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August 27, 2007

What’s Your Plan?
By Mindy Goldsmith, PhD
Radiology Today
Vol. 8 No. 17 P. 26

A radiology administrator shares her thoughts about planning for the future—both the good and the bad. In these uncertain times, having a Plan B just makes good sense.

Some people always have a plan, perhaps born programmed for planning and neatness. Our pens are lined up neatly in our desk drawers and our desk calendars aligned perfectly parallel to the desk edge. We have a place for everything, and everything has its place. I am one of those planners.

We also always have a plan in case something goes wrong because we are not risk takers. My father is the consummate planner, which served him well during a recent basement fire in his home. I have only been caught once without a plan. In 1987, while pregnant with my son, I was laid off from a small radiology equipment and supply company. I had returned from one week’s vacation to learn the company was being sold, and I was out of a job. I had no back-up plan. I had not kept in contact with a recruiter, and I had no savings. I was in a boat without oars and a basket case due to the stress.

I met with a career counselor a few years ago, who informed me that in the United States, approximately 2,500 managers lose their jobs every day. This was a frightening statistic. We only hear about the big company CEOs or vice presidents who have been let go by unhappy board directors. We never hear about our peers, who can just as easily have a job one day and not the next. In many cases, manager job losses occur due to organizational changes beyond our control. And because life can throw many curveballs at us throughout our careers, having a plan for just that possibility is a good idea.

Take Care of Your Finances
Financial planners advise us to have between four and six month’s salary saved, just in case. In order to calculate as accurately as possible just how much money you would need to survive a job loss, financial planners recommend that you know exactly where your money is going now, plus add estimated costs of finding another job and funding health and other insurance needs during the job hunt. COBRA coverage is usually expensive because the former employer no longer contributes to the cost. To continue family health coverage under COBRA could cost more than $1,000 dollars per month. Simply adding up daily expenses won’t cut it because you are evaluating your current financial picture while employed.

Be sure to budget for additional emergency expenses. Financial emergency items include automobile repairs, home repairs, or sudden illnesses. If you think you’ll receive a severance package, keep in mind that most employers base severance pay on base pay only. If you’re used to bonuses or commissions, only receiving your base salary can be a nasty jolt of reality. The best source for deciphering how much money you will need will be your checkbook register. Sit down and add up all your monthly expenses, plus a buffer for emergency expenses and insurance, and you’ll have a more accurate idea of just how much money you will need to survive a job loss.

Take Care of Your Career
Most of us develop a level of complacency in our jobs. We become comfortable with what we’re doing and who we’re working with, and we stop thinking about the future and our own careers. Our resume is saved somewhere on our computer, but we haven’t looked at it in a year. I recommend you regularly visit your resume and update it as you go along in your job. Most of us face challenges in our careers that allow us to gain new skills. Add these skills to your resume. Our job descriptions can change over time; therefore, our resumes become out-of-date. It’s much easier to write a concise, attention-getting resume when you are not under the stress of a job loss. You’ll have the time to let someone you trust edit the resume and offer suggestions. My best resumes have been written while I’m not searching for another position.

David O. Levine, a former telecommunications firm director who became a professional speaker and certified professional life coach after losing that job, recommends we also take care of the career we’re in now. Paying close attention to your own job performance will help you keep your current job. Levine suggests taking a few simple steps to achieve better success in your current job. He advises that you meet regularly with your boss to monitor your progress toward written objectives. He also suggests tuning up your wardrobe on a regular basis by replacing some older items with new ones.

He also believes we should regularly challenge ourselves by taking a class or reading a self-improvement book. He points out, “A typing software CD costs about $30 and could improve your effectiveness. A ‘For Dummies’ software book costs about $20.” Levine believes that “worrying won’t help, but taking action will.”

Most employees, no matter how good our performance, likely will face a job loss at some time in our careers. It’s more common than we think, and it can be devastating without some planning.

Take Care of Yourself
Often, managers lose jobs due to circumstances beyond their control, not because they were doing a bad job. This can create a helpless feeling that we have no control over our own destiny. Taking care of yourself gives back some sense of control, so that when bad things happen, they don’t have to take over or ruin your life. We must take care of ourselves in our careers and at home.

I suggest you regularly speak with a recruiter whom you like and form a good relationship with regular communication. This relationship will allow the recruiter to get to know you, thus resulting in a more effective job search. The perfect job may not be out there immediately after you leave your current job, but your recruiter will know what is available and for what you’re best suited. Take some time to seriously analyze what you’re good at and what makes you happy on the job. What motivates you the most?

Some people change careers entirely after a job loss. Read some career guidance books such as Richard Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute? Earlier in my career, I took a career counseling exam. The results suggested that I was best suited for the military. Even though I did not enter the military, those who know me understand exactly why I got those results. Sometimes, some intensive self-examination can steer us in a surprising direction, and we end up happier in the long term. Job loss does not necessarily mean failure. It can mean several doors are opening, offering many opportunities—if you’re willing to look for them.

If you lose a job, allow yourself time to grieve. We invest a huge amount of time and effort in our careers and grieving over a lost job is normal. Do not let yourself think you’re a loser just because you are angry or sad over the loss of your job. These are normal phases of the grieving process. Keeping a journal can help because you can write down your feelings. Journals give you a way to vent your feelings without driving your family crazy. It’s important to regain your confidence for job interviews, and in order to do so, you’ll have to get through the grieving process.

Feel free to talk with your family about your feelings—but only your family or a career coach. Some people won’t want to listen, so forcing your feelings on them will lessen your confidence. Talk to those you trust and talk to those who love you and will help you regain your self-esteem. Take the time to sit down and perform a personal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Ask your family what they think your strengths are. Often the insight from a third party can help steer you in the right direction.

Devise a job search plan with realistic goals. Aim high enough to come out of the situation no further behind but not so high that you face repeated rejection. I’ve had a job loss that led to a much higher salary and working with much nicer people—a job loss does not mean the end of a career. Devote 40 hours per week to your job search by developing a strategy and targeting the employers that may have job opportunities. Keep the same schedule you had while working, so that you don’t develop bad habits prior to returning to work. There’s nothing worse than spending a month getting used to getting up early again. When I had lost a job and was searching for a new one, I made myself get up at the same time I would have gotten up for work but allowed myself to perform my job search research in my pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

And finally, know yourself well enough to know what your coping strategies are. Remember the last time you were really stressed and what you did to feel better. Some folks exercise when stressed, others take a bubble bath. I prefer a good book, where I can briefly escape from the pressures of the real world. Whatever the activity, allow yourself the time to engage in it often during your job search.

In the world of management, losing a job is a distinct reality. It is rare these days to find managers who have been department heads for 20 or 30 years. And remember, a job loss is not a failure—it’s an opportunity.

— Mindy Goldsmith, PhD, is director of radiology services at Bladen County Hospital in Elizabethtown, N.C.