Laid Off? 5 Ways to "Slash" Your Way Back to Work
By Nancy Mann Jackson for Glassdoor.com
Last month, more than 165,500 people were laid off in the United States, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of those job losses were part of mass layoffs; some 391 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector alone. A look at national headlines shows that layoffs continue and aren’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
If you are (or suspect you might become) one of the unlucky laid-off American workers, it might be a good time to consider diversifying your income sources. In her book “One Person/Multiple Careers,” Marci Alboher popularized the term “slasher” for those who can’t answer the question “What do you do?” with a single word or phrase. For the book, she interviewed hundreds of people pursuing multiple careers simultaneously, from lawyer/chefs to surgeon/playwrights and mom/CEOs, and found that many of today’s most fulfilling lives are the ones filled with slashes.
While some people prefer “slashing” to maintain control of their own work lives and keep things interesting, others resort to working in various jobs out of necessity. Even if slashing isn’t your first choice for a career, now might be a good time to open your mind to the possibilities. Here are five ideas to help you start the process of finding your own potential slash career:
1. Write thank you notes. When dealing with a layoff, gratitude may not come naturally. But Alboher says it’s a good time to send handwritten thank you notes to the people who have helped you in your career thus far. You never know; touching base with supportive people from your past may
