The three phases that we need to go through when we have lost our job are:
a) Adapting
b) Strategizing
c) Implementing
Adapting
Adaptation is more than adjustment. While adjustment is a passive reaction to the circumstances around us, adaptation is using the circumstances around us to become better. It might be creation of a new income stream, or flowing into a new channel of employment, or learning something new that you never had the time for.
Losing a job can have different effects on different people.
Some might be expecting it and might even be relieved about it. The individual might have already had plans to move on and to use the retrenchment package as a springboard into something new.
For most, however, a job loss is akin to losing a loved one. In fact, one of my associates correctly surmised that the experience was like breaking up. Like a break up, we need to accept it and move on. We might not be too happy about it, but holding on to the past will just hinder us moving forward.
That being said, there are also times when the retrenchment is severely unfair, or there is an abuse of ethics in the way the retrenchment was done. In these cases, bringing a charge to the company can also be an option. You can be either seeking reinstatement or additional compensation but you’ll need to prepare for the long haul on this.
Either way you decide, to file a complaint or to just walk away, you need to sweep it off your table and start anew. Many of us physically leave the company but mentally and emotionally are still attached to it. Leave it completely, it’s a closed chapter.
Strategizing
Several steps can be done in this phase:
1) We need to know ourselves. What is our skills? What is our experiences?
2) We need to know the market. What’s the current bracket in the particular industry? Which industry are we targeting? Are we staying on in what we do best or explore horizontally across different markets?
3) Update our resume (or CV). Time to dig up the old resume we had and dust it off. Most likely, there’s going to be a lot of work to do on the resume.
4) Network, network, network. Along the way, we would have made a lot of friends, partners, associates, acquaintances. We can start a list of those, as well as potential employers. We can be as optimistic as possible; I usually start with Google, Inc.
5) Train for the interview. Yes, an interview is not chit-chat although some might look that way. It’s entering the battlefield, so we need to be prepared for questions like, “Tell me about your weaknesses.”, and what the interviewer actually means.
Implementing
We can only strategize so much. Once we’re fairly ready, we need to kickstart our job search. Two things are needed: Stay Positive and have a sense of humor. Staying positive translates in our walk, talk, confidence, the way we project ourselves. Having a sense of humor is helpful, it releases endorphins, and it puts others around you at ease.
