Maybe Dusting Off That Resume Isn’t Your Only Option
Let’s be honest – if you spend a lot of time on Linked In and you’re looking for work and you’re worried you are going to burn through your life savings, have to sell your car or living on the street, dusting off the old resume can seem pretty daunting. If you have a job and are still on the inside looking out your gilded glass cage at the number of people struggling to find work, you may be wondering when that cage’s glass is going to crack and you are swept out into the Matrix.
YOU HAVE OPTIONS.
You know – people talk all the time about fighting systems. The usual I lost my job workflow for most people goes like this:
- Panic a little.
- Inventory your assets
- Figure out how long you can make it
- Brush up on your resume
- Work on your skills
- Hit the Job Boards
- And refine and repeat as you go
This is a system. There are other systems out there.
Look – there is a lot going on in the world and layoffs occurring in multiple industries. If you were laid off in tech, government or other sectors, particularly if you were laid off as a division, group or team, there are other systems out there and systems you can build.
If you were laid off as a division, group or team:
- You already have a hierarchy, roles and leadership in place
- You already have a collective interest
- You already have a network
- You already have shared organizational or industry knowledge
- You have policies, processes and procedures in common
- You have exposure to workflows that are well understood
- Your division, group or team probably has a talent pool that uses the same tools and technology
- You have a known talent pool you can draw from
You have nearly every thing you need to start a consultancy, services group of create some kind of product.
And everything in terms of administrative, technical and hands on positions you may need leaving the Federal Government right now. And if you’re leaving the Federal Government, research centers and other affected places, are not technical on your job – there is a huge pool of IT people looking for work right now that know how to build just about everything from phone apps, tablet apps, appliances, communication systems and actual physical mechanical, electronic and cyber-based products.
And tech guys – IT people, engineers and scientists from the Federal Government absolutely know how to create some of the most innovative and science fiction type things you can imagine. Some may also help keep your new organization grounded because they know how to work within the constraints of tight budgets and build more from less.
You need executives? I’ve seen plenty of C-Suite executives, EVPs, VPs posting how they are suddenly looking for work. The government will have CSOs, division heads and even Executive level Department heads entering the work force. And when I say Department, I mean like the FDA, USAID, Department of Education, not small institutions. You need marketers and social media people? Look outside your box. Plenty of people were involved in grass roots campaign work in 2024 are looking for jobs now. As administrations change, people who served in administrative appointments in various government departments may become available.
You’re scared of recruiting a C-Suite employee? Build your organization, then recruit with a stake, be respectful of their input, hire for your current situation so you can focus on building the organization you want and need. If you want to build solutions for government and keep in mind, I didn’t say the US government – there are local, state, county and foreign governments too – there is a huge pool of talent out there now that can help you.
And you don’t even have to build an organization that makes everyone a ton of money. You just need enough to keep the lights on at home and sustain your current standard of living. What does it have to make a ton of money? You could start a non-profit, turn those skills into skills for good. Or you can set up enough of a company that someone else sees enough potential in its organization and product that it is bought out – just make sure when you create that company, you get legal advice about who gets what proceeds and how to make the distribution legally binding.
And just by having the nerve in doing so, you can actually help solve the niche unemployment crisis and maybe give your former employer a run for their money in new spaces like government automation they clearly have their sights set on. This is a real opportunity for you to change #OpenToWork on your profile to #OpenToBuild. And the best part? You can do all this while looking for work and it counts as an item on your resume. And LinkedIn has already given you a way to find one another #OpenToWork.