Affected by RIF / off books 12/31/2015. Due to being advised in 10/2015 that my job was being eliminated, I started applying for jobs that following week. I was hired by a company bu 2/2016. During the end of the year, you're going to have challenges in getting an interview due to the start of fiscal budgets and possible year end hiring freezes.
On the upside, I started hearing back from companies in January. Here is some advise that I recommend to help those affected:
1: Take any and all help from anyone willing to assist you in procuring a job. May it be LHH (even though they are usually useless), use your contacts and ask them straight out for leads on a job.
2: Don't dwell on the negativity of the job you left. Seriously, let it go and take your experience with you. Also, know what you want salary and perk-wise. Dont have potential employers dictate what you should get. In other words, know your market value.
3: Use Linkedin. Use it to your advantage. There are some jobs that aren't posted anywhere else and sometimes exclusive to LinkedIn due to recruiters posting it directly.
4: Clean up your resume and keep it local and handy at all times. Same goes for your LinkedIn account.
5: Don't discount smaller companies. They have pros and cons as well and may have a different work dynamic when compared to a Fortune 100/500 company.
6: Don't be afraid to use a side skill from your old job as a launching point for a new job. The good thing about VZ was that it allowed you to explore other facets of the business. Hopefully you took advantage if this.
7: Seek out a recruiter for jobs you are looking for. It's pretty easy to do on LinkedIn. Don't bombard them, but introduce yourself professionally and present a taste of what you offer. Recruiters have to fill jobs and think of it as making their job easier for the month.
8: Seek out an independent placement recruiter/head hunter to do the work for you. Most do not charge you directly for this service, but will make it up on the commission and negotiation end with any potential employer. Follow up with them frequently and have them work for you.
Reposted from @WT9xiKl-ezf for excellent info.