Our identities are intricately tied up with our jobs and careers. When it’s over, we find ourselves feeling lost and aimless. You no longer know who you are without your daily routine and a sense of purpose. The floodgate of emotions—depression, anger, bitterness and resentfulness—can be overwhelming.
Although it’s easy to plummet into despair, this mindset is self-destructive. It will permeate all aspects of your life and erode your self-confidence, sapping your drive and motivation.
When you lose your job, your instincts are to withdraw socially, as you feel embarrassed and ashamed. After all, when you meet people for the first time, they often ask, “What do you do for a living?” You worry that others will judge or think less of you because you are unemployed. Some shy away from asking for help because they do not want to be perceived as a burden.
Remember that it’s not just you going through this transitional period. Job losses have become the norm in a belt-tightening, cost-cutting environment, with millions of people unemployed. Knowing this won’t change matters, but you can take comfort in knowing it’s not your fault. The circumstances are out of your control. There is no black cloud over your head. People aren’t trying to sabotage your career or talk bad about you.
Why You Should Talk About Your Job Loss
You must open up to people about your job loss to keep yourself from falling deeper into a black hole. You will feel supported and less alone by talking about it with others. Your friends, family and former colleagues can offer you emotional support, practical help with mock interviews, or even job and recruiter leads.
To succeed in your job search and advance your career, you must surround yourself with a team to help you achieve your hopes and dreams. Instead of going it alone, seek out qualified recruiters, a career coach, résumé writer, mentor or sponsor.
Connect With A Recruiter
Look for recruiters who specialize in your space. Having a couple of smart, experienced, knowledgeable and well-connected recruiters working on your behalf can make all the difference in the world. Top recruiters have deep relationships with companies and hiring managers. They’ll often know about open job requisitions before anyone else. Companies often don’t aggressively advertise certain jobs and rely on recruiters to conduct stealth, under-the-radar searches for the appropriate candidates.
Recruiters offer insider information about hiring managers and corporate culture. You’ll gain tips on what the hiring managers really want in a prospective employee, what you should avoid saying and what the hot buttons to push are to ingratiate yourself with your future boss. Recruiters will smooth out any bumps in the road, advocate for you and help with the awkward negotiating process.
Networking On LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the go-to site for job seekers. The professional social media platform lets you put an #opentowork banner on your profile picture. The placard signals to everyone that you are actively searching and are motivated to find a new job.
However, it is not enough if you just have an #opentowork green banner on your LinkedIn profile. You want to clearly articulate your background, prior experiences, what you want to do next, the type of company and industry and the ballpark corporate title and compensation. This way, people will know more about you and could better offer assistance. If you’re looking to make a career pivot or explore something new, highlight the transferable skills, so it makes sense to prospective employers.
When you see employees in the same type of role as you from your target list of companies, send out invitations to connect, letting them know you’d love to work at the firm. If an online conversation ensues, be bold and ask if they could point you to the right person in charge of the hiring process for your desired role.
When you apply for a job, search for people you may know who work there. If you’re unfamiliar with anyone at the firm, tap into your network, both online and in person, to see if anyone you know has a connection with a decision-maker at the company. If they are nice enough to go to bat for you, politely ask them to put in a good word for you and offer a glowing recommendation. The recommendation will make you stand out. If you can obtain a couple of people supporting your candidacy, especially an insider, they’ll think you are a superstar.
If someone within your profession or industry posts content on LinkedIn, reply with a like and add a well-thought-out comment. Once you get confident, start writing your own posts or share videos you’ve made about a relevant topic about your profession that will resonate with others in your field.
Source: Forbes
