Guide offers RIF survival tips

After being laid off twice in three years, Karen Okulicz learned a thing or two about life for the downsized, laid off, axed, and let-go. She learned about the job-hunting hassles, the resume-writing ruts and the budget belt-tightening that are staples of life after the pink slip. Another thing Okulicz learned was how people feel when they become unemployed: Rejected, isolated, and worthless.

So, Okulicz wrote a book, Try! - A Survival Guide to Unemployment, to inspire the recently downsized to put a positive spin on their bad luck.

"When you're laid off, you're going to feel sorry for yourself," Okulicz said in an interview. "I tell people, 'It's not your fault. This is bigger than you. This is a national problem. This is a global problem.'"

In Try!, Okulicz faces the Downsizing Decade with a positive attitude, although she confesses that the first time she was laid off, she was not all smiles and confidence.

"My first time out, I went through many, many emotions," Okulicz writes in her book. "Mostly, I was angry. Having worked so hard in helping to build a new business, I was confused and frustrated that my efforts did not pay off for me."

Now Okulicz has developed some tips for surviving unemployment:

• Don't isolate yourself. Surround yourself with positive people and listen to their insights. Have lunch with former colleagues to network. Take advantage of outplacement services, join local business organizations and attend job-hunting seminars.
• Volunteer. To see if you might be interested in a new career, volunteer at an organization in that field. You may find the work fascinating; you may find you never want to go into that field.
• Analyze yourself. Make a wish list outlining the characteristics of your dream job.

Okulicz took her own advice. She started her own business, K-Slaw, Inc., published the book, and started speaking at career transition seminars. She also hosted and produced a radio show on careers. Okulicz tells people to keep an open mind about the options open to them.

"The first time I was laid off, I sent out 978 resumes," Okulicz said. "That is one way, but that is not the only way."