The 5 barriers to conquer in outplacement in order to obtain a new job.

Outplacement is a human resources oriented service provided by your ex-employer after your dismissal which you can follow at an outplacement or career management company.

The aim is normally to obtain a new job, appropriate to you and dealing with your talents if possible. There is nothing so devastating as having a job where your skills and capabilities are completely underestimated or extremely overestimated. The first leads to boring-out, the second to burning-out.

In order to find a new job you have to overcome 5 barriers. The metaphor is you, having a bicycle and riding in a landscape.

The first hill (question) you need to overcome is called: "Will I still be working or do I stop working?" If you answer "I still like to work" then you have to ride to the second hill. Otherwise you jump off the bicycle and go to retirement.

The second hill possesses the question: " In which direction will I go?" Otherwise said: " What kind of a job do I like to obtain and in which sector?"

If you cannot answer this question, it is in vain to start riding because today your direction points to north, tomorrow to south, etc...

Otherwise said, if you do not know which job you like to obtain, then it is impossible to start searching for a job. Yesterday you started looking for a job as a manager. Today you look for an employee job and tomorrow you go for a blue collar job. Going nuts will be the end result. You will find nothing and reach nothing.

Once you have decided what you're preferred job (read direction) will be, you can start searching for it (read riding to the third hill).

The third hill is called: "Looking for opportunities and vacancies." All kind of paths can be used to find vacancies and opportunities.

Within the internet-era it becomes more and more easy to find jobs, vacancies and opportunities (even global wide). What company and position suits you is however a completely other question.

The fourth hill is not a hill but probably, according to your preferred job and age and the area where you're living, a mountain you have to overcome.

The goal is here to obtain an invitation for an interview. You can find thousands of jobs and vacancies but do you get interviews?

The final hill and arrival is called: " Sell yourself!" You can have thousands of interviews but can you sell yourself? Are you able to talk yourself to a signed contract?

Now, this said, the goal of outplacement is to level the hills in such a way that you will obtain a flat track enabling you to cycle through the countryside efficiently and with the least amount of efforts.

In other words, the aim of outplacement is to level the difficulties and barriers enabling you to go through this job searching process easily and "expeditiously".

Therefore you will get a mix of information sessions (workshops) in group and individual coaching meetings with an assigned consultant.

The time scheduled for this task depends on the money spend by your ex-employer. It may be short, it may be long.