Thermoforming Report

Leveraging Layoffs

Layoffs happen… for lots of reasons. If you’ve been around manufacturing long enough, you will know this firsthand – either as the one having to execute the layoff or the one impacted… or in some cases, both!

The question is, how can you leverage this event, as the one looking for a new opportunity or as a decision-maker seeking out new, hard-to-find talent? There are plans to make and steps to take for both scenarios!

I was Impacted!

One day, you are working. The next day you are not. You were laid off. Now you’re trying to figure out what to do next. The reasons really don’t matter – it could be any number of things. What matters is that you are a professional and in the unlovely position of looking for a new opportunity with a renewed – albeit forced – sense of urgency. You have responsibilities. Family. Mortgage. Bills. Your budget likely can’t take much downtime being out of a job. Lots of thoughts and questions are churning through your mind. [Check out June’s Blog to understand how I handled this scenario when it happened to me.]

When I was faced with this reality over 9 years ago, I thought about where my career had taken me, what I really enjoyed about my work, the things I was good at & why I was good at them, and considered opportunities and roads not pursued for whatever reason. This was a great exercise that really allowed me to think long and hard about my next step. I believe it was the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard that said that “life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”

Candidate: What’s My Plan?

Let’s all agree: Getting laid off sucks. What’s weird is that even if you hated the job or were considering looking for a new role, the impact of “We’re sorry but there’s been a layoff and you were impacted” still stings. And it is obviously much worse if you weren’t expecting to hear that painful statement! 

So, what now? First, you need to take some time to recover and protect yourself a bit. This is a great article on how to ensure you are moving forward and taking care of yourself mentally and emotionally. 

Now you need a plan. I strongly encourage thinking things through and not just doing a “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach.  There is a lot out there (including a book) that supports this approach, but, in my opinion, it is NOT valid when it comes to finding a new role and company. While I agree that the idea of getting going and making things happen is a good one, you do need to be cautious.  I have spoken with too many people who – after only being at a company for a short time – have shared, “I took the first opportunity without doing enough due diligence and am now needing a new role”. 

We dug into this in more detail in our April Thermoforming Report; I encourage you to revisit it as it highlights several key strategies to move forward via a structured approach. 

Whatever plan you make, you should rebound quickly. A recent CNBC article provides this advice from a Harvard Business School professor, Sandra Sucher, who studies layoffs: “There’s one thing that really matters to rebound in the job market: how you frame your narrative.” 

“People who fare best after having been let go are able to say and believe that this was a decision that the company made for economic reasons, and it does not have to do with my performance,” says Sucher. “The sooner you can get to the point of saying, ‘That’s on them and not me,’ the more positive mindset you’ll have.” 

CNBC article

Company: We Need Talent!

Leaders: Do you need someone to plug a key gap in your organization? Most likely, the answer is always YES!

Accessing talent is not easy in this market. It is a topic near and dear to my heart given what we do at Siena Group!  Taking advantage of niched external resources is an obvious choice. Are there other strategies that can support both our internal and external partners to expedite the search efforts? Yes, and that answer is knowledge and awareness. 

Being aware of the marketplace can dramatically assist your team in finding and scooping up new talent. If you were made aware that a thermoforming company was scheduled to shut down in your region, do you think it would be wise to reach out and snap up all those trained employees? Most certainly! 

This is not a revelation by any means. This kind of local and regional market information tends to be something known by the HR professionals in the area. Good companies work to help their employees transition quickly and work across organizations and chambers to make that happen. What is much harder is knowing what’s going on outside of your immediate vicinity. 

Company: What’s Our Plan?

Like pretty much everything else in your world, it takes effort, energy, and resources to come up with a plan and strategy to extend your reach. If you are looking to grow your business in a new part of the country, you tend to seek out and hire a sales professional with experience in that particular market to bring industry contacts and new business development, correct? Staying tuned into the thermoforming world beyond your borders means hiring an expert in the business (shameless plug for Siena Group!) or developing that capability internally. 

Here is the not-so-secret secret to doing this well: talking with people! One of the great things about working across the thermoforming world as I do is the privilege of talking with a variety of talent from all different backgrounds and disciplines. These conversations allow me to ask questions and learn about what’s going on. 

Additionally, there are several great resources out there that regularly publish news about the industry: Plastics News, Plastics Today, and SPE Thermoforming to name a few. Then there are trade shows that provide excellent networking opportunities – Med Device, Pack Expo, and so many other industry-specific conferences and events. 

Combining conversations, publications, and conferences enables someone to have key insights into when and where things are happening that could free up talent. 

Landing!

As expected, it boils down to having a solid approach and strategy. If you were laid off, be deliberate, think about your desired next step, create a plan, and move forward. If you are a leader in need of talent, know how you are going to tap into the broader market – either via an internal resource that is highly tuned in or with an external resource that knows the thermoforming manufacturing (and parallel industries) world. 

Now, go and get that new role or talent! 

As a talent recruiter, we represent clients AND candidates! We’re here to help in any and every way possible! We provide resume facelifts, job searches, client introductions, interview tips, and resignation strategies [read more in our Job Transition Tips blog]. Let’s Strengthen Your Search!