7 Tips To Help You Deal With Getting Laid Off - Work It Daily

7 Tips To Help You Deal With Getting Laid Off - Work It Daily Losing your job is hard â€" hard on your bank account and self-esteem. It is probably one of the most professionally traumatic experiences you’ll ever have. Related: 8 Survival Tips For The Laid Off And Looking However, as hard as losing a job can seem at a time, it can lead to something positive as it gives you a fresh start. Here are a few days of successfully getting through a redundancy: 1. Take a break. You don’t need to go on an exotic vacation (although I flew to Dominican Republic to see my friends three days after losing my job and it’s worked wonders). Even a few days break will help you process what’s happened. Don’t make any big decisions in those first few days and don’t rush into the job market the day after you’ve received the news. You need time to process what happened. 2. Do a financial assessment?. To keep your anxiety in stress, figure out how long you have to look for a job â€" and give yourself as much time as possible to do so â€" and look at what you spend money on and how you can cut back. 3. Talk it out?. It is easy to feel resentful after you’ve lost a job â€" especially if you’d been really loyal to the company. Talk it out with the people you trust and definitely get it out of your system before you meet any recruiters. They will sense your bitterness, and it won’t reflect well on you. Surround yourself with positive people and be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up about what’s happened, and make sure you’re eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep. 4. Prepare your story to explain what happened. If you’ve been part of a big layoff, which is all over the newspapers, it is easier to explain why you got laid off. But otherwise, you will have to explain to prospective employers what happened. A short, upbeat and concise story is best â€" perhaps your department was restructured or your job was moved to a different location. Make sure your story will be backed up by your manager or any other references your future employer might want to contact. 5. Explore opportunities. Before you contact your network or send out any applications, make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are updated. This brief checklist will help you kick start your job search efforts. Reach out to former colleagues or friends work for organizations that interest you. Talk to the headhunters, create a list of companies that interest you. Conduct some informational interviews if you’re looking to work in a different industry. It might be worth becoming a member of a professional association to learn more about the industry you want to work in. Depending on what you do and your location, you might want to start looking at contract/temp/interim work in the meantime. 6. Keep the momentum going. Looking for a job requires a lot of time and effort. You need to have a lot of activity going, so don’t get discouraged if you only get one interview for every ten applications sent. Make sure you tailor your resume to specific jobs to maximize your chances of getting hired, but also remember most employers are looking for candidates who are a very close match to the requirements. Don’t lose focus â€" it can take a few months to find the right opportunity. Don’t stop your job search activities, even if you’re in advanced interviewing stages with one company. You can do a great interview and still not get the job for whatever reason, and then you’re back to square one, which can crush your confidence. 7. Stay positive. It is easy to feel sorry for yourself when you’ve lost a job. You might have regrets about not saving more money or now looking for a job earlier. However, this negative self-talk won’t help and it will only worsen your anxiety. Make a conscious effort to stay positive. Surround yourself with positive people and think of the obstacles you’ve dealt with in the past and what you’ve achieved, to focus on things that will give you confidence. If you’re looking for help with your resume, LinkedIn profile or engineering technique, check out my special discounted November coaching offer here. Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a Work It Daily-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Bigstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!