- Wise Words -
Breathe deep my friend,
​this is not the end of the world...
by mitchell kreuch

I was let go:  My company was on fumes and running out of money, the CFO’s financial shell game was catching up to us, we had few prospects for our next fund-raise and the only thing that the new CEO could do to show his strength and cut expenses was to sack the entire executive team… starting with me.  I was 50 years old, had 3 kids in college, little severance and no health insurance.  I was f&@#ed with a capital F.  

I’ve spent the better part of the last 25 years working in the highly volatile digital sector and have coached many early and late-stage professionals about the job search be it a new career or the horrible “in between time” after a lay-off, RIF or firing.  I’ve started dozens of conversations with one sentence:  “Just breathe deep my friend, this is not the end of the world...”

This time, I was forced to really dig deep, rethink my situation and recalibrate.  Over 5 months, I met with over 50 companies, came close to offers several times and heard "no" more times that I would have liked.  As a late-stager, the process was longer, the jobs fewer and the competition greater.  With that in mind, I put together a playbook based on my experience searching for my next act.  I don’t believe that any of the learnings below are unique to the stage of your career or the seniority of your position...they’re universal, however early or late-stage you are!

You

• Find your center of gravity:  Take time every day to reflect and retrench.  What have you learned?  What would you do differently?  Is there a different tack?  What can you do to broaden your perspective?  What are your priorities and non-negotiables?  If you don’t go into every meeting knowing what’s important to you and where you stand, you are not operating from a position of strength.
• Make time for you:  Take some time every day for yourself.  It breaks up the day, gives you some time for reflection and creates a much needed something to look forward to.  I walked my dog every afternoon and got into Bikram Yoga. Exercise and mindfulness are critical distractions.  If you’re so inclined, shock your system and do something to “reset” yourself:  I got a matching tattoo with my son.  Midlife crisis, maybe?  No, definitely. 
• Find your weight class:  I’ve played bigger with every opportunity and have a resume that demonstrates increasing responsibility and job scope.  When I finally “got to where I thought I should be,” I was miserable. In fact I was unhappy for the better part of a 10 year span. Lesson learned, identify your top 5 priorities and build your next opportunity around them.
• Time is your enemy:  Time literally flies.  You will look at your calendar thinking it’s the beginning of the week and realize it’s not only Wednesday but you have nothing scheduled next week.  Understand the value of time... book meetings, coffees, etc... as far out as you can.
• It’s ok to be afraid:  You will, at some point, be afraid of the future and begin to doubt yourself.  It’s ok, acknowledge it and move on.  Fear builds courage and resiliency.
• Over-communicate with your partner/spouse:  This is critical because as scary as this is for you, it is worse for them.  Be open and honest about where you are in your search, what you want to do next and what your plan is.  I shared a calendar with my wife so she knew what I was up to (and didn’t ask me every 15 minutes about my progress).  This level of transparency will pay dividends long-term.

Your Network

• Your past is not forgotten:  Pimp your network.  You will be surprised by how willing old contacts and friends are to help you out.  I once sheepishly reached out to a recruiter who had been calling me for years who I never called back...his response was “I’ve been waiting for this phone call for two years!”  He immediately put me in front of two potential opportunities.
• Networking 101:  Never leave a networking meeting without another name or referral to another company.   That’s what networking is, right?
• You will know who your friends are:  Lean on your friends; find touchstones or those who you can always call or grab a coffee with when you need to fill some time.  You’ll find out quickly who your friends really are.
• Pay it forward:  Throw a life raft to a friend.  Help a recruiter expand their network.  Grab coffee with an early-stage professional.  You never know when you’ll need to call in that favor so give them out while you have the time.

Companies

• How companies interview are a reflection of who they are:  Go into an interview as you would a blind date - It’s a testing relationship.  You’re going to be at your best when you interview and the company is as well.  If a company feels or smells funny, it is.  Unless part of your job offer is unlimited time, budget and span of influence, you are not going to change the DNA of crappy company. Believe me, I have tried.
• Companies have no soul:  This is one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from my father on the day he layed off over 650 people during a downsizing at his bank.  It stuck with me and I’ve always had it in the back of my mind.  Assume the crash position, expect the worst when it comes and don’t get caught off-guard by it.  As bad as you think the company will treat you on the way out, it will be worse.
• Prepare for disappointment:  This transition is not easy.  Companies suck and have no soul, people don’t respond to you as quickly as you would like as you’re going through the interview process - you’re operating on their time.  Recruiting is not the hiring manager’s full time job and you have little ability to impact that priority.  

The Search

• Every meeting is a learning experience:  Do a personal debrief after every meeting:  What did I learn?  What would I have done differently? 
• Take notes and follow up promptly:  Take notes in every meeting:  It shows interest and will give you fodder for your follow up.  And for god's sake have a nice notebook.  Nothing screams unprepared more than a scrap of paper and a borrowed pen!  When following up, email is great, but hand-written notes are better. 
• No doesn’t always mean no:  You’d be surprised what happens.  When I met with one company they told me after the interview that they were down the road with another candidate, it was great meeting me, thank you very much... I followed up two weeks later and believe it or not, that candidate had turned them down.  The recruiter hadn’t even thought about calling me back.  It was my follow up that got me on the radar, fast-tracked and ultimately hired.  
• One day at a time, one meeting at a time:   It’s a long game and you should end every meeting by asking what the next steps are and who you are meeting with next.  Know what the process and timeline is and, most importantly, get that next meeting.
• Stop hitting reload:  If you find yourself constantly checking your email, voice mail, text messages and LinkedIn...stop, redirect your attention and find another focus.  Hitting reload does not make it happen, you do.
• Walk to your meetings:  Clear your head, get focused and play out the interview in your head.  Side benefit, you’ll be getting your steps in for the day!

Go gettem’...

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Related columns: "Layoffs. The Afterlife" and "Chutes & Ladders: Career Ups and Downs"

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Mitchell Kreuch is an experienced digital media executive and currently works at Twitter (@mkreuch) in the Global Agency Development team with responsibility for the WPP group of agencies.
He has worked at start-ups as well as multi-billion dollar businesses such as Yahoo!, Disney and Gannett in various Sales, Operations and Partnership roles.  Prior to Twitter he was CRO and interim-CEO  at Kinetic Social.

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In the first 5 years or so of your career?  Want actionable career advice?  Buy Early Stage Professional: starting off right, the no nonsense professional skills book designed so that everyone can succeed in the workplace! 

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Finances: Retirement Saving (2)
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People & Teamwork: Networking Simplified
People & Teamwork: Teamworks as Leadership
Speedbumps: Chutes & Ladders
Speedbumps: Layoffs. The Afterlife
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Work Life: Business Travel Guide
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Work Life: Difficult Situations
Work Life: Focus on Fiyah!
​Work Life: Ghosting
Work Life: International Remote Working
Work Life: Pre-Vacation Checklist
​Work Life: Start-Up Glamor
Work Life: Stress Management
Work Life: Take a Walk
Work Life: Unlimited Vacation
Work Life: Welcome the Newbies
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Taking Vacation
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Working Outside Office Hours
​How to prepare for One/Ones
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Be Your-professional-self
Staying Positive

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The Application Letter 
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Informational Interviews 
Taking a Shortcut: Using Your Network 
Dealing with a Low GPA
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The Job Interview
Interview Questions
Questions You Should Ask
Simulations 
Interviews with Other Applicants
Dealing with References
Negotiating Your Salary
How to Resign (if you already have a job)
​The First Week
You Don't Get the Job: Getting Feedback
​Keeping Motivated Through the Search

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