What to Do When You Lose Your Job

Even if losing your job isn’t on your mind at the moment, you would be surprised at how easily this can happen. One costly mistake at your company might put your position in jeopardy, while sometimes it doesn’t even take your mistake to get fired. Your company may simply be undergoing a crisis and they might see downsizing as the only way to stay afloat. To you, however, the reason why you lost your job makes little to no difference. Now, depending on the country you are living and working in, you may receive a hefty severance pay or enjoy a different kind of temporary benefit, but this is seldom enough. What you need in this situation is a well-conceived course of action and here are some ideas.

1. Try to calm down

In the introduction, we mentioned that the reason why you lost your job doesn’t matter. Well, this isn’t necessarily true. Losing a job due to your own mistake can make it harder for you to find the next job within the same industry but it may also crush your self-confidence. This is especially troublesome because you need to believe in yourself during your next interview.

On the other hand, being laid off due to downscaling can make you feel as if you have no control over your own destiny. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is calm down and realize that these things just happen. Steve Jobs got fired from Apple in 1985 while Walt Disney was laid off due to “not being creative enough”. The list of successful people who bounced back after being laid off simply goes on and on. Sometimes, taking a closer look at this list may be a great first step to win your confidence back.

2. Prepare for the rough patch

During your first seconds as an unemployed person, you may feel a sudden rush of enthusiasm. After all, you are finally free to pursue all those dreams and ideas you postponed in order to build your career. Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and roses in the land of the unemployed. Soon after this ecstatic momentum fades away, you will have to face the fact that your household might encounter some immediate financial problems during the following period.

In order to deal with this, you might want to dip into your savings account (if you have one) or decide to sell an asset in order to get through this period of transition. Another great idea would be to look for a part-time job on the internet like selling stuff on eBay, clicking on ads, providing some editorial services, or doing paid surveys online. With this additional source of revenue, you should be just fine for the time being.

3. Start looking for a new job

Once you have your affairs in order, it might be time to start looking for a new job. First of all, you need to contact people you know personally and those you worked with in the past, in order to see if they may lend you a hand in your time of need. Next, you might want to utilize social networks in your job hunt. This especially goes for LinkedIn.

Moreover, you should check job boards and contact headhunters in order to maximize your outreach potential. Finally, keep in mind that you shouldn’t only look at the companies that are currently hiring. There is nothing wrong with sending an email to a company you would love to work at to let them know you are available and interested.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, where you go from here is completely up to you. If you have a great business idea, a valuable asset to sell, or another means of gathering funds, you can seriously ponder on starting your own business. Other people find the above-mentioned remote work so much to their liking that they decide to go full-time with it. One thing is certain, this obstacle you have just encountered is definitely not a dead end but only a minor bump on your road to inevitable success. All you need to do to get there is take some rest and carry on.

About Author:

He is Mr.Dan Miller, He is a Payments officer with nearly ten years of experience in banking and international payments in the Australian banking sector. He has a master’s degree in finance and banking. He is married and also the father of a beautiful little girl.