Have you or someone you know recently been downsized, laid off, or RIF’d? If so, you’re going to want to watch and share this video.

When one is downsized, there is a range of emotions. Some feel betrayed and carry hurt feelings, while others fight with the fear of uncertainty and the reality of lost income. Despite these VERY REAL emotions, I wanted to give you four activities, practical steps, that will pay off after a lay off.

Step 1: Call Your Recruiter Network

The very first thing to do is to call the top few recruiters who specialize in your function and industry. They should be able to give you a snapshot of the market, help you develop a plan of action, and assist you in setting realistic perimeters for your job search. If you’ve chosen the proper recruiters, they should be able to present you some viable options and get the interview train moving quickly.

Step 2: Build a Spreadsheet of Posted Jobs

After those discussions, you’re going to want to go on-line to look at job postings. Notice, that I said look at and not apply to. We are going to circle back to that. As you’re reviewing the jobs that are posted, make a spreadsheet of these openings.

Once you a have a list compiled, there are two things to do. First and foremost, you want to go on to LinkedIn and see if you know anyone at these companies. If you know someone at those companies, add it to the spreadsheet. Then, call those recruiters back and see if any of them work with any of those companies. The fastest way to get back on your feet is to either have an internal or external advocate singing your praises. But if you have both, that’s the best.

If you have an internal contact at one of the recruiter’s clients, great! Strategize with the recruiter on the best course of action. Remember, if you send your CV to your buddy at the company, the recruiter can’t help you. And if you apply on your own, the recruiter can’t help you. That’s why you don’t want to just start applying right way, instead gather facts before doing anything.

Step 3: Map your Army of Advocates

After you’ve gathered the postings and networked with recruiters, now it’s time to map your army of advocates. Within LinkedIn, you need to do an exercise of “Where Are they Now?”. You want to find out where former co-workers are and what roles they are in. You can do this in the advanced searched function by putting in your company name and look for FORMER EMPLOYEES.

Finding someone in a decision-making role who can vouch for your work product, is the fastest way to secure a job after a lay-off. But any former co-worker can be a strong advocate. So, once you find them, work to get a call set up with that person. Explain your situation to them and see if there are any applicable roles in their company that are open or coming open soon. Don’t forget to ask who they know that might be hiring for someone with your skillset.

Step 4: Frequent Touchpoints

While you’re in this transitionary time, have frequent touchpoints with others on your team who were also downsized from your company. They may tap into a new company that has an opening for you as well, or they may land a job and be able to hire you on their team. And don’t get discouraged if someone else is getting more interviews than you are, which leads me to Step Five: Managing your Emotions.

Managing your emotions when downsized is difficult and it deserves its own video, so let’s save that as our next topic. But in the meantime, I hope that these four practical steps will pay off in you or someone you know is caught in a lay off.

~Michael Pietrack

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About the Author: Michael Pietrack is a leading executive recruiter in the Pharmaceutical Industry and arguably the top recruiter in the Medical Affairs space. His specific expertise is recruiting in Field Medical Affairs placing Medical Science Liaisons, and therefore, he has been dubbed “The MSL Recruiter” (www.TheMSLRecruiter.com).

What is TMAC Direct?: TMAC Direct is an executive search agency that serves the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries. This boutique firm fills critical staffing needs on a retained, partially retained, or contingency basis. TMAC Direct is the direct-hire recruiting division of The Medical Affairs Company, commonly known as TMAC. Together TMAC and TMAC Direct, provide an unmatched staffing service in the Medical Technology arena, whether the hiring needs are on a permanent placement or outsourcing basis.