Keep Spirits High Following Job Loss in a Down Economy
How to Combat the Anxiety of a Layoff
When economic difficulties leads to layoffs and job loss, there are an array of techniques that one can use to lift those spirits and improve the odds in finding a new job or new career.
Being laid off from a job is a life changing experience. As with any life altering event, people who are laid off will go through varying stages of grief. The stages and the length of time needed to go through the grieving process are dependent on people’s tenure, their financial situation, their emotional attachment to their job or the company and their individual traits.
Regardless of their circumstances, following these tips and techniques will shorten the grieving process and expedite the healing.
Recognize the Grieving Process
It is important to the healing process to be aware of the stages of grief and understand the feelings that you have. It is a natural human reaction to feel betrayed, angered, hurt or a multitude of other emotions when you are laid off. Ignoring those feelings delays the healing cycle, which impacts the start of a new future.
This is a good time to evaluate all potential options for the future – determine all aspects of your previous job that you enjoyed and that you disliked, utilize self-help career decision books or web sites and decide what you want the future to be. Use the opportunity created by a job loss to make a fresh start.
Utilize Social Networking After a Layoff
There are personal and professional benefits in utilizing social networking applications after you are laid off – personally it lifts your spirits to find old friends and acquaintances; professionally, the more connections that you make, the more potential career opportunities you will be aware of.
When using social networking sites, it is a best practice to separate the personal social networking from the professional networking.
Volunteer in the Community
After a layoff, it is difficult to refocus time and energy from the previous routine.
Helping with a local charity or volunteering to help with a community event helps in many ways – first, the activity fills time and helps regain focus; secondly, helping other people lifts your spirits and allows things to be put into perspective; lastly, this opens up a new network of people that have new contacts and are aware of new career opportunities.
Actively and Aggressively Pursue Job Opportunities
This step seems obvious but for people who have been employed for several years, searching for a new job is a vital step As layoffs increase, so does the competition for every open job. Job seekers must be aggressive in their searches and diligent in their follow up. This includes exploring opportunities that differ from your previous job.
If your financial position allows it, hire a professional coach or recruiter to help prepare your resume, your professional objective statement and complete a thorough self-analysis before applying for jobs. If hiring an outside party is not an option, utilize the resources on the internet for resume tips and job interview techniques.
Actively search for jobs – utilize job search engines on the web, newspaper advertisements, local employment offices and social networking sites to find opportunities. Apply for all jobs that are closely associated with the type of work that you are interested in or qualified for.
Do not limit yourself when looking for jobs – evaluate every job opportunity with genuine interest and apply for the ones where you meet the qualifications.
After a layoff, do not let time become your enemy – focus the same energy looking for a job that you did performing your previous job. Utilize the techniques included as ways to focus your time productively and start the next phase of your life.
Pondering Future
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