Reply to Laid off. Have now been rejected by three jobs I'm qualified for with a form letter.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]When I was laid off, I took three days to recover:
Day 1 was drinking and venting to friends
Day 2 was filing for unemployment and taking care of things like that
Day 3 I went for a hike.

Then I applied for 5 jobs every day, six days a week. In addition to that I spend a few hours a day to improve my resume, reach out to contacts, got in touch with my university alumni office for career counseling. And in the evenings I took some free or cheap ($15) Udemy courses to brush up on skills that were in demand. 
I got interviews by the second week and two offers by the third week. I was laid off October 2020 and by Thanksgiving, I had a job offer with a start date. I got to coast through the holidays and start after the new year.

This whoever was when tech jobs were hiring like crazy. The tech recession has stabilized a bit but don’t expect hiring like that for a few years. What you need to do is find the industry that is hiring and apply your skills to that industry. Brush up on any skills gaps you might have.

My unemployment schedule looked like this:
Monday through Saturday
8AM-12PM job applications and interviews
12 lunch
1-3pm resume work, cover letter improvement, finish up any more applications 
3pm break
4-6pm Networking, researching for more openings
6pm dinner
7-10pm Take Udemy courses

I did not have kids or any other obligations. The first two months are key because when severance and savings dry up you may have to start taking on temp work and that will get in the way of your search, especially if it’s unrelated to what you want to be doing.

Good luck. It’s grueling but doable. It happens to the best of us. Recessions happen, restructuring happens, and you can rage about the cruelty of capitalism all you want (I certainly do) but we are all players in this game and it’s sink or swim. [/quote]

Just curious, but how did your resume need two hours per day of work?[/quote]

I had separate resumes and cover letters intended for different types of jobs. I ended up with about six different versions. I also had a resume format and a one-page CV and a version that was aesthetically pleasing vs. one that was plain and simple, and so on. [/quote]

This.  [u]EVERY[/u] resume and cover letter needs to be custom to the job ad.  It takes time.  
Use bullets in both to your advantage.  If the ad says "we want x skills" then, on your cover letter, create a bullet, add the x skill (embolden and underlined) and write a paragraph why you excel at that skill.  Give the reviewer what they want to see! 
Also, use data.  If you have x skill, then include stats that show how you use that skill to help the company ("My x skills allowed me to increase sales by 10% during my first year").
And you never know when you're going to be laid off or up for a promotion so start documenting your impact with that data. 
Take control of your career as if your were a consultant or contractor and need to continually prove yourself.  
[b]You're worth it![/b][/quote]

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