Your boss just called you and delivered the bad news: Your services are no longer required, effective today! You know that you are not the only one being let go and that the lay off is nothing personal, but that does not make you fell any better. You feel terrible and maybe even betrayed, and in this state, although your brain tells you to start thinking of plan B, your body refuses to budge. So what do you do in such a situation?Here are a few tips to help you deal effectively with a layoff and get back on your feet:
Give yourself some time to grieve: It's OK to feel bad and sorry and to grieve. After all, you have lost your job, an extremely important part of your life, and your life has suddenly turned upside down. All your plans for the immediate future would now have to be put on hold, and at the moment, things just don't make much sense. Take some time out, meet up with a few buddies, and mourn your loss. Trust me this is healthy and will be a good outlet to all the negative emotions you are feeling, making space for new, positive ones.
Stop finding excuses: Wanted to get into shape but did not have time? Wanted to spend more time with your family but your boss always called you at family time and gave you something urgent to deal with? Wanted to play more ball with your friends but the long hours at work did not allow you any "me" time? Well, now you don't have any excuses to do all that you wanted to earlier but did not have time for. Take out time to go for a run in the morning, help your kid with his homework in the evening, and catch up with friends over the weekend. All these will make you happy and get you all geared up for the tiring and stressful job search. Just be careful of one thing though: do not overspend on any of the activities. Remember that money is tight, and it maybe some time before you land your next job.
Spend time on introspection: Take out some time to sit down peacefully and understand all your past career choices. See if you were happy with those, and if you are still passionate about the same things. Such an evaluation of your life and career will help you streamline your job search and look for something that you would genuinely enjoy doing.
Get some career counseling: With all the stress and anxiety around your loss of job, you may just be tempted to take the first job that comes your way and end up making a bad career decision. Hence, it would make sense to seek guidance from a professional career coach at this time. He/she will help you choose the right career path for you and may just lead you to job opportunities that you otherwise would not have had access to.
At the end, come up with a plan for your job search and stick to it. For all you know, the loss of this job may lead you to a much better and more suitable job. Good luck!
