A Sheep in Wolf?s Clothing

With all the bad news floating around amid the thousands and thousands of layoffs, I thought I?d pass on some of the good variety:

Two weeks ago, a good friend living in L.A. who worked as a buyer for a large clothing retailer lost her job in a large, sweeping round of layoffs. She was well respected at her job and had been there for several years. But her company, like so many others, felt the pinch of the recession and had to make cutbacks, resulting in her job being cut, as well as many of her colleagues??and several of these folks, she told me, had been there for more than five years, and one had even worked there for 15 years.

The company, a large retailer falling under the umbrella of an even larger one, was able to give my friend a healthy severance package. But this didn?t bring her much comfort. So as soon as she discovered she was let go, she went to work on her resume and cover letter, and sent them out to two employers?her top two choices of places to work. (She applied directly, rather than going through headhunters or recruiters; according to my friend, from what she?s seen so far with others losing their jobs in the industry, employers are more apt to hire someone who applies directly, because it means they can bypass the finder?s fee).

Both firms almost immediately asked her to interview, and within two weeks, one of them had offered her a job?one with a higher salary than she was previously making, with stock options (which she wasn?t given by her previous employer), and with more direct contact with top management (she reports directly to the CEO at her new job; previously, a director sat between her and the top brass). To boot, the new job is a much better commute, and it just happens to be her favorite retailer.

--Posted by Derek Loosvelt, Vault Global Finance Editor