Thank goodness for rumors, according to Kathleen Bardole. Without them, the Sunbury resident said she would have felt “blindsided” being laid off from Wood-Mode last week when the company handed out its latest batch of pink slips.

“The rumors usually come true. We had a one-day notice (from Wood-Mode),” said Bardole, who had worked for the Kreamer company for four years.

Still, Bardole said she wasn't prepared for the challenge to find a job in an ailing economy along with more than 600 other employees laid off in October from Wood-Mode, Fleetwood Enterprises and Crest Homes.

After pink slips have been doled out, then what?

“I don’t know what to do. I feel kind of lost,” Bardole said.

Grieving process

Many who are finding themselves out of a job are scrambling to claim unemployment benefits and spruce up resumes, but another necessary step in the job-finding process is to grieve, said Sue Snyder, administrator of CareerLink in Selinsgrove.

“Everyone needs to take a little time for that because they lost something important and valuable. You go through a process: first, you can’t believe it and you’re angry, then finally you’re ready to do something about it.”

Debra Zechman, a Northumberland resident who worked at Wood-Mode as a hand-stainer for almost four years, was laid off in September and said she needed to take time to think about her future.

“My husband said to let this sink in and get over being upset and then figure out what want to do. And I still am not real sure,” she said.

The job hunt begins

Many in the newest furloughed group are ready for a job search and visiting CareerLink, which provides free services to job-seekers currently employed or out of work, Snyder said.

“Everyone needs to have a good resume showing their skills — a lot of people have been working a long time, but don’t have a resume,” she explained.

Brushing up on computer, communication and customer service skills in workshops will help when interviewing or looking for a job on the Internet. People should also take a Work Key Assessment which tests math and reading skills, a credential Snyder says employers are interested in seeing on a resume.

In addition: