When geologist Larry Spence was suddenly laid off, it came so suddenly and unexpectedly his wife thought it was a joke.

“They went and got my things for me out of my office, and ‘allowed’ me one phone call,” he recalls, “it just happened to be April 1st.”

Spence was shocked. While his company had  been letting people go since January, his coworkers were as surprised as he was. He’d been an exploration manager with Talisman Energy for 22 years and, just one month before, was given a glowing performance appraisal. There was no advance notice, Spence says.

Two minutes after being informed he was let go, a representative from Toombs Inc. – a career transition service – introduced herself to Spence. Talisman arranged the meeting in advance, and Spence is grateful they did.

Almost four months later, Spence is in a very different position indeed. On July 27, Spence started his new job, as exploration manager with TransGlobe Energy. He chose the position with TransGlobe over another excellent offer from a different company. His compensation package is “equal or better” than his equivalent position at Talisman, Spence says. As Spence freely admits, however, he got there with significant help.

“We help people (who have just lost their jobs) in a variety of ways,” says Kathleen Wollenberg, vice president and general manager of Toombs.

“For people (like Spence) who haven’t had to look for work in years and years, it can be very scary – looking for work is a process that requires a lot of different skills.”

At the professional career level, simply skimming the classified ads just isn’t good enough. It’s not unlike fishing – the big fish aren’t caught with luck, but with patience and skill. For many professionals suddenly thrust back into the marketplace, they need to re-learn even the most basic but necessary skills – including the seemingly basic skill of resume writing.

“I’d always kept my resume up to date, but again, it had been 22 years since it saw the light of day,” says Spence. “Things change in 22 years – especially style and format.”

Spence attended a resume workshop, with about 12 other Toombs clients, which included instruction, time to re-write, and one-on-one counselling and proofing.  The result? A much better-looking, and in Spence’s case, concise resume.

“It was six or seven pages before, which I had thought was more impressive,” he chuckles. “It’s about half that now, with nothing missing and much more concise reading.”

Another vital career management skill many professionals lack, says Wollenberg, is just learning who’s really hiring: she estimates “a full 80% of jobs at this level aren’t advertised. Even if they are, she adds, they’re usually still hired through referrals and networking.

“Our program really emphasizes the importance of networking,” says Wollenberg. “So many people have told me they’d always blown it off, but the light goes on and they say ‘I get it now.’”

“Networking is so important – you need to have a lot of people in your camp,” agrees Spence, adding that one of his two offers came via a colleague in a similar position.

Skills aside, Spence says one of the most important things Toombs did for him was also one of the simplest: it gave him a place to work.

“I felt lost without an office,” says Spence. He’d had an office downtown for 22 years. He was used to working in a professional setting, and wasn’t comfortable working from home. To address this feeling of disorientation, Toombs gives its clients access to a “bullpen office,” with computers and private booths to make calls.

“Toombs was like a transition home,” Spence says, laughing.

In a buyer’s market for work, mastering as many career management skills as possible is vital. While Alberta’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the country, it’s still on the rise. In June, it reached the highest percentage since November 1996 – 6.8 per cent, up from 6.6 per cent in May.

Companies forced to let some of their people go can still help them by engaging a career transition service, says Briar McGinnis of Alberta Employment and Immigration.  “I think there’s more overall sensibility now than before – a lot of companies hire private contractors to assist after layoffs,” he says.

The Alberta government also offers career transition services, he adds, up to and including financial assistance.

Help with career transitioning and career development will be provided at the Calgary Career Show. According to Julie Ball of the Calgary Chamber’s Talent Pool, it will also be a perfect opportunity to network and to meet organizations providing career opportunities.

“The Career Show is an initiative of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, offering the largest platform of career information resources and recruiters under one roof,” she says.