Success Advice

7 Ways to Bounce Back from Losing Your Job

Published

7 years ago

Mar 6, 2018

Whether you’ve been laid off, fired or even quit voluntarily, losing a job can land like a kick in the crotch. It’s not just the vanished paychecks, you may feel like a door has slammed behind you, shutting you out from an identity, a community. You may find yourself in a storm of difficult emotions: shock, anxiety, shame, anger. That’s all normal, but it’s hard to handle.

Here are 7 ways you can bounce back from losing a job:

1. Grieve privately and develop a public “exit statement”

Many of us process our feelings by “venting.” Okay, but be careful who you complain to about what went down with your job, because everyone you know is potentially part of your job hunting network. Any acquaintance might become influential, however indirectly, when you start looking for a new job. If you seem upset or bitter they may well sympathize, but they may hesitate to recommend you or to make introductions.

So avoid talking about your job loss to people other than your closest friends and family until you’ve had a chance to calm down. Meanwhile, prepare a brief statement you can use to answer the question “What happened to your job?” Keep it short and sweet, like this:

“A business decision was made that eliminated 10 positions, including mine. There’s a silver lining to it, because now I can look for an opportunity that’s a better fit.”

If you were fired, your exit statement might sound more like this:”I’ve left X company. There have been some changes in the company/my role/my interests that make it not as great a fit for me as it was in the past. The bright side is, this gives me an opportunity to get out and find something better. I’m going to look for opportunities doing . . .”

Prepare your exit statement as soon as possible after leaving, because there are many situations where your “between jobs” status may come up in conversation. And whatever you do, don’t freak out on Facebook, traumatize on Twitter and sniffle on Snapchat. The Internet is Forever. Keep your online image positive.

“Success is measured by how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” – George S. Patton

2. If you’ve been fired, know you’re in good company

Many extremely successful people have gotten the axe, from Lee Iacocca to Madonna. They went on to bigger and better things. If you’re angry, just remember that living well is the best revenge.

3. Give immediate attention to any safety nets available to you

If you’re eligible for unemployment insurance, file for it without delay. Consider COBRA or another health insurance option; it may be expensive but a medical emergency while unemployed can be crippling. Contact your creditors and ask about short-term hardship programs that might let you miss payments without penalties.

4. Nurture your natural resilience and heal yourself

We all have some amount of resilience, an ability to bounce back. We can build it up, according to the American Psychological Association, by doing these things:

Accept that change is a part of living.
Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems.
Move toward your goals.
Take care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself may not come naturally if your job separation was traumatic, but moping around the house watching TV, drinking and drowning your woes in junk food will leave you more depressed than you started. Treat your brain and body with respect.

Effective ways to heal include brief therapies such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), hypnotherapy, prayer, meditation, journaling, exercise, and learning to encourage yourself.

Just waiting for time to “heal all wounds” is not always such a great plan.

5. Take some time off if you want but beware of the gap

Employers are suspicious of job seekers who linger in “long-term unemployment,” generally defined as six months or more. The longer that gap grows, the harder it gets to sell yourself. Don’t let that happen to you. Take a renewing vacation or “staycation” for a few weeks, but set a date to get started on your job search.

If you’re determined to take a lengthy sabbatical, do something constructive that will look good on your resume. Volunteer, travel, go back to school, join the Peace Corps, write a book. Have something to say for yourself when you’re ready to go back to work. If it’s work-related, all the better.

“When everything seems to be going against you remember that an airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

6. Review your career direction if necessary

Does losing your job make you want to rethink your career? Now is the time to explore your options. Use the “Advanced Search” features on sites like Indeed and LinkedIn to enter various combinations of skills and qualifications. See what jobs come up. Do informational interviews, read a book or get career counseling.

Free-lance work can be a great test flight and gap-filler, and it may develop into something more. When I was laid off from my corporate training department job in 2008 I assumed I wanted to continue in the same field. I found myself on the verge of being hired, only to realize I had zero excitement about taking the job. I turned it down, thinking there must be something better.

With unemployment benefits running out I needed cash. Since I had some background in writing resumes and coaching job seekers, I put an ad on Craigslist and started getting clients. I discovered I loved the work and being self-employed. It grew into a profitable new career and I’ve never looked back.

There are endless possibilities for operating your own business. If entrepreneurism appeals to you and if you’ve got what it takes to be happy in it, go for it. Most people, on the other hand, prefer the stability of a regular job.

7. Plan a “best practices” job search

You may have lucked into jobs in the past. Maybe you were referred by a contact or recruited by headhunters. That may happen again this time, or it may not. You may be surprised how much you need to work hard – and work smart – this time around.

Don’t just sit in front of the computer applying to jobs hundreds of other people are applying to. Get out and do some networking meetings and informational interviews.

Make sure your resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letters and interview skills are the best they can be. Study articles and books by job search experts. Consider hiring a career coach. All of this can help you get back in the game a lot faster.

In the long run, losing your job may be the best thing that ever happened to you. A few months down the road you may find yourself in a better role, thinking what a blessing in disguise it was to leave that old job in the dust. Turn losing your job into the start of a better life.

How do you recover from losing your job? Comment below!

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Thea Kelley

Thea Kelley is a job search and interview coach based in the San Francisco Bay Area and serving job seekers nationwide. She is also the author of the Amazon best-seller Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview, reviewed as "Excellent" by Forbes. For state-of-the-art job search tips read Thea's blog at www.GreatJobSooner.com. For one-on-one services to help you get a great job sooner, visit www.JobSearchAndInterviewCoach.com.

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

Published

2 weeks ago

Dec 4, 2024

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.

According to CyberGhost (CG) bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses.

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased.

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information.

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place.

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds.
Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them.
Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.