The Job Search Checklist: Everything You Need to Know to Get Back to Work After a Layoff Special ed Edition

Few events are more devastating than losing your job. And few are as isolating, as you struggle alone to get back on your feet. But the help you need is here! Author Damian Birkel has made the entire pink-slip-to-reemployment process as painless and easy to maneuver as possible in The Job Search Checklist.

This master checklist tells you exactly what to do, in what order, and with what tools and materials—a complete step-by-step plan for landing your next job.

Birkel, a career counselor and founder of the Professionals in Transition® Support Group, speaks from experience. He withstood painful job losses, and lived through the shock, stress, money worries, and erratic reemployment process. The experience opened his eyes to the avalanche of conflicting and confusing job search information available, and he was determined to do something about it.

So now, whether you’re unemployed, underemployed, changing careers, or anxious about losing your job, Birkel’s complete bounce-back guide will help you:

• Follow the 7-step process that’s proven to get results.

• Successfully navigate the “Emotional Wave of Unemployment.”

• Take stock of your skills, research jobs and companies, and create a highly effective “personal marketing plan” to promote yourself to potential employers.

• Craft the right résumé for you, enhanced with keywords tailored for applicant ?tracking systems.

• Create keyword Super Docs that increase your Internet application success rate by ?up to 50 percent.

• Nail each of the many types of interviews, and much more.

Don’t waste your time with unfocused, hit-or-miss tactics. Use this step-by-step toolkit to get the insights, methods, sample résumés, customizable cover letters, plus downloadable templates and invaluable checklists—to get a new job fast!

Damian Birkel is a nationally certified career counselor and the founder of Professionals in Transition® Support Group Inc. His job search methodology has been used by more than 5,000 out-of-work professionals to find new employment. His expertise has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NPR, and in USA Today, Fortune, Time, and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Connect with Damian Birkel at jobsearching.org

DAMIAN BIRKEL is a certified career counselor and the founder of Professionals in Transition(R) Support Group. His job search methodology has been used by more than 5,000 out-of-work professionals to find new employment. His expertise has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NPR, and in USA Today, Fortune, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.

Introduction

Finding a job is not easy—especially when you are unemployed. I’ve

been out of work several times. I know all about having to struggle with the

waves of emotion, the sleepless nights, the ongoing frustration, and the feelings

of being worthless—cast aside like a piece of obsolete machinery. I, too,

have had to live through the humiliation of having my professional identity

stripped away and my income stream disrupted. I understand what it’s like

to cope with the rippling effect this crisis has on one’s loved ones.

Right now, you may be experiencing what I went through during the

times I was unemployed—you’re in shock and suffering from information

overload. You may be overwhelmed with job search materials, books, and

internet sites; confused by conflicting expert opinions; and paralyzed by

fear. During my job searches, I often thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if there

was some sort of master job search checklist to make sure everything was

being done in the right order, at the right time, with the right résumé? Is

there anything I am missing? What other materials do I need to make my

job search a success?”

"The Job Search Checklist" will help you fill that gap. It will guide you

through the step-by-step process of finding a job, while providing hope and

validation. If you are looking for a battle plan developed and tested in the

trenches of unemployment, you have found one. In this book, you will find:

• Key strategies built around a 7-Step Job Search Plan that will guide

you through the reemployment process.

• Itemized checklists in each chapter detailing the action steps needed

to successfully master critical issues, both emotional and practical,

and to help build a complete job search plan of action.

• Proven, viable résumé formats, cover letters, networking letters of

approach, and other job search correspondence.

• Access to templates, forms, and other examples of job search correspondence

to help you customize your job search.

I Can Help You Find a Job

You are not alone. I have been in your shoes because I have lost my job four

times throughout my career and have felt the shock, rage, humiliation, fogginess,

depression, ongoing stress, and fear.

Over twenty years ago, I founded Professionals In Transition® Support

Group Inc. (PIT®), a nationally and internationally recognized nonprofit,

career support organization. (For more information on PIT®, see www

.jobsearching.org). Our weekly support group meetings (run by volunteers)

have been held every Thursday night at the American Red Cross center in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 1992. What is unique to PIT® is the

recognition, by the worldwide media of our state-of-the-art job search techniques,

as well as our emotional and practical support provided free of charge

by our all-volunteer association. More than four thousand people have been

touched by PIT® and thousands more have visited online.

In addition, I have reeducated myself and am now a nationally certified

career counselor running an Employability Lab at our local community college.

The road to reemployment is full of sharp curves, steep climbs, and

sudden drops. This rough road is often unmarked and frequently marred

by potholes of rejection. The so-called “information highway” known as the

Internet has so many branches that getting lost, confronting a detour, hitting

construction, reaching dead ends, or even falling into deep, dark, black

holes are not only common, but can waste a huge chunk of your valuable

time. It is my hope that The Job Search Checklist will help you navigate the

road to reemployment and that by following the 7-Step Job Search Plan, you

will create a roadmap to personal success.

How This Book Is Organized

The Job Search Checklist begins by addressing the extremely stressful “livingin-

limbo” time period before a layoff or downsizing. This section provides

indicators, strategies, and checklists to help you decode and react to the

signs of an impending layoff, so that you can effectively prepare in advance

regardless of whether you are affected.

From there, "The Job Search Checklist" is divided into seven steps, each of

which is further divided into chapters. Throughout the chapters, you will

find knowledge, advice, recommendations, templates, and checklists to guide

your job search process.