Use All Your Benefits – Including Outplacement Services

Have you been laid off? Your company’s benefits might extend above and beyond holidays and even other flashy perks, like free health checks and extended holidays. Many companies offer outplacement services to help laid off employees transition more smoothly into new roles.

And if your former company is offering you outplacement assistance, you should take it. It’s free access to careers counselling services that could make all the difference when it comes to landing a new job. It’ll give your job search a sense of structure, direction, and purpose that can help you stay optimistic during your period of unemployment, and can help you get a new job much faster than you might on your own. You can get help with your CV, cover letter, and other materials – you can even get access to skills training and counselling to help you decide the direction in which you want to take your career. Read on to learn more.

Give Your Job Search a Sense of Direction

A job loss is one of the most stressful things that can happen to a person. Losing your job can leave you reeling as you wonder how you’re going to make ends meet and what you’re going to do about finding another job. In times of economic uncertainty, it’s often cold comfort to realize that many others are going through the same thing. In fact, if most companies are downsizing and laying people off due to a recession, it can be even harder to face the job search, because you’ll do it knowing that open positions are thin on the ground.

But outplacement services can help you keep your head in the game so you can find another job faster. They’ll give you the structure and support you need to get right back out in the job market instead of nursing your wounds at home. You’ll get to meet with career counsellors who can look over your CV and other materials, and help you refresh them if it’s been a while since you’ve job hunted. You can practice and polish your interview skills. You can get access to job opportunities you might not be able to find on the usual job boards. Participating in your company’s outplacement services will help you feel more confident about your job search, and that confidence will come through in the way you engage with hiring managers and recruiters, boosting your chances of getting another job quickly.

Get Careers Counselling Services

Don’t be one of those people who just drifts aimlessly from one job to the next, letting your career unfold at random until it’s time for retirement. Now that you’re unemployed, you have some time to think about where you’d like to go in your career – and if you use your company’s outplacement services, you can work with a career counsellor to figure out what direction you want to go in your career and take charge of your professional life, so your career unfolds purposely, not haphazardly.

Careers counselling can give you a better understanding of your own skills and weaknesses, which can be important if you’ve been in your job for a long time. You can figure out what skills training or other education you might need to make yourself more marketable, move up into a more advanced role, or even switch careers entirely.

Maybe you’re leaving an executive role and don’t know where to look for another one. Many companies offer more detailed and strategic executive outplacement services to help executives get access to the considerably smaller pool of jobs open at that level. You can even get access to office space and assistants to help you in your executive job search.

Take Your Career to the Next Level

If you’re like most job-seekers, the biggest obstacle between you and your next position – even a more advanced position – is not knowing how to sell yourself. A layoff can be an opportunity to move into a more senior role with another company, but only if you know how to seize that opportunity. Outplacement services offer the careers counselling you need to fully understand yourself as a professional and learn how to accurately and confidently sell your skills at the interview table.

If your company offers you outplacement services when you’re laid off, you should take them. You’ll get free careers counselling services that will help you find another job faster. You could even get a better position than the one you lost.