Tips for downsized Marketers

Many marketers have been downsized in the past year. Having done some recent hiring I have become keenly aware of the volume of high-caliber marketers out there looking for jobs. BTW-I have also been through a downsizing (I can relate).

Here are some tips for Downsized Marketers:

1) Don't panic - It may take sometime to find that next job but it is out there
2) Scale back on unnecessary expenses
3) Avoid cashing in your 401k look at other sources for income first
4) Write down a game plan
a) List all of the people in your network (you may already have these in LinkedIn)
b) If you aren't on LinkedIn set-up an account now (it is free and a great job search tool)
c) List family and friends (these are also part of your network)
d) Develop an email that can be forwarded to prospective employers (via your network)
5) Set-up a goal to have lunch/coffee with 4 people per week in your network
6) Contact employers(hiring managers) you wish to work for - don't wait for a job posting
7) Do some consulting/freelance work - This will provide you new experiences, generate some cash and also fill in the "employment gap" while you are looking.
7) Create a personal website - Network Solutions provides a template format and url for $125/yr
8) Create an email address tied to your new website (e.g. david.gee@geecreative.com)
9) Search job boards:
* Big Shoes Network - (great resource in Wisconsin, Illinois, Wisconsin). BSN is focused on marketing and advertising only and top firms are using it to recruit. bigshoesnetwork.com
* LinkedIn - Good business social-networking tool
* Marketingjobs.com - A pretty good resource although jobs are limited
* Direct Marketing Association - Good source but many DM jobs only. the-dma.org
* Marketing Ladder - Set-up mainly for $100k+ marketing jobs - marketing-jobs.theladders.com
* American Marketing Association - marketingpower.com
* Sites such as Monster,CareerBuilder do have some solid jobs but tend to less-focused and everyone else is looking there too.
10) Spend time with your family - you will probably not get a break like this again.

Hang-in there....you will find a great opportunity

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful '09.

Dave

www.salessherpas.com