So you have just lost your job and you are feeling a little bit panicked. Might I suggest that you leave the panic for next time and focus on the next steps you need to take to bounce back?
Look, we have all been there. We have all been in a situation where we wake up one morning and realize it’s real. It was not a dream or a nightmare. Yesterday, when you went in to work, your boss literally told you that you no longer had a job. We have all been there. So believe me when I tell you that you can get past this. You can get past it by a lot. You can totally bounce back. Sometimes, if not most times, getting fired or laid off is the BEST thing that could have ever happened to you. Because it forces you to be creative and to get serious about going after your dreams.
So you have just lost your job and you are feeling a little bit panicked. Might I suggest that you leave the panic for next time and focus on the next steps you need to take to bounce back?
Look, we have all been there. We have all been in a situation where we wake up one morning and realize it’s real. It was not a dream or a nightmare. Yesterday, when you went in to work, your boss literally told you that you no longer had a job. We have all been there. So believe me when I tell you that you can get past this. You can get past it by a lot. You can totally bounce back. Sometimes, if not most times, getting fired or laid off is the BEST thing that could have ever happened to you. Because it forces you to be creative and to get serious about going after your dreams. Here are some things you need to do in the first six days after getting laid off or fired:
DAY 1
- Practice conscious and calm breathing.
- Give yourself permission to grieve the loss of your previous job.
- Reflect on your previous jobs to see if there were any mistakes that you made that you need to avoid next time.
- Email your company to confirm what will happen with your health insurance, your last paycheck, unemployment insurance, and any other perks that you are supposed to get (and try to remain professional).
- Buy the newspaper and sit and read it with a nice cup of tea or coffee at your neighborhood café. Maybe even complete the crossword puzzle for the day.
- Take a walk or get physical exercise.
DAY 2
- Assess your resources (financial, personal, emotional).
- Review your contacts list.
- Polish your resume or CV.
- Sign up to LinkedIn.
- Sign up to as many job placement agencies in your area of expertise as possible.
- Take a walk.
DAY 3
- Send a “thank you” email or note to your previous boss/company (if the situation is not totally poisoned).
- Speak with a lawyer if you think you were wrongfully terminated.
- Send out emails to your friends, family, and contacts that you are looking for a job.
- Add a bit of content to your LinkedIn page.
- Cold call one of the placement agencies to see if you can set up a face-to-face interview.
- Take a walk or get physical exercise.
DAY 4
- Continue to reflect on things and be brutally honest about things you need to improve next time and think about specific ways you can start to improve.
- If you think there are any classes you can take to improve your skills, look into that and take steps to take those classes.
- If money is a really serious problem, see if you qualify for any kind of social assistance from the government.
- Get onto the Internet and start researching about the future you envision for yourself, including jobs, starting your own business, or even skills you need to develop.
- Write down a list of your talents and skills and brainstorm different types of things you can do to make money while you wait for the big job comes in.
- Take a walk or get physical exercise.
DAY 5
- Figure out different things you can do to keep busy while you continue to search for a new job.
- Keep your spirits up and stay hopeful that there is at least one job out there with your name on it.
- Consider other options other than get another job. For example, maybe it’s time to join the army. Or go back to school full time, or start your own small business.
- Be proactive. Don’t sabotage yourself by thinking anybody owes you anything. Remember that you are responsible for your own success.
- Look for a place you can go to regularly at the same time every morning to do your job search, like a café near you. Treat it like going to work. Put on your work outfit and go at the same time. Every day! If you have a laptop, this is great because you can do your job search at this café.
- Take a walk or get physical exercise.
DAY 6
- Start to feel a rhythm to your day, and make sure to stay busy doing something.
- Keep up your personal hygiene. Bathe, shave, fix your hair, brush your teeth etc. This is very important to prevent depression from setting in.
- Keep following up with recruiters and job placement firms.
- Keep going out everyday to a place like a café, as if you are going to work, and keep an eye out for jobs posted on local business windows and stuff like that.
- Follow up with contacts on your contacts list.
- Take a walk or get physical exercise.
Your job search could take more than six days but if you are able to keep up a routine and not let yourself fall into a rut, your job search is likely to be very effective and you will find a new job before you know it. But if you let yourself fall into a rut, and get angry, bitter and depressed about how things are going, then your job search could last even longer. Remember that it is okay to accept a temporary job while you search for a permanent one. If money is an object, then don’t be too proud to accept something beneath your talents or abilities while you continue your search. It is about survival. It is about bouncing back and not letting yourself feel like a failure. Remember that the very best of us have been fired or laid off at some point and we all survived it and lived to talk about it (and sometimes laugh about it) and so will you.)
