Laid Off? What to Do with Your Resume

I appreciated this timely LinkedIn article on crafting your resume post-layoff. These points directly apply to lawyers:

1. Think about what job you want next. Take a little time “to reassess your career and determine what direction you’d like to go in.” Also, process any bitterness so there is no trace of it when you start interviewing. (Employers run from burnt out, bitter lawyers.)
2. Don’t just take your old resume and start shooting it out. Instead, tailor the resume to the job you want. You likely will have to rearrange the order of bullets and add key metrics. This updated resume should “tell your story in a way that highlights your strengths and instills a sense of assurance for your next employer.” This story should not be subliminal – in fact, the reader should get the gist about you in a 2 second skim, so “create a resume with keywords, skills and experience targeted directly to the type of job you want next in your career journey.”
3. How to address the layoff? Historically I have found employers sympathetic to careers impacted by economic downturns. A career coach in the LinkedIn article says “you can keep your resume simple and just put the start and end dates, as you will always have your cover letter or the interview to explain things in further detail if you wish… For example, in the cover letter, you could include a sentence similar to this one: ‘Unfortunately, I was one of 500 people laid off company-wide due to the recent economic downturn.’” Just don’t “badmouth your employer”    and instead be “factual with your statement about being laid off.” And ideally have someone who knows you and the hiring manager to recommend you for this job.