What do you do if you're a PR professional facing challenges reentering the job market after a layoff?

Being downsized is hard so one must create opportunities one might never had otherwise. I became a volunteer Public Information Officer for my local Medical Reserve Corp and maintain the role more than a decade later! I have been able to keep many skills current as a result as well as learn many others. Additionally, I returned to University to earn many new certifications to contribute to my skill set. I found these energizing activites a great way to give back, network and make the "pause"worthwhile!

I have found Upskilling and networking to be the most important steps in finding and being prepared for new opportunities. Luck is the intersection of opportunity meeting preparedness.

As far as updating a resume: - actually update it: look for some new design, think about what type of message you want to convey with the design, and be concise. I will always remember the advuce of a head of Cabinet of a former French PM: ''his resume is all in less than a page, yours can't be two''. - your best resume is your experience, the people you worked with, whether colleagues or partners. They have seen you and they are by far your best asset. Let them know you are actively searching without sounding desperate.

A good PR professional rarely stays unemployed :-) However, situations might differ. So, whatever your status is, boost your personal brand as well. Social media is a great place for that. Share your expert takes on current industry trends or highlight your current employer's PR activities. Comment on your friends' posts and tell about your challenges and your ups and downs. Ultimately, PR people are, well, people — so don't be afraid to show the human side of yours. It is exactly what many PR specialists lack, that is, showing their true self behind the corporate mottos and communication plans. We live in the era of the new sincerity, so it's never too late to say what you think.

The narrative is key. Think about someone who's never been in the inside of how and why you got laid off. They don't know, and truth is even if they ask about it, they don't want to know. Never lie, but stay positive. Find a narrative that explains positively that you are active in the new direction your career is about to take. That it's about you making conscious decisions more than you undertaking any step. Show the logic/consustency of the profile and your professional journey. Your reputation or work ethics probably preceede you by now, and if it doesnt make sure it does. All that speak way more than what you can actually say of the reasons why you got laid off, or the justifications you might want to give

Have coffees. It's at the cross roads of many if not all of the pieces of advice that you have hereabove. But it can allow to do it all at the same time in a condensed timeframe: - work on the narrative & prepare your mind - be positive - prepare job interviews - actually have one - network and meet new people All of that in a nice casual athmosphere that is more prone to interpersonal professional connections than any of the phone calls, emails, or texts. You're non verbal communication: smile, body langage, eye contact, hands gesture, a handshake, conviction... it all goes through. And it's a game changer. A coffee can change your life.