In classes, he helps his students confront their concerns with advice on how to avoid the job-cutting ax as well as how to prepare for it.

And he now has a map where he can point to areas in the U.S. where job anxiety, particularly from offshore competition, are likely to be the greatest over the next several years.

The Brookings Institution last week released a study that lists areas in the U.S. where offshoring has hit IT and back-office jobs the hardest. The anticipated effect of offshoring on metropolitan areas through 2015 has been mapped as well, and Giovanetto held up the map at the start of his class at IBM's Share conference in Tampa last week to illustrate one simple point.

"The only state that doesn't have a metro area affected by offshoring is Wyoming," said Giovanetto, who faced a layoff of his own and today is an independent IBM consultant. He teaches professional development classes as an avocation at the Share conferences.

Just attending Giovanetto's class can make you feel uncomfortable, because it involves thinking about something most people would rather not imagine. But concerns about job security can pop up in any forum.