I bumped into a friend of mine, a fellow recruiter that got laid off. He looked great. 10 years younger and chipper as I had ever seen him before. I asked him he why he was in such great spirits, he got let go from a good job, has two kids, a stay home wife and a mortgage. Why is he acting like he won the lottery?

He wasn't expecting to be let go. It just happened. A life changing moment he explained. The economy sucked, companies were downsizing, and given a two month severance, my friend didn't panic. He had been networking, meeting other recruiters, and hobnobbing with hiring managers. Things were ok. He landed a contract gig for the year.

We are all guilty of this. You update your resume and say, it looks good, then save it on your computer and pull it out when something goes wrong. Trust me. In this economy, you need to do a better job of marketing yourself. It helps your career to network often and it's just good overall. It’s like exercise.

If layoffs do occur, it's a good thing. You are forced to meet other people. Instead of having mental arguments with former co-workers, get out there and mingle. You will find that you are not alone.

I host a networking event every two months for IT professionals. I've dubbed it the 'Glennlist '. It's my way of helping out others but I also invite a lot of recruiters too. You never know. Things happen and today can be the day you need to network.