Seven things to do upon losing your job:
EDIT as of 11/13/09 based on great feedback from people on LinkedIn.com.

EDIT1: Many people replied to this saying "you should already be doing many of these things" which is true, I hope this is a good reminder and a checklist of several important things to do.

1. FINISH WELL. Be sure to differentiate yourself on the way out the door. Your former co-workers might be future co-workers either at that same company when things get better or elsewhere because they remembered you were a capable, hard worker and will seek you out for a similar opening at their new company. Be sure to turn in ALL equipment, lists and anything else developed while on company time. I have compiled a summary list of pending sales leads, projects, etc. with pertinent contact information and status report on each in one document to be sure the things I was working on can be completed.
EDIT2: Several people said to be sure to check all your benefits before you get out the door. It's much more difficult to get questions answered and information after you're gone. It's good to capture recommendations and feedback from co-workers and former bosses before you are gone. Copy your personnel file - particularly performance reviews - so you have information, quotes, etc. for your resume.

2. CLARIFY YOUR MESSAGE. Even before you send out a note to friends, family and other contacts – you have to know what to tell them. “I’m looking for a job” or “anything except sales” are not enough for even a good friend to offer you practical leads and advice. Clearly state your value proposition in a concise summary statement. This should be a highly polished, wordsmithed explanation about what uniquely separates you from everyone else. Avoid useless jargon. Example of what not to do: “Hard working, forward-thinking, professional, dedicated team player seeking employment with solid company where I can apply my skills and abilities to make a valuable contribution.” 26 words of nothing; a masterpiece of futility. Don’t do that. You should focus on your expertise, your experience and what specifically differentiates you from everyone else. Here are a couple of good, real examples from some friends:
a. KM: Sales and Operations Manager exceptionally gifted in building customer relationships, servant leadership, communication and presentation skills, consultative selling, process improvement, and solving business problems with technology.
b. HF: Highly creative and recognized computer analyst with a reputation for complex logistical problem-solving and a passion for quick response, lean process and high quality.
I would also recommend writing out your perfect job description. You might even have several but if you can clearly write out EXACTLY what you want to do and what you offer, you will be able to clearly communicate that to others.

3. UPDATE YOUR RESUME. I don’t recommend paying someone to do this. I did in 2007 and it was a waste of money I shouldn’t have spent at that moment. You know your story better than anyone else, so you should tell it. Try to find people you know who are in hiring capacities or HR roles to give you honest feedback. There is a new(ish?) school of thought about resumes where you write a group of accomplishments that tell stories. Everyone likes a good story, right? The idea is to turn your bullet points into accomplishments by telling the Situation, your specific Action and the Result (SAR). If you’re going to develop an accomplishment resume, I would recommend you send your standard chronological resume as your initial submission because HR people generally hate the accomplishment resume. Always be prepared with a standard chronological resume and be very careful with the accomplishment one. No offense to HR people but they are looking for a way to disqualify you, so don’t give them a reason with your resume. So why even bother with an accomplishment resume? A story helps people connect with you, understand what you really have to offer and what sets you apart. People remember stories, not bullet points. Your accomplishment resume is full of your best stories. Hiring managers, generally speaking, aren’t very good at hiring and they’ll hire the candidate they connect with. If you walk into the meeting with the hiring manager and hand them your accomplishment resume, that might get the conversation started on a path more to your liking. Remember, the whole point of the resume is to get them to call you in for an interview. You should probably have a couple of other good stories in reserve that aren’t on your resume.

4. MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES that will carry you through this season of unemployment/underemployment. Make a realistic budget. Cut unnecessary expenses. If you can, don’t cut so deeply that you have absolutely no opportunity for entertainment or family fun. Dates with your spouse or fun events with the kids don’t have to be expensive to be fun. Hopefully you have built up an emergency fund a situation like this. There are tons of handy, helpful financial tips at www.daveramsey.com. Going through their plan really put me and my family in a good position in advance of my first layoff. Go ahead and file for unemployment because this is what it’s for. If you aren’t eligible or you aren’t otherwise going to do that, consider delivering pizzas in the evenings or picking up other work while you search.

5. START NETWORKING. You want to reach out to friends, former co-workers, former vendors from prior jobs, people at church, former classmates, doctors, dentists, attorneys, accountants, mailmen, parents of your kids friends – anyone you can think of who would take your call. Make a list. All these people are your level one contacts – people you know personally. Call them up and schedule a meeting to see them in their office. Even people you know may be reluctant to meet with you thinking you are going to ask them for a job that they don’t have to offer. Disarm that concern as needed by telling them that you want to ask them for input and advice about your search for the next opportunity. If they absolutely can’t give you 20 minutes in their office and the best you can get is to send them your resume, then do that. Try not to settle for that. If you can’t get 20 minutes in their office, they probably aren’t much of a friend. Once you get the meeting, keep an eye on the clock and honor the time. Even if they tell you that “you’re fine” you should stick to your message and plan to be out in less than 30 minutes. They will remember you were respectful of their time if you need to have a follow up meeting or they refer you on to someone else. The goal of this meeting is to learn more about their business, let them know exactly what you are looking for and get at least two names of people they know who you might be able to talk with about your search. Better than names would be if they offered to call and introduce you with a phone call before you call the contact. Ask them to do that if it is appropriate but walk away with the contact information in hand. No matter how good of a friend, your job search is more important to you than it is to them and they might forget or delay. I’ve heard from lots of different sources that this is the single most effective way to find a job and it has been true in my searches. If you can spend your day calling people to schedule meetings and going to meetings, you will be more effective than spending eight hours hunting through online postings. When trying to reach someone directly, you can sometimes catch senior executives early in the morning, during lunch and after five when the gatekeeper is away. Once you get two contacts each from your level one connections, with a 90% success rate your level two contacts should be at least twice as many as your level one contacts. You must be persistent in this networking effort. Job offers should come – even in a tight market – once you’re out at level five and six. Most people give up between level two and three. Don’t give up, stick with it. Remember you were going to call yourself a hard worker on your resume? Don’t say it, do it – right here. In addition to this, get connected with a church’s ministry to people who are in your situation. I got invited to be a part of one at a different church than my own here in Tulsa and was blessed, despite going with reservations. Never discount an opportunity to network, even with others who are unemployed because they’re out looking for work too and might run across something that doesn’t fit them but might be just right for you. Besides, having people praying for you, offering you constructive input and encouragement is no bad thing. If you’re inclined to start such a group or get involved in one in Tulsa, I would be glad to help you – add me to your network.

6. USE THE INTERNET. You probably won’t find your perfect job online but you can learn a lot: who is hiring, what kinds of positions, useful terms to help improve your resume, background information on companies or industries of interest to you and maybe even information about a prospective hiring manager. The single most useful tool for all these things is LinkedIn.com. Facebook and even Twitter have their places, but LinkedIn is your best friend for job hunting. If you want to find a contact at a specific company? LinkedIn! If you want to track your contacts even after their job moves? LinkedIn! Want to project your expertise or connect with a specific HR or hiring manager at a company of interest? LinkedIn! If you don’t already have one, set up a profile at LinkedIn.com and invite everyone you know to be a part of your network. Invite everyone in your level one network. This will be a tool to keep track of your contacts throughout your career; this is a worthwhile investment. Ask people to write recommendations. Don’t be afraid to suggest changes or not post a recommendation that is less than you’d like to communicate. You control your own message. Once you’ve built your network, now you can see your contact’s contacts – to the third degree! [This is not a sponsored post; I am speaking from my experience and regular use of this tool. Stepping off that soapbox now.] Register with every company that you think you might like to work for. Think about it: before they run an ad in the paper, companies will check their internal database. A company has probably tried word of mouth first, then their database, before advertising the position externally, which is one reason why responding to ads is often ineffective. It is generally expected that you would have a strong knowledge of any company and the specific division who calls you in for an interview so use company websites and other readily available public information about companies. If you have contacts in their industry, ask about the company, specific industry challenges, company reputation, profitability, etc. The best way to end an interview is to ask first off “so what does your company do?” Another good online tool is Indeed.com, which is a collection of job postings from multiple job boards – as good of a one-stop-shop for online postings as there is. What about pay sites like www.TheLadders.com or www.RiteSite.com ? I paid for RiteSite and really didn’t get much out of it, although John Lucht’s Rites Of Passage book was very good. If you a highly experienced, senior executive, these tools are probably more useful.

7. GO THE EXTRA MILE. If you’ve read this far and are still saying what else can I do to give myself that edge in the market, I have a final parting idea. Prepare a 180 day action plan to show a prospective employer for once you get the job. A recruiter suggested this to me as a tool to help convince a hiring manager with JP Morgan Chase that my prior sales experience and more recent account management experience could translate into current sales success. It turns out Big Dale was just using me to try to gain industry information and wasn’t seriously interested in me as a candidate. Still, I think it is a useful tool for a job that you really want when you have a hiring manager that needs a bit more convincing.

EDIT3: Several good, wise friends reminded me to mention probably the most important element here: Pray. The God who created the heavens and the earth and has proven to me beyond any doubt that He provides for me and loves me cares about my job situation too. Trust Him with big things as well as the small things.

This post/diatribe/manifesto is offered in the sincere hope to be a blessing to you in your search. With two layoffs since October, 2007 and a stint with a startup, I’ve learned quite a bit. Please contact me if I can be of good use in your search. You are not alone. This is an opportunity to improve your situation, trust in the Lord, Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider). To paraphrase my friend Ross Murphy “when we have nothing but faith to sustain us that is when we really begin to grow in our faith.” Blessings to you in your search!