CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Disarming the Firing Squad:
A Nine-Step Plan If You
May Be Getting Laid Off
If layoff worries are already causing you anxiety in the New Year,
stop wringing your hands and start taking action. Dr. Richard Bayer
provides some much needed advice that will help you prepare
for the uncertain economic year ahead.
T
he holidays have come and gone,
and unfortunately, there’s one gift
that few of us received—job secu-
rity. That’s right. With jobless claims at
a 26-year high and the unemployment
rate relentlessly climbing, many
Americans will enter 2009 with jobs
that may not exist two, four, or six
months down the line. What’s worse,
no matter how many hours you log at
the office, you can’t shake that feeling
that you’re working on borrowed
time. That’s the bad news. But accord-
ing to Dr. Richard Bayer, the good
news is there are things you can do
right now to help you keep your job
and prepare for the worst in case your
fate ends in a layoff.
“Many people are returning to work
after the holidays to companies that are
in limbo,” says Bayer, Chief Operating
Officer of The Five O’Clock Club
(fiveoclockclub.com), the nation’s pre-
mier career coaching network, and
author of The Good Person Guidebook:
Transforming Your Personal Life. “They
are doing everything they can to sur-
vive the recession, and layoffs may be
part of the equation. If you think your
company might go this route, you do
have options: work hard and prepare
OLIA.COM
for the just-in-case scenario of being
forced into the job market.”
As COO of The Five O’Clock Club, YCHKO - FOT
Bayer knows all about helping people
VEL
deal with job loss and changing
MYKOLA
careers. The Club is the only career
©
18 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN’S MAGAZINE www.professionalwomanmag.com
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