TheJobBored.com

We all know that when you’re fired or laid off from a job, you can’t take it all with you.

You’ve got your pictures and the tschotskies you have on your desk, and that’s about it. Your memos, your business practices, even the very files on your computer might belong to the company and not to you. That’s the company’s intellectual property, not yours. Even if you came up with it yourself, any “innovations” belong to your boss.

If you have a particularly draconian boss, you might even have a security guard assigned to watch over your shoulder to make sure you don’t make off with anything you shouldn’t.

But there is one resource they can’t stop you from taking with you. It’s YOUR intellectual property, and lucky for you, it’s the most valuable thing you can walk away with.

Yes, I’m talking about your contacts.

The people you know, the connections you’ve made and nurtured… even the a client list. No one can stop you from jotting down someone’s phone number or email address.

And your list of contacts is the most valuable resource you’ll have for getting a new job.

Like they say in my favorite movie, these are the Glengarry leads and they are gold. Anyone you’ve befriended or met in the course of your previous job can be the gatekeeper to your next job. This includes:

• Co-workers
• Member of other divisions
• People you met on the company softball team
• Contacts at other companies
• Vendors
• Suppliers
• Clients
• Even contacts at competing companies.

I won’t belabor the point again, but yes, networking is the best way to find a new job. And the best network of contacts you have is your list of work contacts.

So if you feel a layoff coming, take a piece of paper out and transcribe all the entries in your inbox and address book.

If they’re walking you out the door and you grab for nothing else, grab for your rolodex.

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