-reliance ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Through my seven layoffs and many conversations with others in post-layoff career transition, I have learned seven core lessons: Experience your emotions and manage your mindset.  Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Ask yourself, “What do I want to be next?” Examine your energy to take control of your time.  About Layoff Lesson Six: Examine Your Energy to Take Control of Your Time Even when you have a general idea of what needs to happen, sometimes it’s hard to translate higher-level information into specific activities ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Through my seven layoffs and many conversations with others in post-layoff career transition, I have learned seven core lessons: Experience your emotions and manage your mindset.  Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Ask yourself, “What do I want to be next?” Examine your energy to take control of your time.  About Layoff Lesson Four: Shape and Share Your Story Now that you’ve determined what you want in your next role, your new challenge is learning to tell your story. This includes telling the overall story of who you ar ..read more

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady Through my seven layoffs and many conversations with others in post-layoff career transition, I have learned seven core lessons: Experience your emotions and manage your mindset.  Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Ask yourself, “What do I want to be next?” Examine your energy to take control of your time.  About Lesson Two: Keep your mind on your money (and your money on your mind). Most people work to pay their bills and afford the life they want. Unfortunately, when your job ends, so does your main income stream—and p ..read more