When someone loses a job, often, the first instinct is to panic like a person who fell into the water and doesn't know how to swim. When someone who doesn't know how to swim falls into the water, many times the initial reaction is to hyperventilate and start paddling the arms and legs without any direction. More and more energy is expended until potential catastrophe hits.
All too often, when people lose a job, they, too, panic. Like the person who doesn't know how to swim, their first reaction is hastily put together a résumé and immediately start calling everyone they know. As more and more energy is expended, panic erupts. They start sending out more and more résumés and calling more and more people without any direction or plan of attack. Then, depression sets in because the results don’t follow, and the newly unemployed person begins to convey an aura of desperation.
Next, the newly unemployed person starts forcing the issue and unknowingly takes on a loser’s mentality. Like animals can sense when humans are scared of them, potential employers, recruiters and hiring managers can sense when a newly unemployed candidate is panicked too. Few managers want to hire someone in a panicked state of mind.
Gather your thoughts and be proud of yourself
Know that you will succeed. Your circumstance is just temporary. Focus on the future and focus on success. Love yourself and be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished. Don’t let a nasty boss, who might have let you go, ruin your self-image. You are not defined by your job. Sure society can put pressure on us to define ourselves by our work. But, don’t fall into that trap!
You are defined by your loved ones, your personality, your friends, your family, your faith and your values. Have you ever attended a funeral? If so, how often do you hear a eulogy that focused on someone losing a job or on the position that person held in the workplace? Sure, the deceased person's vocation might have been mentioned. But, most eulogies focus far more on the quality of the individual and the impact that individual had on other people's lives.
Keep your present situation in perspective. It does not at all define who you are as a person or affect your ability to impact others.
You're a great person
Believe you will succeed and you will. You are a wonderful person and don’t ever forget that. Sure you might not be perfect. Who is perfect? Sure you may have made some mistakes. But, who hasn’t made mistakes? It doesn’t matter what circumstance led up to you losing your job; don’t beat yourself up! Getting mad at yourself can sabotage your job search as well as your health and your relationships.
Throughout life, we are often taught not to love ourselves. Somehow, self-love is supposed to be too self-righteous. However, to succeed in the job search and, in life as a whole, you have to love yourself. It is absolutely essential to your success. If you don't love you and if you are not proud to be you, then who will want to hire you?
Managers and executives want to hire winners. They want to hire people who are confident and proud. They don’t want to hire depressed losers. They want to hire confident winners.
When you pay to attend a ballgame, would you rather pay good money to see a winning team, or do you want to support a loser? For decades, in Chicago, their hockey team, The Blackhawks, drew fewer and fewer fans each year. Year after year, they missed the playoffs. People got tired of supporting losers. Then in the 2008-2009 season, something magical happened. They started winning some exciting games again. Soon, the team was selling out every home game.
As many have said, “Life imitates sport.” It is so true. The Blackhawks drew more fans because they became more confident, and they became winners. In fact, the following year, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, which is the National Hockey League championship. For you to be a winner in your job search, as well as in your life, it is absolutely essential that you love who you are and that you are proud of what you have achieved.