The headline in my Charlotte Observer this morning says it all. “Thousands of Charlotte layoffs likely after Wachovia’s stunning fall.” There are headlines like that all around the country these days.

The financial crisis means there will be lots of layoffs. There will be mergers, too. What do you do if you’re in one of the companies that gets “merged.”

You’ve got two key challenges when the company you work for is merged into another. Look out. And look good.

Look out. Too many people figure “they won’t get rid of me” and then get surprised. Too many decide to “wait and see what happens” and wait until it’s too late.

Don’t be one of them. Get your credentials together. Tune up your resume. And start looking.

If you’ve got great performance reviews make sure you have copies that you can share with prospective employers. If you’ve got bosses who love you, ask if you can use them as a reference with their personal contact information, if necessary.

Fire up your network and start looking for opportunities and possibilities. It doesn’t matter what situation you’re in, there’s an opportunity in there somewhere.

Look good. These quickfire, forced mergers are different from classic mergers. Instead of taking place over months with plenty of time to evaluate talent, they took place over a weekend. The first order of business for your new bosses will be figuring out who they want to keep.

No matter how you’re feeling, make sure you’re focused, productive and pleasant in the office. Look like what you are: the employee everyone will want to keep. It’s way better to find a new job when you choose, not when you’re out on the street with thousands of others who look just like you.

Getting merged will change the world around you. It won’t be easy. But what comes out of it is up to you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 6:49 am and is filed under Hot Careers and Business Opportunities, Tools and Strategies for Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.