So let’s recap:
1) You’ve been fired
2) You’ve exited the company physically
3) You’ve thrown in some f-bombs to your supervisor (optional)
Now you’re left with a few more options:
a) Take action against the company against unfair termination
b) Take whatever compensation, and kickstart your job search
c) Take a break
While a) and b) will be looked, over, option c) is an extremely viable choice. Take a break?? What??!
Now I’m aware that there might be dependents. If you’re the single income owner, if you have kids, if you have a huge mortgage, hey, then getting some cash inflow is priority. All said and done, it’s hopeful that you at least get 1 and half months of severance pay, which hopefully will bide you through that period.
You are not idle either, you need to start updating your CV, your coverletter and get some contacts. If you have a placement agency, then get them to mentor you as well. The week after your retrenchment might me the busiest week as you scramble around, just getting things done and adjusting.
But take a break once those initial adrenaline of being fired wears off.
Think about it, how often do you get a break where there’s absolutely no obligations to the company. For us, the curse of the Blackberry (or now iPhone) often haunts us even when we’re in our honeymoon, or to some, even when taking a crap. It’s crazy, we’ve been tied down so long to SMS and emails, we don’t know what was it like to simply wake up and not have anything to do.
Take this time to go on a vacation, go for a break. I packed up to head to South Philippines with a medical group and we went to tribal villages for a week dispensing medicine. Ever sat in a four wheeler with 20 people on it, and set up a makeshift pharmacy in a village at the bottom of a live volcano? Well, do it! It’s cool! Or you could just chill out at the beach and take time to recuperate. You’ll need the rest.
Secondly, the Attitude of Retrenchment is an important part of LAR (Life After Retrenchment). I am convinced there are two essential attitudes to have: Humour and Positivism.
It’s hard to be humourous, I know. The first call I made was to my wife. We’ve been talking about her quitting and us being a single income household. I told her our wishes came true, only it was the other way around! I thought it was funny. She didn’t.
But humour is vital to survive the first few weeks of retrenchment, because it’s easy to slide into the doom and gloom window, especially when we start getting rejection slips. Staying positive throughout the whole process is also key. We need to continue with our self belief in our abilities and skills, and people will see that in us. Think not about losing a job, but gaining a whole bunch of time to do your stuff. Those poor ex-colleagues of yours are stuck in their cubies rotting away while you’re backpacking China and gaining a whole bunch of experience from it. Which is cooler?
Besides, you have that compensation package, so that buffer time is for you to chill, look for job and enjoy a little, and maybe fix up that blasted leak in the toilet your wife has been bugging you about for 6 months.
You’ll have time to sit and go through your career reassessment soon enough. But for a week, or if possible two weeks, it should be chill time. At least, that’s my humble opinion.
