Reinventing Yourself After a Layoff

After being laid off for the third time, Joyce Mueller decided shed had enough.

As a United Airlines customer service and sales rep for 21 years, Mueller, of Schaumburg, survived 9/11 and the company's bankruptcy. But when her job was outsourced to the Philippines, she vowed that was the end of being bounced around by an up-and-down industry.

"I can't keep going back and getting laid off again," she said. "Its too hard to go forward with your life."

Looking to change careers, Mueller went to Harper Community Colleges Career Center in Schaumburg, which provides job-hunting help not just for students, but for anyone in the schools service area.

Like Mueller, more than 10 million Americans were unemployed this past year -- about 2 million more than the year before. More than half a million lost their jobs in November alone, making it the worst month in 34 years. Industries like housing construction, auto manufacturing and finance are contracting drastically.

Increasingly, career counselors say, workers in declining fields have to reconsider what they want to do with their lives.

While losing a job can be devastating, some local job seekers say finding a new career can be an opportunity to reinvent oneself.

The key to remaking yourself for the job market, experts say, is to assess your skills and interests, find a growing field that matches them best, then mold and market your skills to fit the needs of that industry.

Its happening all over. One local financial planner hopes to help people by going into health care. A former information technology manager is giving back by becoming an academic counselor for kids interested in IT.

Starting over can simply be a matter of retooling and emphasizing skills you have, or it may require new skills. The transformation might be quick or take years.

But consultants and job seekers emphasize...