Being fired or laid-off can have a serious impact on your family, your bills, and your own self worth. Yet, there are ways to bounce back from unemployment leading to feelings of renewal and better employment opportunities. If you have recently been let go from your job, you may feel one of two emotions- despondent or elated.
For the despondent employee, there are several factors that can lead to despair after losing your job. For some, it is a shock to find out that you have been “let go”. Often, an employer is afraid of hurting your feelings and will not tell you that your job is in jeopardy until it is too late. Other times, you may have a feeling that you will be fired, yet, you have this need to hold on to your current place of employment because it pays the bills. Getting fired takes away your security and your ability to provide for yourself and your family, thereby leaving you with feelings of helplessness and desperation. If you find yourself upset about the way you were fired and would like to vent out your frustration, you can share your firing experience on the blog www.howigotfired.com.
On the other hand, you may not have felt despondent at all. In fact, the minute your boss told you that your services were no longer needed, you might have felt as if a huge weight was being lifted off of your shoulders. If you are elated after being fired, it typically means you were working at a dead-end or displeasing job but didn’t have the courage to move on. Being laid-off or fired gives you the breathing room and the excuse to find more fulfilling and satisfying work. While you may hold some feelings of being betrayed, overall, you feel a sense of relief that you will no longer have to go back to your place of employment. If you are elated about your unemployment and will like to read about other people who have also chosen to relish their unemployment experiences, you might want to visit the blog www.surviveunemployment.com.
Regardless of which category you fit in, typically, the newly employed will and need to take some time to get their bearings. Check your savings, checking, and investment accounts to determine how long you can reasonably be unemployed while still handling your financial responsibilities. Call your mortgage lenders, car insurance carriers, and utility companies and let them know your current situation. Tell them that you have recently been laid-off or fired and see if there is a way to negotiate lesser payments or a deferral on payments for a set time frame.
If you have the money to pay your bills, you might not want to defer payment, in fear that when the deferred time period is over, you will have an exorbitant amount of debt to catch up on. On the other hand, if you choose to pay your expenses immediately and you fail to find new employment in the time frame you have in mind, you will wind up in dire straights without any emergency reserves. So before making the choice as to which payment plans work best for you and your situation, call the companies and ask what payment alternatives do they offer and how long do they give you to pay on deferred payments. Then speak with your family and friends about how much support they can provide you if you wind up in a situation that is too difficult for you to handle on your own.
Aside from your own personal finances, be sure to apply for unemployment benefit assistance. The Department of Labor’s website offers a fact sheet to help you determine if you are eligible for unemployment and provides the contact information for your state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency.
Once you have squared away the financial aspect of being unemployed, it is time to make plans. First, you need to determine if you would like to stay within your current field or change fields altogether. One way to make this decision is to check your feelings towards your last place of employment. If you were happy at your most recent job and enjoyed your responsibilities, you may want to start looking for positions within the same industry and field.
If you were constantly depressed while working at your last job, then it might be time to do some soul searching. Ask yourself, what about your last job upset you. Was it the work itself or was it the environment? Oftentimes, when people are upset at their work place, it is problems with coworkers or superiors that lead to this feeling of disillusionment. If that is the case, then you may want to stay within the same field, but be sure to find companies that are more suitable to your preferable work environment.
If, on the other hand, you hated everything about your last job, then it is time to dig deep and find out what fundamentally makes you happy. One of the most common used, but sage advice on job searching is to ask yourself, if money was not an issue, what work would you do? If you have an immediate answer, then you have the starting point for finding a new career. If you are still uncertain, you can take a career assessment like the Myers Brigg Personality Test, which will provide you with an assessment of what careers fit your personality for a fee. If you would like to take a free career test, I highly recommend www.free-career-test.com which gives you a series of multiple choice questions about your likes and dislikes, then creates a 13-16 page free analysis of the field that would suit you the best.
Once you know which career you’d like to work in, it is time to create a job search plan. In this plan, you need to come up with three career choices -
- The jobs you wouldn’t want to do but could help you pay your bills
- The job you are qualified for but aren’t extremely excited about doing
- The jobs that match your career interests and work personality
Once you have these three career fields in mind, it is time to create your career search arsenal. At the very least, you will need a cover letter, resume, and follow up letter for each field. This way, whenever an opportunity arises that fits into either category, you can easily apply to the jobs by simply customizing the contact information in your cover letters. When creating your personal branding materials, be sure that they show-off your unique value proposition and makes an employer excited about hiring you. You should never mention being fired or laid-off in any of your career search documents. If you are unsure of how to do this or need assistance, hire an expert.
Remember that the key to finding a new job is to be diligent. Network with everyone, including friends, family, and old work contacts. After sending out any resumes, filling out any applications, and conducting any interviews, always follow up. Be consistent and thorough and keep your family and friends abreast of your progress. They will be more willing to help you if they have evidence that you are persistently seeking new employment.
As always, good luck on your job search.
Ayesha Long
www.AyeshaWrites4u.com
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