When a company announces that in the very near future it will be downsizing, it can leave employees feeling torn between their loyalty to the company and their anxiety over finding a new job. Some feel a sense of comfort in the fact that they have advanced notice therefore they don’t act with a sense of urgency to find a new job. Some assume they will be able to use their severance (money a company MAY decide to pay employees who are being forced to leave a company to reward them for their loyalty) to pay their bills allowing them to take a break from working. And some automatically assume they will be able to quickly find a job if they simply post their resume on a few job boards. My advice is, do not get complacent with your job search. Your employer has blessed you with the gift of time but you must use it wisely. It may take much longer than you expected to find another job. After taxes are taken from your severance check you may realize that it is not enough to sustain your way of life for very long. And you will surely notice that job searching has changed since the last time you participated.
Years ago it was estimated that the average time it takes job seekers to find a job could be predicted based on their desired salary. In other words it could take 1 month for every $10K the job seeker needed in salary. However this has never been substantiated. It is impossible to accurately predict how long it will take to find another job because it is based on several ever-changing factors such as the state of the economy, the availability of desirable jobs in your area, the amount of competition (other job seekers with equal or greater qualifications), the tools you use to pursue job opportunities and even the time of year. Yes, you read that correctly, the time of year can affect the length of time it takes to find a job. There is no question that employees and organizations become at least slightly less productive during the holiday season because hiring managers are more focused on upcoming vacations and are too filled with good cheer to focus on something as tedious as interviewing and hiring. Another time of the year when hiring slows down is the end of the company’s fiscal year, which can vary based on the company. During this time managers are often forced to justify, in their budgets, the need to fill a job vacancy when the department has been getting along just fine without it.
Instead of trying to estimate how long it will take to find a job why not start looking immediately? Allow yourself time to submit your resume at least 75 times without ever receiving any feedback. Allow yourself time to go on countless interviews only to find that another, less qualified person, got the job or to never hear a final decision at all. Allow yourself time to learn from this arduous process and come out the other end a more informed and confident job seeker than you were when you started. Don’t get discouraged by this seemingly negative description of job searching. It is simply a challenge you must overcome before starting your next dream job.
Coach Kenya 