For the annals of Statements of the Obvious: this has been a really difficult year. Just about all of us have been touched, either directly, or a mere step or two removed, by job loss.  While its very pervasiveness may have helped erase any possible stigma from having been tagged "goose" this way, the flip side is that the challenge of restoring oneself to stable (if not higher) ground has never been more daunting.  As such, the latest book authored by Executive Mom friend, Women for Hire CEO and "Good Morning America" contributor Tory Johnson could not have been better timed.

From Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now

For starters, it’s comforting to know that while Tory sits today atop a career that most would find enviable, one of her most formative experiences for her career and this book was getting unceremoniously "let go" at the age of 22, from her cherished job as an NBC News publicist.  While it was a process to get there, this event set the stage for a realization that she was more cut out for HR than PR, and eventually a whole new career  — one formed with compassion for the journey it takes to arrive at successful employment.

In "Fired to Hired," reflecting the duality in the title the opening of the book is devoted to how to regroup from losing a job, with some reality check lessons (i.e. "all jobs are temporary" and "don’t bad mouth your former boss") … along with guidance on how to define your goals and keep yourself motivated.  From there, the book goes on to offer a useful range of specific and modern insights about how to get yourself hired.  A couple of examples:

  • Understand that recruiters (and automated systems to review résumés) search job boards and networks like LinkedIn by using keywords and phrases to find possible matches.  Thus, before applying to a specific position study the keywords in the post and make sure your résumé includes some of that precise language.  By the way, LinkedIn’s top résumé clichés?  "Proven track record," "problem solver," "cutting edge," "results oriented," and "fast paced."

  • Band together with others in a job club — a support group where you can share contacts and job leads, brainstorm for new ideas and boost each other’s spirits.  (There is a whole chapter in the book on how to form and run one).

Cut to the end for an extensive index of resources (many of them online) for job searching by industry, flexible placement firms, and resources for making money at home.  And, peppered throughout of the book are real world stories (see ours, page 125!) that offer some of the best nuggets of wisdom… while confirming without being trite that there will ultimately be a new door opening.

Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now

 

Our Latest Blog Post… and More on ExecutiveMoms.com

We invite you to read our latest blog post, "A Jacket and Heels in a Sea of Spandex and Asics."  Does that visual ring a bell?  And we pose this potentially provocative thought: do moms do, even if inadvertently and somewhat benignly, our own form of "racial profiling," as we assess a ‘stiletto’ from a ‘sneaker’?  

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