You lost your job. You’re tired of that field anyway, so now you’ve decided to go back to school for new skills and make a career change. It’s a wonderful idea to want to better oneself and a sound one that makes sense—in an ideal world. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to learn and advance in one’s education. But before you take out that hefty loan for a certificate program and have a debt hanging over your head with no job prospects, consider some valuable tips:

Make sure the school is accredited by your state education department and is on the Eligible Training Provider List of your state’s labor department website. This means that the school had to meet certain important criteria and be validated.

Don’t go by hearsay as to employment opportunities. National labor statistics tell you that certain fields are growing. It’s important to remember that these statements are overall projections for the entire country and often do not and cannot take into consideration wild fluctuations due to the economy at any given time. The local regional reality for your desired field may be much different from those reports. Talk to people employed in your desired field. They offer the best reality-check. While labor stats may say one thing about how the medical field is proliferating in opportunities, local hospitals are laying off all professional levels like crazy and closing their doors in some cases.

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(Note: If you missed Part 1 of “The Unexpected Phone Call”, read it here.) Most people feel they can count on a reference from a previous employer to help them secure a position with a new employer.  The longer you are part of the work force; however, the greater the chances are that you left at least one employer on unfavorable terms.  What can you do when a potential employer calls your previous employer and receives unfavorable information about your performance?

If the information passed on is malicious, there may be legal recourse; however pursuing a legal remedy takes time and money. Both are resources you may lack, especially if you have been out of work for several months. Sometimes, finding a simple solution is better than seeking a more complex one.

My point is as follows: it is imperative that you choose your references carefully. A poor relationship with a former supervisor can be a major obstacle to re-employment. By choosing dependable references (and possibly give your prospective employer a “heads up” regarding conflicts with a previous supervisor), you can turn the odds for re-employment back in your favor.

Last time, Beverly (or Bev for short) received a call from an individual at her previous position.  Although Bev was sure that her former boss, Mary, would give her a good reference, Bev found out that it was, in fact, Mary who was sabotaging her job search.  How would Bev conquer this problem?  Please read on…

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(Writer’s Preface) I have gone through a great deal of ups and downs in this experience we call job search.  The one I am writing about today does not belong to me; it belongs to one of my network contacts.  I made some minor changes to preserve the anonymity of those involved.  I felt, however that my contact’s experience is worth sharing.  Although I would not wish this experience on anyone, it shows how one of the worst obstacles to re-employment can be resolved. 

The Unexpected Phone Call:  Part One

It was a Friday Morning during the month of March.  Beverly (most of her friends call her Bev) was starting her day.  She was unemployed for eight months, and never expected her time between jobs to last this long.  Bev was never one to give in to persecution complexes; however she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone out there was inhibiting her attempts at re-employment. 

During the past months, Bev had several interviews; however the result was always the same.  She would be called in for a first interview, and in most cases she would be given a follow up interview.  Bev would always e-mail thank you letters and follow up with every prospective employer.  Despite her follow up calls, Bev would not receive responses from many prospective employers, even when they promised to give her a fast answer about the position she applied for.  Eventually, some employers told her that the position she applied for was filled, and refused to give any further details.  Bev would always ask follow up questions as to why she did not get the job, however she never received any information that would point to a specific reason.

On this particular morning Bev would discover the main reason why she never received employment offers…

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I felt like I just had to get away from things for awhile.  I found myself driving down to Florida.  I don’t know why I decided to take this journey, however here I am, travelling south on a four lane highway.  I noticed the speed limit was 65 MPH.  When I travel unfamiliar roads I always make it a point not to exceed the posted speed limit.  However there was something strange going on.  I glanced at my speedometer.  I was going exactly 65 MPH.  I was in the left lane and all the other cars were driving much slower.  “Why is everyone driving at least 20 MPH slower than I am?” I thought as I them.

   It was at that point I noticed a police car on my tail.  His sirens started blaring and I moved to the right lane. The policeman signaled me to pull over.  Why was he pulling me over?  Was I doing anything wrong?  I slowly moved my car off to the side of the road and shifted the car into park.  As the policeman asked for my license and registration, I asked him if there was any problem.

  “Didn’t you see how fast you were going?” the officer asked in a demanding tone.

  “Officer, the posted speed limit is 65MPH.  That’s how fast I was going”, I responded

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Ugh. Those dirty words: Layoff. Jobless. Unemployed—dirty words for any reason, season and situation.

How painful it must be when those who used to be the ones behind the desks doing the hiring now turn into the ones now scrambling to grab interviews. Desperate clients surprise me when they tell me, “I used to read resumes and interview people—and now I have no idea how to interview—now that I am out of work!”

Yikes. Imagine that. How could this be?

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What a preposterous statement! How can you give a good interview and be detached? After all is said about being aware of the interviewer and the dynamics, researching the company, breaking the brain to give the best answers to questions that you often don’t know what answers they seek from you, and so on, it’s a herculean thing to be asked to do by this employment counselor! Detachment is an enigma when told to prepare for the interview and you naturally feel “nervous.” But it’s really about balance.

When we hear the word, detachment, we might think of a mystic somewhere high up in the mountains of Tibet, or someone getting high from drugs. Detachment could apply to snobs or those who suffer mental illness, or just to those folks who couldn’t care less.

But the kind of detachment I believe we need for a successful interview is a detachment from self-consciousness. Practice detachment from your insecurity of being “judged.” Otherwise, you will freeze up or present yourself in a stilted manner. Insecurities turn into obsessions if nurtured too much.

Many adults come to me, some in tears, who have been laid off from their jobs and the reason for those tears is not just the frustration of job loss and subsequent rejections in cyberspace and beyond—although those reasons certainly are qualifiers—but from not knowing what to say on an interview. They hit a blank wall and dead end and all they see and feel is fear of the unknown. These same people at least once before gave a successful interview because they were hired! What happened?

On the way to their next job, they were detoured by frustration and inadequacies. Some may have told themselves they are no good because they were laid off. They don’t know if they can adapt to a new workplace, master new skills and many times they don’t want to! So they nurture fear and resistance that keeps them from greeting their next opportunity. They think, “What if I say something wrong?” or “What if they don’t hire me?” Or dozens of other “what-if’s.”

You’re either going to get the job, or you won’t. That’s all that will happen. If you don’t, know that there are factors that may not even have anything to do with your performance or background which you may never find out.

We need to get ourselves out of the picture and just concentrate on what we can do for the next employer. That’s all…Just go on the damn interview and whether good or bad, just let it go…

To me, pre-job interview and post job behavior, is one and of the same. There will be things we don’t like about an establishment where we have to fit in and sometimes lose our uniqueness to a team effort and some places are mismanaged or not managed at all. Bosses can be creepy, coworkers a drag, work a bore and so on. But somehow, some way, I believe we need to maintain a kind of detachment that makes us impervious to rejection or frustration even after we get the job. Some days we just have to take it as it comes and go with the flow to ultimately succeed. We might like to make our mark, leave our signature and be catalyst to much-needed change, leaving the workplace a better place than before we came. But sometimes a job is just a job and we learn to ride out the crappy times, balance out life and get our “jollies” elsewhere.

-By The Job Enthusiast