By Sarah Schafer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 20, 1998; Page F09

Times are good. Unemployment is low. And skilled labor is in high demand. Of course, if you've just been laid off, all of this only makes your situation more humiliating – and bewildering.

If you're young – twenties or thirties – you're probably even more depressed. Unlike your older colleagues, you're probably one of the few people in your group of friends who has been downsized. In fact, while you may be the only one in your group, you're not alone: 652,000 people between the ages of 20 and 34 were laid off from 1993 to 1995, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent data. These were workers who were let go because their positions were eliminated or because there was not enough work to keep them on.

Marilyn Goldman, a career counselor and licensed therapist, has worked with hundreds of young people who have been laid off. "I have to really get into making them feel they didn't do something wrong and deal with their feeling of being rejected," she said.

Goldman, president of Washington-based Horizons Unlimited Inc., said the worst case she has seen occurred 15 years ago. A young man who had been laid off from his job suffered a nervous breakdown.

While there probably were other circumstances involved,

Goldman said that "if someone's in a really devastating position with no support system, psychologically, [getting laid off] can really wreak havoc."

Feeling alone in your misery? The folks mentioned below have been or are in your position. Read on for some moral support.

Showcase Achievement in the Best Light

Now Goldschmidt, who has been in the marketing field since her first job, considers herself a comeback pro, and she has advice for other victims of restructuring.

Goldschmidt said her strategy after the first layoff was to rest up for her next job search. She had been working as an assistant marketing manager for a wholesale package-vacation firm in Chicago. After four months on the job, a new manager eliminated her position.

Having just spent the better part of a year job-hunting, Goldschmidt was not eager to rush into another search. Instead, she moved back to her parents' house in Michigan and began collecting unemployment, doing nothing work-related for about a month.

Goldschmidt said she had no qualms about receiving unemployment and thinks others should do the same if they don't have any savings to rely on. "I knew it was something I had been paying into and something I deserved," she said. "You lean on your family and friends more than you ever would otherwise." Taking unemployment helped to lessen the dependence, which she thought was one of the hardest things to endure.

Goldman, who worked with Goldschmidt after her third layoff, said she often plays cheerleader for her clients to keep them from breaking down. One of her tips: Write down your accomplishments.

Better yet, said, Goldschmidt, if you were laid off because of a restructuring, have one of your superiors give you a letter of recommendation. Give it to your interviewer when the awkward question comes up about why you left your last job.

Goldschmidt's first boss had her write the letter and then signed it, giving Goldschmidt the perfect opportunity to boost her own ego. Having the letter will make interviewing easier, even though those doing the questioning are older and usually understand the situation, Goldschmidt said.

Goldschmidt's second layoff occurred at a fledgling telecommunications firm that started losing money.

"You tell [the interviewer] you worked at a start-up telecom company and you don't need to go any further than that," she said, "I'm in marketing, so I tried to put a positive spin on it. I really did walk away with some amazing skills."

Eventually Goldschmidt landed a contract marketing position for MCI Communications Corp. with the promise that she would move into a permanent position. Again, bad luck struck and her department eliminated all of its contract workers. "I waited a week and a half to tell my parents that time," said Goldschmidt, who feels sure this type of thing won't happen at her new company. "Believe me, I checked out everything."

Cultivating a Network of Colleagues

"I was blind-sided by this," said 33-year-old Stephen DeWitt, a former project associate at a leading public affairs firm.

It usually happens in public relations and public affairs where jobs often are short-term and the client base is always changing. You might get more sympathy from the higher-ups in such instances, so use it to your advantage.

For example, when DeWitt's company told him he was being laid off, he was given the option of leaving immediately or staying on for one month. Either way he'd be paid for that month. He decided to stay. "They didn't really expect me to do any work," he said, adding that this helped him in several ways.

For that month DeWitt could leave the job's time period open-ended on his resume. That way, prospective employers wouldn't immediately see that he was out of work. Of course, he said, he was always truthful about the situation when asked.

DeWitt also was able to conduct his job search using the company's equipment. "I still have use of my e-mail and voice mail," he said, though he has been out of the office since July 1.

If you no longer have access to your office, you might want to work out of a friend's house during the day to conduct your job search, DeWittsaid. He chose a friend who worked all day and who had a computer. Going to his friend's house feels like going to a job every day. "It keeps me motivated," he said.

DeWittalso said it was helpful to call colleagues who had left his old firm. The fact that in his field "everyone's trying to open doors helps a lot."

Don't Get Hit by the Door on the Way Out

After her session, she said, the managers gave her three minutes to gather her belongings and leave the building. When she returned to her desk, she said, "I was already locked out of my computer."

Many companies act in a similar manner when laying off workers. Andrew Hausman, 24, said he has a good way to handle this. Hausman, who was laid off from the American Chemical Manufacturers Association, knew the company was reducing its staff. Just in case, he prepared an e-mail message on how to reach him after he left the company. The next day he was laid off and given only a few minutes to gather his belongings. He said had just enough time to hit the send button on his e-mail.

O'Brien's job was eliminated when a new president took over.

She thinks the change at the top was the reason she was let go. David Barnes said the association was trying to cut costs to balance the budget.

Either way, being part of the former boss's network had its perks – he called friends, who helped O'Brien get several interviews.

The layoff turned out for the best. Within a month O'Brien landed a job at a Washington-based speakers bureau. "I'm so much happier now," she said.

Questions on getting ahead? E-mail Sarah Schafer at schafers@washpost.com.