Committed to Your Success Coaching & Consulting

You walk into work one day only to walk back out, pink-slip in hand.  The unthinkable has happened.  Often times, even though we may be expecting it, we still are not fully prepared for the rush of emotions that can occur once you are no longer employed.  Face it, our egos take a bruising when the choice to leave a job is not ours.  That is why it is important to take care of yourself before you get back out to look for a job and to reenter the world of work.

Emotions are a funny thing.  They can come on strong and overwhelm us, or they can hang around in the shadows waiting.  When a job loss occurs, we are not prepared so usually the first emotions are strong, presenting as shock, anger, outrage, or panic.  One of the first questions is usually, “Why me?”  Depending on your emotional type, you will either fall apart or laugh it off.  We go through a denial phase, one of disbelief and rationalization.  Anger enters the picture and is either manifested through lashing out - at your ex-employer or boss, at life, at God.  Anger also can manifest itself but is turned inward, which is called depression.  Thoughts turn to anxiety and panic when thinking about your lack of finances, the injustice of how you were let go (which is often not done well by organizations), how you will “save face” with family and friends.  Mourning begins. You are going through the stages of grief.

For some, they will dive right into the job hunt, calling people in their network, updating the resume, and filing for unemployment.  For others, they become immobilized, unsure of where to turn.  Emotions have overtaken them.  In both of these situations, the importance of self-care is overlooked.  This can have a detrimental effect on an individual - both physically and emotionally.  After a job loss, it is vitally important that an individual focus on themselves and healing. 

Go ahead and cry, wail, be angry.  Eat chocolate and isolate yourself.  However, do not let this go on for more than a week.  Self-pity only goes so far before it becomes a major problem.  It is equally vital that you face the situation and use this down-time to focus on you.  Start that diet you’ve been wanting to do - you have the time.  Start exercising - you have the time.  Learn a craft or get back into your hobbies - you have the time.  The point is, focus on getting back into life so you can get on with your life.  Your self-esteem took a dip so focus on getting it back.  Spend some time in self-assessment, rediscovering all of your qualities and skills that will bring you to another employer.  This may be a time to refocus on your career path and what you want, who you want to work for, and how you will go about gaining employment.  Formulate a plan of attack - set some short-term goals for yourself, with some action steps; make them small and doable, at first, to get you back in action and moving towards employment.  Once you start to feel better emotionally, your outlook will improve and then you will be ready to take action.  You will feel more empowered and your confidence will soar.  You can make it through and survive a job loss - it’s all in how you position yourself.  Your self-care is up to you.