So You've Just Been Laid Off: 10 Tips for Landing Your Next IT Job
Human-resource pros and IT survivors to share their advice for getting back in the game.
by Adam Stone
2/4/2002 -- With the dot-com collapse, many IT workers have found themselves out of work. That's the bad news. The good news is that the continuing adoption of new technologies by mainstream industries is creating lots of new openings. From Oct. 2000 to Oct. 2001 industries in the United States created more than 14,000 technology jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of computer programming services jobs rose from 530,300 up to 531,900 for example, and the number of jobs in computer integrated systems design swelled from 225,300 to 236,400 positions.
While some areas of IT have been hit harder than others, there are jobs out there. We canvassed HR experts who specialize in IT issues, as well as downsized tech folks with firsthand experience of the current job market. Here are their top 10 tips for restarting your high-tech career.
Tip #1: Don't Panic
"Take a couple days, go to the beach, sip a margarita and gain some perspective," advised Evan Burks, senior vice president of Comforce Corp., a $500 million public company involved in staffing and consulting for the technology sector. "Getting laid off is very traumatic for most people and a lot of people try to jump right in with activity, without really thinking about their game plan. So take a couple of days to formulate a plan before you jump into it. Figure out your short-term job goals and your long-terms career goals."
Tip #2: When Online, Think Volume
If you are going to fish for a job online, you need to cast a wide net. "When IT job seekers are using the Internet to find employment, they need to not just go to the general high-traffic job boards like Monster," said Steven Rothberg, president and founder of job site CollegeRecruiter.com. "They probably should go to those [sites] first, but they absolutely should go to the niche job boards – the ones designed specifically for people in their situations." (E.g., JobWarehouse, Techies, SoftwareJobs, ComputerJobs and Dice.) When you get there, apply for every job that is even remotely close to your skill set, Rothberg recommended. Why? A lot of recruiters today are posting jobs simply in order to build a pool of candidates to contact in the future, he said. You want to be in that pool.
Tip #3: Identify Skills
A laundry list of certifications is not a description of your skills. Potential employers want to know what you can do for them, and before you sit down to tell them, it's worth making a list. How? Write down the major projects you have worked on. List all the tasks, both technical and interpersonal, that went into doing that work. Now list the skills you used to complete those tasks, and don't stint on the soft stuff. In technology, many an employer will pay a premium for a worker who has actually demonstrated – in a practical setting -- his or her talents as a team player, a self-directed worker or a good communicator.
Tip #4: Stay Current
"When you are in between jobs it is extremely important that you keep your technical skills as current as possible," said Amy Vasquez, vice president of at Spherion, a recruitment firm and technology-services provider. "Get educated on new technologies, and if you have certifications, maintain them. If you are out for six months, you don't want to appear stale, and if you keep up with training, that is a way to show a prospective employer that you have kept your skills current while you were unemployed." Take, for instance, Namat Meer. Laid off from Salomon Smith Barney after terrorists blew up his offices in the World Trade Center, he's been busy rounding out his portfolio of certifications, in the hope of landing a higher-paying position next time around.
Tip #5: Stay Legal
If you're working here on an H-1B immigrant work visa and you get laid off, it's a double whammy. Not only are you out of work, you are out of status. Technically, legally, you have no further right to be in this country. What to do? "You can try to find another employer as soon as possible, and you can try to examine your other visa options," said Mark D. Shevitz, a vice president at immigration-services firm VisaNow.com, Inc. As a visa consultant, he urges people not to try this alone: "Even after you have been laid off, you can work with your former employer to consult an immigration expert to find out whether there are other visa options. It will depend on the situation, but often there are other options." Best to deal with this as early as possible. After all, Shevitz noted, employers would rather hire someone who has a legal status here than someone who technically is here illegally.
Tip #6: Play Up Industry Expertise
"If you are interviewing in a bank, the people who will land those jobs are people who have worked previously on banking applications," said Vasquez. "Technologists tend to focus on their technology skills when they sell themselves, but it can give you a real leg up if you focus on your specific industry experience. When that experience matches a particular position, it can really give you a boost over other candidates."
Tip #7: Get Personal
Before you send that unsolicited resume to a stranger -- stop. "I equate looking for a job with courting or dating," said David Perry, managing partner at Canadian tech recruiting firm Perry-Martel International Inc. and author of Workinsight.com:A Headhunters' Guide to the New Economy. "It's in everybody's best interest at the beginning to find out as much about the other person as they can. So you need to do some research about who the people are in a given company who can hire you. The quickest way to do that is to go to Google or some other search engine and find a paper or a presentation that this person has made in a publication or at a conference." Now send a brief e-mail introducing yourself, with the subject header: "I read your paper on such-and-such." Explain that you found the person's work interesting, and that you are seeking your next opportunity. Finally, don't TELL them to call you. ASK them if they are interested in talking to you. Let them take the initiative.
If there's a particular company you want to work for, use the company's Web site to do your research. Don't stop with the excecutive bios; also read the press releases and other news. You might even run across the name of someone you've worked with before -- a definite plus (more on this below).
Tip #8: Shake the Tree
"Your network is going to be invaluable," said Burks. "You may have coworkers who have moved on: Now find them and ask them what the hot skills are in their organization." Tech employers love to bring in people who have already worked together in teams. Thus, keeping in touch with former colleagues could help land you that next job.
Tip #9: Keep Working
Contract work is the way to go after you've been laid off, according to Dean Gonteski, vice president of solutions at IT service provider York Telecom Corp. By taking short-term assignments, you can keep busy, brush up on current skills, and -- perhaps most important -- meet the people who could be your future bosses. "Visibility is a huge thing [in the job-search process]. When you get out in the field you can learn who the customers are and what they are looking for," he said. "It is also a great opportunity for somebody who wants to completely change their career, because you might come in to a project at an entry level, but you will leave with a new skill set." On the down side: You may indeed make less as a contractor worker than you did as a full-timer. But at least you are working.
If you can't find contract work (or even if you do), consider volunteering for a local non-profit. Yes, there's no pay, but you'll stay busy, help others, and again may make contacts that will help you later on.
Tip #10: Change Your Overall Mindset
Gone are the days when herds of recruiters would call you. Don't sit back and wait for an offer, said Perry. Learn the fine art of self-promotion. "I can't tell you how many times technology people send out resumes with subject lines like: Hot Prospect – Get Me While You Can!" he said. In the dot-com heyday you could have pulled it off. "But today, that kind of thing just does not cut it." Not only do you need to bring solid skills to the table, you also need to be savvy enough to present those skills in a compelling manner. Got the social graces of an arthritic badger? Take a class. Today, soft skills count, he said. Even more importantly, though, is to stay positive. You may be out of work for a few days, a few weeks or even longer --but you will get through it. A good attitude will carry you farther than anything else.
That's what the experts we talked with had to share: How about you? What tips can you give other IT pros? What advice worked for you? Post your comments below!
Adam Stone is a freelancer writing on business and technology issues from Annapolis, Maryland. He can be reached at .
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