When you do start a new job, you need to be aware of how the experience of having lost a job can affect your attitudes towards your new employer. Some of the affects can be positive, others can have a detrimental effect on your career or family life. You need to be aware of these affects before they happen so that you can understand your own responses and the potential impact on your career.
How Do You Spell Relief?
"God, I was just so relieved,'' one woman said, recalling the day she received a job offer after having been out of work for nine months. "I tried to sound calm and professional as my future manager was telling me how impressed they were with my qualifications. He said they wanted me on board right away and wondered how soon I could start. It was all I could do to keep from laughing hysterically at this man. 'How does yesterday sound?' was all I could think. After I hung up the telephone, I sat down on the bed and sobbed uncontrollably. I couldn't believe it was finally over."
Depending on how long you have been out of work, your first job offer can seem like a cool drink of water after being lost in the desert. You don't care about much other than the fact that you finally have a job. You may jump at the chance and be overly willing to accept the offer, whatever the terms. At this point, you need to force yourself to think logically about the offer and what you are willing to accept. Most importantly, you should be ready and willing to negotiate.
Volunteer
Finally, one of the most important lessons sudden job loss can teach you is that it can and does happen to anyone. You probably never expected that your career path would one day include a trip to the unemployment office, but now that it has, you realize how little difference there is between you and the rest of the people who were in line with you.
"I remember one of the three trips I made to the unemployment office when I was out of work," Maureen recalls. "All I could think about was my dad's advice when Td once thought of dropping out of college: 'Just get the degree,' he'd said, 'or you'll never even get a foot in the door.' I thought a college degree insulated me from the world of the unemployment office.
As I sat there one week before Christmas, I realized that it really could happen to anyone. I realized I was connected to all these people in some way, whether I liked it or not."
The experience of being unemployed, including trips to the unemployment office, should have taught you that sudden job loss can and does happen to anyone. This experience can also be a catalyst for volunteer or community work you always thought you'd get around to but could never find the time. Many people who have been unemployed and go on to find new jobs find they are more motivated to get involved with volunteer projects, some for the first time.
Soon after she found a new job, Maureen became a volunteer literacy tutor for an inner-city community center. "When I started my new job, I was really tempted to put the whole experience behind me and forget I was ever one of those people sitting in the unemployment line. But the experience taught me that there are many things in life more important than finding a new job -like helping someone else find a job, for instance. Doing volunteer work to help other people stay out of the unemployment line helps me remember that important lesson."
