Find out what to do if you have a sudden loss of a job.
Don’t get down or depressed; look at this as a new adventure and do everything to keep yourself from being bitter or angry.
Think about everything you learned and gained skills since you last looked for a job. It is about looking at critical areas you are interested in and your priorities and guiding principles. Think about your budget and how much money you need to live or would like to make.
Think about this as a chance to do something you like better, make more money, or change your work area. This time might be scary, but it doesn’t have to be awful.
Don’t burn any bridges with your last job or other people. Relationships and networking are the keys to your future employment and work. Not only is it essential for you to keep your old relationships going, but now is a time to make new relationships. Think about who can help you find another job. Bring in your team.
Figure out what matters to you in a job and what you would have changed because now is your opportunity
Decide if now is the time to get training or go to school. It is good to learn other new things unrelated to your job. Learning about new items will give you confidence and something interesting to discuss during your new job interviews.
Spend some time visiting family and taking time to do things you can’t do while you have a job.
Write your resume and get an elevator speech so you can talk to others about your future work plans. We covered elevator speeches in episode 19.
Check out job sites and other places to look for jobs to see what is out there.
You might consider counseling or career specialists to help you find a job. Your job is finding a job and being kind to yourself. You are now working for yourself to find your new future.
Challenge
Try to imagine if you are going to get another job. Maybe you’re not looking right now. Perhaps you’re not in danger of losing your job. But pretend for a moment that you will look for a new job. What are those career anchors that are going to make you fulfilled? What are you looking for in a new job? Would it be another schedule? Would it be another pay increase? Would it be another industry? And maybe even jot down some of these things that if you were going to get another job, what would you be looking for? Perhaps this is your chance, then to just casually look in the ads on the websites in the different places to see if any of those jobs meet your needs. But again, if you get but, doing a little dreaming will help you know what’s next.
