Career Counselor Offers Tips For Landing A New Job

This year's record number of layoffs -- 1.12 million in the first eight months -- are climbing ever higher. To increase your chances of getting a new position with the same, or even greater, pay after you have been laid off, Richard Bayer, COO of career counseling organization, the Five O'Clock Club, New York, offers several suggestions. First, avoid discussions of personal financial problems or your inability to find work. Instead, stay up-to-date about your profession so you have constructive topics to discuss. Second, you can quickly stop any discussion of 'what have you been doing' -- provided you don't just pursue job opportunities one at a time but can discuss six to 10 possibilities you are exploring. Third, postpone any discussion of pay until you actually have a job offer: The person who names a salary number first usually loses. And, if a prospective new employer asks why you lost your job in a downsizing, be brief, concise, and avoid details. Then add quickly that you are interested in doing the same kind of work again.