Taking the Time to Smell the Roses

The Situation

I counsel many people who get that lay off notice and want to have a new job the next day.  I counsel an equal number who get that same notice and decide it's time to smell the roses.  I honestly can't blame them.  Many who fall into this second group have been working for a number of years, have the security of some severance, unemployment payments, and benefits coverage and figure it's a good time to take a few months off.  This is even truer this time of year when the sun is out and most of us are ready to break loose anyway.

The Caution

If you think it's hard to engage in job search right after a lay off, I can promise you it is twice as hard after you've smelled those roses.  The comment I hear most often from clients and friends is actually a question - how did I ever manage to get everything done when I was working full time?  It is amazing how 'things come up' and 'stuff needs to get done' and you find your days full.  Most also admit that they really enjoy not having to deal with the day-to-day pressure of work.  Here, too, I honestly can't blame them.  There's a ton of stuff I like to do and need to do which includes exercising to stay healthy and all of this stuff takes time.  It's just too bad these things generally won't pay my bills.  So....

The Recommendations and Action Items

I am not going to tell you not to take time off.  I am going to recommend that you get your house in order before you do.  What does this entail?  Here's the pre-break 'to do' list.

Get a good draft of your resume completed while you still remember what it is you accomplished during all of those years you worked.  Get out all of your old performance reviews as a reminder of some of the great things you accomplished but may have already forgotten about. It's hard enough to access these memories when we're still in a work mode.  Give yourself a few months off in the backyard and it becomes even harder to remember our best work.  You will end up fine-tuning your resume during your search, but this will give you a good base to start from. 

Decide whether you want to stay in the same functional job or field or whether you want to do something different.  If you fall into the second category, put together a short list of possibilities.  This will help you network both during your break and once you jump back into your search.  So the line goes something like - I've been in an audit function in financial services for the past fifteen years, and while I am considering a similar position, I also want to explore taking my skills into the sports administration and management field or starting my own consulting company or going into landscape design. You don't have to have all the answers, just enough ideas to start a conversation, get some advice and possibly some suggestions about others you should talk with when you're ready to jump back in.

Start a list of contacts, people you want to reach out to once you get back to your search.  Go through your work e-mail list and old committee lists.  Start a list of everyone you might want to contact when you re-start your search.  I guarantee you that you'll forget people if you don't start this now.  You don't have to act on in now, just get it started. DO NOT EDIT by deciding who can help and who wouldn't remember you or know anyone who could help.  You never know who someone knows until you ask. (see my 3/4 post entitled "Another Great Networking Story").

Don't pull out completely.  There are people you can and should network with casually while you're taking in the scenery.  Go to lunch or have coffee with a different business colleague at least twice a month just to stay in touch. Take a walk with a neighbor who just retired.  Yes, retired people know others who may be able to help or advise you when you get started again.

Make sure you have your line down both about taking time off and what you want to get back to.  Be prepared to network socially while you're taking time off.  You will run into people who want to and can help.  You have to think about what you'll say to them before you get into that situation.

Set a date to re-engage and stick to it by making some specific plans to force yourself make it happen.  Sign up to attend a conference, schedule a business lunch, meet with your job search coach, anything that will result in getting you back in the game.  This is actually advice I give to anyone taking the time for a brief vacation - schedule one or two network meetings for after you return to help ease back into job search.

The Warning

Don't put off re-engaging.  There's always going to be more stuff you want to do, but the longer you stay out of the search the harder it may be to re-engage, the less comfortable it may feel to put back on that suit and jump back into that professional persona.  I have also found that the longer one stays out of the game, the less confidence they have in themselves when they jump back in.  So take the time to smell the roses.  Just make sure the snow isn't falling on them by the time you re-activate your job search.