8 Steps to Recover from a Job Loss
8 Steps to Recover from a Job Loss
How to Get Back Up. The worst is after getting fired! Losing your job abruptly can feel like failure
personified, even if you were having trouble in your career or were growing more and more dissatisfied.
Additionally, the act of being forcibly removed from your position can send you into a whirlwind of
negative emotions, including sadness and feelings of embarrassment, shame, worthlessness, and self-
pity.
What you do is fundamentally a part of who you are. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that losing
your job is one of life’s most traumatic and stressful experiences. It is difficult to recover from this, but
you must if you want to move on and have a prosperous career. Considering that nobody will employ
someone who is moping around.
How to get your focus back on the game is as follows:
- Be Sad, But Don’t Remain Sad
This is the perfect opportunity to unwind and unwind from the world. When you are overcome with self-
criticism, rage, or shame after being let go, finding a new job might be challenging. Allow yourself time
to mourn the loss of everything, even if it wasn’t your dream job: the daily routine that was familiar and
comfortable, the connections with previous coworkers, and the sense of purpose or worth that your
work provided. There is a lot to process.
Give yourself permission to work through the difficult feelings. You could even give yourself permission
to feel sorry for yourself for a while. Feel free to let it out. I give you license to break out in sweats and
do the exact opposite of what you should be doing,but only for a little while. You must once more
confront the outside world after a few days. - Avoid Comparison and Depression
It’s probably not a good idea to be scrolling through other people’s “best-of” reels right now. It won’t
help you recover if you feel jealous or compare yourself to all the successful, happy individuals in your
Facebook page. In fact, if you compare your circumstances to everyone else’s, which is probably one of
your lowest points, you run the risk of sinking into a pit of despair, and that’s no way to move on and
advance in your profession.
Take a brief break from social media. Instead than considering what others are doing, pay attention to
yourself. - Recast the Circumstances
Reframing your experience is one approach to recover, despite the fact that it may feel impossible. Turn
the loss of your employment into a positive.
Read as many accounts of people who lost their jobs and overcome rejection as you can stand. A decent
place to start is with articles like these, these, these, and these.
You’ll soon realize that losing your job doesn’t define you, your skills, or your potential career any more
than losing your job defined anyone else. In its most basic form, being fired is a piece of information you
can use to inform future decisions. Fair warning: You could even start to feel eager for what’s to come. - Recognize the error that was made
Even if you weren’t informed of the specific issues during your exit chat, being dismissed for
performance suggests you undoubtedly have some things to improve. How conscious are you of your
flaws, is the question. Do your best to recognize them and steer clear of bringing them with you into the
future. Reread all of your employer reviews to get started. Make a list of the accomplishments you
received acclaim for; you’ll want to bring those to your subsequent career. Also take into account the
advice for development. What exactly are they saying? What could you have done differently to perform
better?
- Engage in Testy Conversations
Contact reliable former coworkers and ask for their candid opinions. Ask them about your advantages
and disadvantages. After speaking with a few folks, notice any new themes or patterns that have
emerged. Recognize and accept the problems that are brought up by this insightful and frank comments.
Listen to what they have to say when they speak. Avoid arguing, disputing, or contradicting. Never
defend yourself or assign blame to others. Just be attentive. Despite the fact that this is a difficult
activity, it will benefit both you and your job. - Create a plan of corrective action.
Determine what you can do to address any performance issues you want to work on after receiving
comments from your peers. Can you take a class to develop a skill? What books can you read to improve
your interpersonal skills? Videos or podcasts that can assist you sort out the problems that are holding
you back? Need tuition in a certain subject, like time management?
Your confidence will increase when you turn your attention from your defeat to making plans for your
next victory by using challenging feedback to get back into a learning mentality. - Exercise
You would be correct if you said that exercise seemed to be the go-to solution for improving any
circumstance. Your mental health will benefit from exercise, and it will give you the motivation you need
to start your job search. You want to do everything you can at this point to tip the scales in your favor.
Pick up some kettle bells, go for a run, or perform push-ups every day, and observe how the physical
activity affects your wellbeing. - Send your old boss a thank-you note! Hopefully, you’ll start to see things more clearly as you adjust to
the heartbreaking loss. Perhaps you’ll come to the conclusion that your manager made the best choice
for the business, or if not that, then at least one that will benefit you and your career in the long term.
Send a note to your former boss thanking her for the chance to work for the company and offering your
help should she ever need it in the future, even if it means swallowing some pride. Your professional
paths might meet again because neither you nor her can predict where they will lead. And in the end,
writing a brief message of appreciation will go a lot further than sundering relationships.
