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I Just Got Laid Off – Part 3

Written on February 19, 2009 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Bigg Solutions, Life Changes

work We’re wrapping up a 3-part series on what to do if you just got laid off. In Part 1, we discussed the day you learn about your layoff. Part 2 was about the first couple of days after the announcement. Now we want to talk about moving on to your next job.

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We’re moving ahead quickly, but don’t be alarmed if you’re not quite ready to move on just yet. You’re going through a grieving process so it will take some time. Be aware of it, but also look forward to that time in the near future when you start feeling your zest return. If it doesn’t return relatively quickly, you may consider speaking with a professional.

During this time, it’s important to maintain a proper attitude. One of the best ways to do this is by associating with positive people. It’s also helpful to talk with people who have gone through this before. Ask for their advice. Almost everyone really likes to help other people. They can encourage you with their story.

Next, assess your financial situation. Ask yourself how aggressive you need to be in your job search. Map out a timeline. Think about phases.

For example, in Phase 1, you may be able to be very choosy in your job search. Phase 2 may mean you need to find a job soon so you’ll be less selective. In Phase 3, you may freelance or work part-time to get some money in the door. You may find a job in the first phase, but you’ll be prepared in case you don’t.

Also plan how you will market yourself. Think about what makes you unique? How can you communicate that? What opportunities play to your core strengths?

Obviously, you’ll also need to update your resume if you haven’t already. We found a great site for help with resumes, cover letters, job search and interviewing tips. Check out Resume Help.

Begin to think about how you will explain your recent departure. Practice interviewing with a friend, preferably someone who is a manager who interviews people. Get feedback.

One of the most important things to get on your to-do list is networking. It’s amazing how many people land a new job through a referral. Resist the urge to go into self-imposed isolation. Reach out to everyone you know who might be able to help you. Tell them what you’re looking for.

Have you registered on Meetup to find out about local events of interest to you? Are you on LinkedIn? What about Facebook? Have you joined any social networking groups for your industry? The contacts you make through these sites will be invaluable now.

The good news is that most people who go through this report that they are happier in their new job than they were in their old job. It may take some time, but you’ll land on your feet!

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Thank you so much for stopping by today. Join us next time when we discuss scheduling time to decompress. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Related posts

I Just Got Laid Off – Part 1

I Just Got Laid Off – Part 2

The Greatest Miracle In The World

The Hero Within the Hero

Coping With Life Change

(Image in today's post by Hisks)

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Make 55 Percent More Money – Part 2

Written on February 12, 2009 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Balance, Money, Time Management

watch_time Last time, we discussed using the way a venture capitalist invests as a model for how we invest our time. We talked about a 4-step process to create a portfolio of activities that generates the greatest return.

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Hear George & Mary-Lynn discuss today's topic on The Bigg Success Show! Click the purple player: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The example

Now we want to look at an example. Let’s say that you make $100,000 a year. You invest 2,500 hours a year – 50 hours a week for 50 weeks – to earn that money. We immediately see that you’re making $40 an hour.

We’ll simplify the 4-step process we discussed last time. Let’s say that you found that 20 percent of your activities generate 80 percent of your income. The old 80/20 rule. We’ll call these your highest-value activities.

So while you earn $40 an hour from your entire portfolio of activities, you’re actually making $160 an hour from your highest-value activities.

Also assume that further analysis showed that you aren’t making any money from 20 percent of your tasks. These are your lowest-value activities, which are really weighing down the overall return on your invested time.

before-snapshot1

A bigg jump in income

Looking at the lowest-value activities, ask yourself if you can eliminate any of them. Let’s say you determine that all those activities are a complete waste of your time. Further assume that you could spend all of that time on your highest value activities. It’s unlikely that this would be the case, but it illustrates our point simply so let’s go with it.

Under our assumptions here, your income would increase 80 percent. You would make $180,000 instead of $100,000. Instead of making $40 an hour, you’re making $72 an hour. Sounds pretty good, huh?

But it’s really just making sure you’re allocating your time – your most precious resource – most effectively.

after-snapshot1

Make 55 percent more

The problem is it’s not realistic to think that 20 percent of your time is completely wasted. In fact, we bet you waste very little. A more realistic assumption is that you would have to pay someone to do some portion of these lowest-value activities. But you can afford it now!

In fact, we found that you could pay up to $160 an hour for those activities and still break-even. But we want to do better than break-even.

So we assumed you would pay $50 an hour on average for those activities. In that case, you would make 55% more even after paying someone!

Synergy

Now think about it, you’re paying someone $50 an hour and before you were only making $40 an hour. This is consistent with things we’ve seen in our own businesses as we focus on higher-value activities.

But here’s something else we’ve found – your highest value activities may our lowest value activities. This is where synergy comes in. By partnering with people and organizations around core strengths – we work together, with you doing what you do best while we do what we do best – everyone makes more money without investing more time.

The importance of testing

But what if you just don’t have the money to hire someone to do these things for you? It’s important to test. Just try investing a little more time on your highest value activity.

You may have to give up something – even a little downtime – while you’re doing this. See if you make more money. If you do, keep feeding that task. To do that, find ways to delegate those lower-value activities for you, even if it costs a little money.

Just like a venture capitalist, if you keep funding those activities that generate the highest return and you move away from things that don’t, you’ll make that bigg money you know you’re worth!

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