by Charlene Cunniffe

In these rough economic times, some of us receive a surprise that can leave us confused, shocked, and unprepared: "We need to have a quick meeting at 4:00." After my recent job loss, I kept asking myself how I could have prepared for it. Below are some things I'd done right and some I wish I'd done before my job (and office and technology and colleagues) suddenly evaporated without warning or goodbye cake.

Of course, #1: Keep the resume up-to-date, and in multiple locations. Although I'd been at my last job for 8½ years, I hadn't updated my resume lately. I liked my job, hadn't been tempted by the occasional "would you be interested" call, and assumed I was needed at least through an office move planned for later this year. The resume I'd worked on a few years back was created on a home computer long out of commission. My HR director tried to help out by looking for a print copy of my resume in her files, but oddly enough, it wasn't there. Luckily, I finally located a print copy of an earlier edition to work from, but there certainly was a lot of catch-up to do before the resume was ready for prime time.

Maintain good home files for benefits information. Know if you have benefits through a spouse or partner. Having all this in one place makes it easier to review the severance contract and know what questions to ask. It will also be important to any legal professional you may consult before you sign any "resignation" paperwork.

Keep a print list of your contacts at home. The firm emergency preparedness plan required me to keep a print copy of contacts at home. Print one out monthly so you have an updated list. If your firm uses a CRM (client relationship management) system and you can import the entire staff and attorney list, do it. It would have saved me a lot of LinkedIn messages and wasted time if I had the home e-mail addresses of my former colleagues. It took me a while to assemble all the home contact information I could access easily at work and via remote for people with whom I would like to stay in touch–for personal as well as professional reasons.

Who owns the BlackBerry®? At my firm, employee PDAs were the property of the firm and were expected to last two years. Luckily for me, mine had reached the end of its two-year life span, and it came with me. Although my e-mail access was terminated, my contacts and calendar remained available. This came in handy when I had to call a practice head to let him know we'd better cancel our meeting, which had been scheduled for the morning after I was let go.

Who owns the cell phone plan and phone number? This can be a jungle of trouble. I was happy that I had maintained just one phone, asking only for data plan cost reimbursement. I still own my cell phone number and therefore did not lose that essential piece of professional and personal contact information. If the firm had pulled the Blackberry, I could have kept the SIM card for any other phone and only experienced a slight delay in service.

Association membership. Darned if I didn't delay too long in renewing a couple of association memberships. Be sure to pay at the first notice if your employer picks up the tab. Alternatively, try to negotiate into any severance plan that the employer cover a year's memberships as you network to find new work. If you are personally picking up the membership dues, don't pay until the due date: If you become unemployed, several associations offer a lower rate to the unemployed, retired, or lower-paid members. I found that I rarely read association journals at work, so I had changed my preferred address to my home address, and now I am extremely glad I did–all association information still gets to me.

It's going to be a tough year for associations, as most of us will not be getting the same level of support for attending conferences. Keep track of what the associations offer. For example, Special Libraries Association (SLA) offers free access to canned courses online. I have enjoyed reviewing the offerings and listening to the canned webcasts. Vendors also have much material to review. Both West and LexisNexis keep information professional sites active, and product vendors offer webinars on their products that you can use to refresh your knowledge of information resources and software.

Networking. Use your alumni network, as well. In addition to career services, school alumni associations often maintain a LinkedIn or Facebook group.

Discussion lists. It was getting to the point where I had been putting a lot of discussion lists into folders. I might have been better off moving most of these to a personal account. Once I was disconnected from my computer account, I had no easy way to discover which lists I was on, and how to sign up for different delivery. Here I was also in luck, as one of my librarians was assigned the lucky job of digging through my e-mail for a month as it came in, and he notified me of anything that looked personal or of continuing professional interest. Again, move what you can to personal e-mail.

LinkedIn and Facebook. I used LinkedIn extensively to let my former colleagues know what had happened and to ask them to stay in touch. Because my firm had decided not to notify staff and attorneys about the restructuring of my department, LinkedIn was one way I could let my former co-workers know that my job had been eliminated and perhaps dispel any rumors about my departure. This approach has ameliorated my bruised feelings, as inevitably, the people I contacted reminded me that I had been an appreciated and helpful colleague. I received many offers of personal references (firm policy does not allow either positive or negative references from the firm's representatives) in reply to my original contact. Facebook pages allow a mix of personal and professional information that can keep you in touch with former co-workers and your wider support group.

Track your continuing education and professional involvement, including webinars, certifications, classes, articles written, and presentations made. You can track these on your resume or keep a running list, but do one or the other. It will remind you of all the things you can do.

Streamline your office. Since my firm was planning to move in the near future, I had advised our staff to take personal items home. I wish I had taken my own advice earlier: It took 12 boxes to move my belongings. Admittedly, some boxes were pretty light with stuff from the walls, but I had a large collection of personal reference books, tchotchkes I'd picked up at conferences, professional reading material, and personal files. I had started creating digital libraries of my files, all of which were on the document management system. I'd kept some of the more personal or interesting paper pieces in my file drawers and hadn't gotten to others. Although I could not take a number of files that I considered as firm property, I had intermingled a lot of paper I had brought to the job in files that I felt I should leave. If you create digital files of professional information, keep a copy for yourself. Thumb drives aren't all that expensive. As with making resume copies, use discretion: People might think you are planning to leave if they see you "collecting." My workplace assisted me in packing up some things, but it also allowed me to go through my desk, bookcases, and files a week after my departure (not many firms will do that). You may lose things that you will truly be sad about if you are among the people who have to leave on the spot.

It's painful to say goodbye to colleagues and your professional position, whether your departure is your decision or your employer's. It's even more painful when there is no notification to your co-workers, no chance to connect and reminisce, and no heads-up so you can position yourself to move on. If you are prepared for whatever the workplace might bring, you can move forward more efficiently and make a clean break from the past with all the tools you need for a successful professional future.

Until recently, Charlene Cunniffe was manager of research services and records at a Nashville, Tenn., law firm. Her e-mail address is charlene.cunniffe@comcast.net