photo credit: zenobia_joy

I actually wrote this in response to a tech gal who came back from vacation to find she’d been given 2-weeks termination notice. Talk about your blind-side.

Anyway, the reaction was so nice I thought I’d share it here, as well. If you root through the rules, you’ll find some pretty good ideas here to help you find new clients, too.

Allow yourself 2 days to wallow, sleep late, cry and then it’s time to get to work finding work.

1 – Go to Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, etc. and review the listings of those jobs you’d like/are a good fit. Copy and paste them into a document. Review the language, the phrases. These are the words and phrases you’ll need to build into your resume/s.

2 – Focus your resume on your accomplishments rather than tasks.

3 – Fashion different resumes for different ‘buckets, again using the job listings you’ve been adding to your draft. For example, I could fashion a resume for myself as Copywriter or Marketing Director or SEO/SEM Specialist, etc. and focus my resume variants accordingly.

4 – Let EVERYONE you know that you’re looking for another opportunity -previous employers, clients, friends, family. Email them a copy of your resume so they have it to send along. Add your resume to your site/blog. Let folks know you’re looking for new opportunities. Update LinkedIn and Twitter and work ‘em.

5 – Scope out places you’d like to work and check their sites. Many times they have a Jobs section that’s never otherwise advertised. Don’t forget totake a look at USAjobs.gov, too.

6 – Apply for unemployment AND sign-up for temp work, ideally a temp agency that specializes in your field. Working is always better than not working.

7 – Get your COBRA unless you’re covered by a spouse or partner. It’sexpensive but you don’t want a break in health coverage. (Some temp agencies offer health insurance. PT jobs with Starbucks also offer insurance.)

8 – Remember – you are the SOLUTION to your prospective employer’s problem(if they didn’t have a problem, they wouldn’t be hiring.) You may be looking for a job, but think/present yourself like a consultant – with talent, goodanswers, and proven expertise.

Good luck!