For the tens of thousands who lost their jobs this year, and the millions of others fearing for the jobs they still have, YSN.com’s Jennifer Kushell shares these tips to survive the initial shock — and bounce back like a star.

1. Breathe. Stay calm.
The worst decisions are made under pressure, stress, or in a state of fear. Don’t allow yourself to be rash or irrational; keep your wits about you and commit to making it through this in one piece. Get a sense for what this layoff really means to you and what the real repercussions will be. Assess your safety nets: What are your back up plans? (All the way down to spending time with the folks in your worst case financial scenario.) Hopefully you’ve done enough to guard against that, and if so, take some solace in the fact that you’re prepared to weather a little uncertainty.

Links:
6 Steps to Survive Being Laid Off
Remember to Breathe
26 Steps to Stay Calm when the Situation Goes Bad
7 Powerful Relaxation Techniques

2. Look at this as an opportunity.
You know what they always say, “It’s not what happens to you, but what you do about it.” That might not be what you want to hear right now, but think about it: This sudden change could have a silver lining — so commit yourself to finding it. Take some time for yourself, even just a few quiet hours alone and reflect on all the things you truly liked and disliked about your job. What would you have done differently? Were you there because you had to be, or because you wanted to be? Ask yourself how you can now take the next step learning from your past experience. Is there a chance to take a step up? Or to change industries or careers entirely if you weren’t as happy as you wanted to be? So many times, abrupt changes like this are exactly what people need to get out of a rut and move on to something they’d really love to be doing.

Links:
Find that Silver Lining
Attitude is as Important as Skills

3. Audit your online identity.
Start paying close attention to your reputation management, to the platform that you’ve built for yourself online (if any) and to what new people will perceive about you when they google you. If you don’t like what you see online, or want to take control of that first impression you’re giving off, build a professional identity you can be proud of with a PROJO – your professional mojo. It’s a next generation resume/portfolio that you can share with contacts, add to/promote in your signature line, build out and keep up to date with your latest accomplishments to ensure that when someone searches for you, they find the “goods” on you, but the good!

Links:
Build your PROJO
Clean Up Your Online Act!
Manage Your Online Reputation

4. Stay connected to your network.
You probably have a lot more friends, colleagues and supporters than you realize. Survey your address books, PDA, business card files and social networks to see who’s really in your inner circle and wider network and who might be able to help lead you to some new prospective opportunities. Talk to friends and family and see who they know.

Then start reaching out to catch up with everyone you can. Befriend old friends online, shoot out a bunch of emails, even invite a few for coffee or drinks. Start talking to everyone you can! Ask your contacts who else you should be talking to, then reach out to them. Update your online profiles with the latest news and let people know that you’re actively exploring your options. This is not the time to hide out and wallow. Just make sure you force yourself to smile and at least appear to have a positive outlook for the future! Repeat the mantra to yourself: “onward and upward!”…until you believe it.

Links:
Keep Those Contacts!
Networking Your Way to a New Job

5. Assess your financial situation.
The first serious thing you need to do once you have the ability to think calmly and rationally (see #1) is to figure out the true state of your financial affairs. If you can, sit down with a financial consultant who will know how to ask you the right questions to get a proper assessment. Take a very careful look at any severance (if you’re lucky), benefits packages (like insurance policies, 401ks, etc.) that you may be able to “roll over” from your old company’s plan. (Take care of this right away too!)

Links:
Create a Budget — and Stick to It!
YSN Secrets #20: CAAAAASH

6. Ride the coat tails of senior execs.
If you’ve done a good job of befriending and staying tight with your bosses and other senior management, it might just pay off in real dividends now. Keep in close contact with them!!! The more connected they are, the faster they will probably find their next great opportunities and look to set themselves up for success in their new spot. When that happens, seasoned execs take quick steps to surround themselves with people they know and trust. They build teams from people they know — and that could include you! Make it known that you’re up for the new adventure if you are.

7. Use your leverage.
What can you do to leverage the experience you’ve had so far and the skills you’ve been building? What do you know that others want to? (Besides proprietary trade secrets!) How can you use what you’ve learned to your benefit and to others? You don’t have to play hardball or let your ego run wild to put your experience and expertise to work for you in a positive and proactive way. A great way to do this, and make some quick money, is to do some consulting work. Taking a few projects on will keep you in the game and buy you time to figure out your next move. Who knows, you might actually like it so much you decide to make it your new business!

Links:
Tips to Help You Stand Out in Your Profession
Learn to Understand Your Own Intelligence

8. Open yourself up to new opportunities.
Employment prospects or ideas you hear about from friends and relatives might not sound quite right at first, but give them a chance to explain — and yourself a chance to explore a bit. Don’t limit your attention to a very narrow set of options right after a layoff. Try to imagine yourself working in a whole new scenario and consider whether you might find happiness in some other industry or way than you’d previously envisioned. Ask a bunch of questions…even just to humor yourself. You might actually learn something you never expected or discover a connection to something that does actually fit you.

9. Stay healthy…or make this your big chance to GET healthy.
Whether you’ve been really diligent about taking care of yourself while employed or have totally forgotten what an athletic shoe feels like on your foot, make your health a major priority now. Take the time to sleep, get some fresh air, walk, run, do some yoga — whatever makes you feel your best. The endorphins will help a lot in bringing a smile and positive outlook to your face. You’ll also project more confidence as you go out to pursue other opportunities. You never know who you’ll meet along that run either!

10. Use this as preparation for the next big shake-up in your life.
Right now this might seem like the end of the world, but the good news is that if you can weather this storm, you’ll only be better prepared for the next one. Though we’d like to say this will never happen again, the truth is that life is a cycle of ups and downs, and preparation is the key to surviving it all.

If you are ready to look at the big picture, listen to our Secrets of the Young & Successful podcast series and create the life you’ve always dreamed about — no better time than the present! You can also come and talk to others about what’s happening to you in our discussion forum. You never know where the next great idea or opportunity is waiting…

Good luck!

If you’re starting to feel the “holiday blues” because you’re out of work or eager to change jobs, stress no more!  The holiday season offers a golden setting for you to meet new people and find opportunities before the New Year! Think about it: There are so many parties and gatherings happening this time of year that you can meet just about anyone you need to in order to advance your career or business! And best of all, you can do so in a casual, merry setting where people are ready to relax and socialize. Here are 5 ways to maximize your presence at those gatherings:

1. Take the opportunity to start a conversation with that agency VP you’ve been eager to meet. If you are the host, be sure to send invites to your important clients and the people you want to impress.

1. Find out if any of your friends are allowed to bring guests to their company’s holiday party, even if they don’t work in your desired industry. You never know what kind of connections you could make or who else might attend as a guest. Your friend’s coworker’s wife could work for the company of your dreams!

1. Find out if your local young professionals association or other industry/career organization is hosting a holiday event open to the public. It’s a great opportunity to meet, learn and network.

1. Keep things casual. Don’t delve into business talk now – use this time to establish a relationship with the person instead. Remember, the best jobs are never advertised, so by using your social savvy to make those important connections, that golden opportunity might just come across your desk when you least expect it!

1. Remember to bring your business cards, collect cards from others, or exchange contact information, and above all, follow up!

We at YSN are thankful for your readership, and wish you all the best this holiday season!

Heading home for the holidays can be stressful. Everyone wants to know what you’ve been doing with your life, how school or work has been going, if you’ve found someone special, and if you’re on a solid track.

Before you start sweating, here are three ways to prepare yourself for the conversations you don’t want to have at Thanksgiving, but most certainly will:

1. Think about the conversations you’re going to have and what you are going to say about the choices you’ve made. If you aren’t sure about your plans, don’t say “I have no idea what I’m going to do.” Instead, try “I’m actively exploring my options right now.” That kind of spin takes you from hopeless and lost to confident and proactive with some simple repositioning.

2. Know your audience and be aware of their “push” buttons. For example, your dad might care about how much money you’re making, while your mom might be more concerned about your happiness. Speak directly to their unique questions and concerns and they are sure to be more supportive.

3. Recognize what makes YOU happy and how you define success. Even though your definition of success may differ from others, it’s important to acknowledge the validity of all sides and respect how others might see the world – while impressing upon them how important it is for you to find a path of your own.

Remember, they love you. They don’t have to say it to mean it, and at the end of the day, they only want you to be happy.

Dealing with those less-than-supportive friends is an issue that few people talk about when it comes to dedicating your life to a startup. Having great friends around you for support is a must, but unfortunately, sometimes the people we love and expect to support us most can surprise us in adverse ways. Has this ever happened to you?

Look at the people you surround yourself with. Are they people who you respect? Do they motivate, stimulate or teach you? Do they discourage you, slow you down or get jealous about your successes? If they are uncomfortable with your lifestyle, fight you on your choices and influence you to make decisions that you later regret, you need to take a serious step back.

The wrong influences for an entrepreneur don’t necessarily have to be overtly “negative” to be counterproductive. Maybe you have friends who just don’t support what you do by not realizing how important your business is to you. Of course, the first thing you should do is to help them understand. But if that fails, there are a few things you can do to keep yourself on track:

• Remove, avoid or limit negative or counter-productive influences from your life.
• Don’t discuss business with people who don’t care or don’t want to understand.
• Surround yourself with people you admire and who motivate you.
• Read about other entrepreneurs who excite you.
• Accept the fact that you’re different. And be proud of that. You’ve worked very hard to get where you are. Don’t let anything or anyone chip away at your success or pride in it.

NETWORKING 301:

Contact Management
Once you start meeting a lot of great people, you’re going to need to keep track of them.  Get in the habit of collecting business cards and passing out some of your own.   Make notes on the back so when you get to your computer you can send new contacts a personal email about what you spoke about.  Store the cards in a box or binder, or better yet, scan them into a contact manager or online address book with notes to help you remember the person or conversation details.  Consider getting a cell phone that enables you to email your contacts and you’ll have all the tools you need to network like a pro.

Hosting Events
If you’re a student or still actively involved with your campus, invite the biggest people you want to meet to come speak.  If you’re involved in a professional or community organization you can use that platform the same way.  Invite influential people to visit and participate in worthwhile events. You can always host your own event independently too.  The more creative the hook the better.

Meeting Powerful People
When you start to become a power networker and meet some of the bigger people in business, make sure to adjust your paradigm accordingly.  They are people just like you, however, they command a different level of reverence based upon their experience.  Always be sensitive to their time and any other immediate demands on them, like speaking, appointments or a tight schedule.  Also recognize that their attention spans are going to be a lot tighter, so your conversation hook has to be strong and memorable. You’ve got to dazzle them with your confidence and poise.  Get your personal elevator pitch down tight for these too!  And don’t forget to always show respect to the gatekeepers – their assistants, staff, husbands/wives, or anyone else guarding their time and schedule.

Brand Yourself
When it comes to networking, whether you’re getting your feet wet or getting your groove on, never forget that you’re a brand too. Build it carefully and maintain it with the respect it deserves.  Go to YSN.com today to build your PROJO – “your professional mojo”, an online professional profile that you can be proud to share or have found by anyone of these great people you’re meeting. Take the YSN Assessment if you want to really pack a punch with any introduction or want to know how to position yourself in the most compelling way.

Written by, Jennifer Kushell

YSN – Expert Advice on Career Advancement and Tools for Professional Development