Last month I received a long distance telephone call overseas from a dear friend which happens to be my college buddy. One might think a conversation with an old friend are about unforgettable days, good times during Spring break parties and reminisce about crazy moments no one would dare themselves to do all over again. Eventually, people grow up, as did our serious talk regarding our families and current status. That’s when a different topic that I could not allow myself to dwell on.
“I just lost my job, Bill. I’m not left with any choice but to ‘ Restructure ‘ and start from the bottom again. It’s a total shock, especially that I now have three children that depends on me.”
Needless to say, the world’s struggling economy with most of its population – still trying to climb it’s way up and away from poverty – uncertainty and instability still prevailed this trial that could happen to just about any person. You’re not alone and countless people are out of work through no fault of their own. While there is no miracle or magic solution to finding a perfect job, those whom decided to seek new jobs or career rather than dwell, would strike a luck, and maintains to have firm determination in their mindset.
Did you recently lose your job? Now out of work but don’t want to be? Below are a few steps I wanted to share to an old friend, and to everyone else who might stumble upon this article, to boost the odds – a quest together with millions of other jobless individuals out there with efforts of finding an employment.
Avoid Defining Yourself from your previous Employment Status.
Only YOU alone, and no one else, will define who you are, not your position, your job title, or a company’s decision whether or not to employ you. So while losing your job is a very personal, or even a dramatic, experience, it’s crucial not to take it too personally. Who you are is not what you do. Never was and never will be. Research by known psychologists and experts in the United States have found out, through years of careful studies, that the biggest determinant of achievement amongst those who succeed after a setback like job loss lies in how they explain that loss to themselves and those around them. Don’t interpret it as a personal rejection against you from a previous co-worker or your boss. It may well be due to your own flaws that you were unable to deliver, or because of economic forces far beyond your control that you found yourself out of work. Potential employers are more likely to be attracted to individual job seekers who have proven their ability to stay positive and confident despite the setback of losing a job.
Acquire as much Knowledge to Broaden Your Skill Set
In today’s ever evolving global job market, keeping your skill set up-to-date and relevant is a never-ending activity. While you may not have chosen to have this extra time on your hands, make the most of it by learning new skills or re-sharpening old ones, staying abreast of developments in your field, becoming more educated about issues in related fields, or seek training in a totally new arena. Doing so might make the crucial difference that differentiates you on your job search.
Never Let PRIDE Overcome Your Judgement
Sadly, losing employment can mark a dint in your pockets, it often puts a far deeper dint in a person’s pride. Don’t let your emotions keep you from doing whatever it takes to put yourself in an optimal position to find a new role. Sometimes that means saying yes to opportunities and doing things that you may have previously thought were beneath your capabilities and authority. If that’s what it takes to open new doors and honor other short-term responsibilities, then don’t let any false pride get in the way.
Humble Acceptance
Losing your job often means losing the structure and purpose inherent in a usual workday. So assuming you can’t afford a year sailing the globe on the Queen Mary, be intentional about creating structure in your day and scheduling those things you want to accomplish. Set your alarm and don’t hit snooze just because you can. Schedule your exercise and create a job search plan with specific goals and deadlines – from when you will have your resume polished and ready to go, to the calls you need to make each day to tap your network and get on the radar of those who can help you get back to.
Avoid Destructive Emotions, put it in Check
Feelings of humiliation, anxiety, rejection, inadequacy, failure, resentment and self-pity can easily take over after losing your job and searching for a new one. At times this might turn out hopeless for other as they let their inner emotions control over the feeling. Your job is to not let them. While we can’t always choose our emotions, we can always choose how we respond to them. Whether the reason you lost your job has everything to do with your perceived performance or absolutely nothing, it’s how you respond in the wake of it that will set you apart from others when it comes to finding a new job. When looking for work, attitude is everything. Keeping a cheerful attitude and a proactive mindset will set you apart from the masses, making all the difference in how “lucky” you get in what is, for millions of people, an unlucky job market.
Stay Focused and Concentrate in your Goals rather than Dwell
In line with the above, don’t get stuck dwelling about the past, and focus instead on the future. Specifically, focus on what you need to do to set yourself up as well as possible on the job front, from how you are budgeting your money, to your relationships with those who can help you find a new job. What you focus on expands, so rather than focus on what you don’t want, focus on what you do want.
Bolster your Resilience
Resilience is not what you have, It’s what you do. It’s been proven and demonstrated that the effectiveness of exercise to build resilience in body, mind and spirit, boosts our immunity to stress, weather adversity better, and emerge from it better off. So when life is not going as planned, be sure to prioritize activities that help keep anxiety at bay to get back on your feet faster.
Choosing your Environment
Emotions are contagious. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on when you need some support. Also keep in mind that your friends and family will take their cue from you, so be sure to let them know you want their support, not their pity. Likewise, don’t get sucked into the negativity of ‘emotional vampires’ – those who loves to complain, whine and throw pity parties. Cynics and whiners are not good to hang out within the best of times, so if you are trying to keep your ‘emotional head above water,’ they’ll be nothing but an ankle weight. Don’t let them pull you under!
Place yourself on a Radar for Exposure
The more people who know what you want, the more who can help you get it. Or at least connect you to people who can. We’ve all heard that everyone is connected to everyone else through just six degrees of separation. Tap the power of connection and talk to people who can introduce you to potential employers or make a personal recommendation that can make all the difference. Expose your availability for jobs that could reach you via word of mouth, through social media sites and the power of the World Wide Web. Your network is your net worth and it is never more relevant than in a job search. Now is not the time for timidity. Reach out to people in your network to ask for introductions and close the gap on the degrees of separation between you and those who need to know about you. Never underestimate the power of the people in your orbit to help you land that lucky break.
Rely on your Actions, Not Hope
Last but not least, don’t hope and wish for something good to happen to yourself, and don’t let others hope for you. When life doesn’t go to plan it’s easy to fall into a trap and ruminate on what you should or should not have done to avoid your current predicament. What does that serve? Hoping for yourself only amplifies the destructive emotions that fuel anger, self-pity and a sense of powerlessness. Likewise, don’t let others’ judgments and opinions about what you should or should not have done distract you from getting on with the work of finding work.
That’s why SCPI BPO has the right Career Solutions and Job Opportunities. Along with some of the most experienced employees, Contact Centre agents and HR professionals, they put together the finest in business support services. Today, SCPI offers unparalleled expertise in training, marketing, customer service, technology, creative solutions, and problem solving. Sound Connection Philippines have helped its valued workers to obtain their jobs and turn it into a career. Visit our Career Opportunities and find out more about our job openings.
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