Laid Off – What Now?

Losing a job is difficult, and can really shake you up.  Now that one chapter has ended, it is time also to take action and rebuild your future.  Here are some good steps to take when you are laid off from a job.

• Find your center.

Relax, most everyone goes through this, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if you don’t see it yet.  Time to breathe, pray, meditate, and reflect on what you did in your last job, in order to find out what you would like to do next.   

• Create a new schedule, with specific daily goals and activities to build your new life.

Now that another company does not have control of your daily routine, it is time to create a new routine that will effectively build your confidence and help to increase productivity while you have off.  My advice would be to include the following: wake up by 7:30am, shower, dress nice like you are going to work, get out of the house with your laptop and go to a coffee shop to apply for jobs, eat a good lunch, keep grinding busting out new business emails, contact everyone on your list for help including recruiters and such.  You will get through this.

• Resume updates and inventory of your assets and value.

This is a great time to first find out what you like to do, and make sure you apply to those types of jobs accordingly.  This will mean building a new resume, categorizing your achievements, bragging about your best practices and value to the company.

• Define the target companies and positions you would like to get, then apply and keep track of the progress.

Taking your next step will be a bit of a process, as now you have to work toward getting that next opportunity.  This includes researching all the companies and positions that are available, catering your resume accordingly and reaching out.  I am a big fan of creating an excel document monitoring each company you reach out to, and updating it to monitor progress.

• If all else fails, contact the recruiters!

Time to call all the sharks out there to help you find that new opportunity.  If you can find a recruiter in your specific industry, this will help to find the right opportunity for you.

• Beast mode for part time work in the meantime.

There are many jobs out there that give you the flexibility of working part time where you can manage a side hustle before the full time hustle.  Craigslist.com, Fivver.com, Monster.com, LinkedIn.com are a few but many can help get you the in the meantime position.

• Apply for unemployment as it can take weeks to process.

Each state has it’s own system that allows you to apply for unemployment if you are laid off.  Unfortunately if you are fired you will not be able to collect it, so this can be an opportunity to take other cash related jobs like becoming a waitress, bartender or babysitter so you can get things popping.

• Take care of yourself.

Drink 8 glasses of water a day, and get plenty of fruit and vegetables.  I know I sound like your mother but when you are down in the weeds it is a great opportunity to take care of the things you can control like your physical well-being.

• Start a blog or create a journal to store your many emotions while going through this, you don’t need to share everything with family and friends if you don’t want to.

This is a safe place for you to store all your highs and lows during this transition period.  It is a great way to vent and not worry about what others think of you.

Final thought, you will get through this.  You are invincible, unbreakable, and very powerful.  Control those negative thoughts and get to work!  Also follow us on instagram @leverageambition for positive thoughts.

Keep it real.