Getting Help After Multiple Layoffs

I’ve been laid off three times in the last three years, and each subsequent job search has proved more difficult than the previous. The economy hasn’t helped much this time around either. After each layoff, I emailed my networkto tell them and ask for help. The note briefly summarized my experience (marketing M.B.A. with marketing manager experience) and the position I sought (marketing manager or director in a consumer-focused company). It included my resume, of course.

I received very nice notes of sympathy, job leads and suggestions in response, particularly after the first layoff. People genuinely want to help, and went out of their way to do what they could. But what they have to give is finite. The responses were fewer the second time around and still fewer this time. I was going back to the well too often and not replenishing it. People in my network were probably tired of helping me find a job every year. This makes perfect sense, because I was tired of looking for one.

I also wasn’t offering value in return, as an uncle of a good friend of mine (who helps whenever I’ve gotten laid off) pointed out to me. I was tapping my network for my annual job search without giving back. This had to change. I like and have common interests with people in my network; that’s how they got there. So making the effort has been easy.

Nowadays, I try to send along links to useful information, facilitate introductions or act as a sounding board. I forward jobs to my fellow unemployed. Giving people in my network some value in the relationship makes it easier for them to help me. I also stay top of mind without being a pest. My network includes friends, family, people I worked with at previous employers, business associates from other companies, people I’ve met at networking events and school-sponsored presentations and others whom I’ve met through blogging. It takes time and effort to convert and maintain them, but I do feel like I’m more in their thoughts these days, and in a positive way. And that can only help me.

Offering value also helps me keep up my spirits in difficult times. I continue to stay sharp by using what I learned in grad school and at my previous three employers. And I’m helping people I like. It also serves as validation whenever self doubt starts to creep in. I’m still worth the job and paycheck I’m seeking, even if they’re taking a while to find.

Readers, how do you give back to your network? Share your thoughts in the comments section.