7 Ways To Survive A Job Loss And Bounce Back

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Most of the career advice we dole out at AskMen is geared toward those looking to eitheradvance their careers or land their first real-world job out of school. What often getsleft out of the conversation is advice for those who have been laid off, let go or kickedout.I was released from my day job this past Friday. I was employedfor over a year as a Human Capital Consultant to the federal government, which is exactlyas sexy and exotic as it sounds. Unfortunately, the nature of government contracting issuch that as we approach the end of the government’s fiscal year, firms are forcedto take stock of what budgets their clients were allotted and which contracts will berenewed. When I noticed some of my colleagues making unexplained departures, I knew thewriting was on the wall for me as well. C’est la vie.As a man,particularly one who’s getting married in about a month, losing your job is one ofthe most psychologically damning things that can happen. It’s not so much beingidle, because enterprising individuals can and do find plenty of constructive things tomake the time go by. It’s much deeper than that. While life is filled with rejection(college applications, women, sports tryouts), there’s nothing quite like having anemployer tell you to your face that whatever the circumstances were, you justweren’t worth keeping. Sure, in some instances, mass layoffs occur and almost no oneis safe, but in others it’s more like, “You’re OK, but we had to trimthe fat and unfortunately you didn’t make the cut.” It doesn’t evenmatter how they deliver the news, and, in fact, you wish they’d do it in a lesssolemn way. In emotional situations like that, you almost want an excuse to get mad, tohave a reason to tell them to f*ck off after delivering some scathing quips about how youwere tired of working with the apes they call employees anyway. But you can’t.Even more irritating is the way your friends and loved ones act, because the truthis they aren’t sure how to act. Even being asked about it just causes you to bristleup, and I liken talking about it to the way movie stars are forced to go on a press tourfor a movie that everyone knows is a steaming pile of sh*t. They smile, they talk abouthow it was a great role, but when you see the interview, you know they’d rather bedoing anything else. That’s what it’s like to talk to someone who’sunemployed about their unemployment, which is probably why you don’t see manyarticles written about it: No one really feels like writing about it while they’rein the middle of it. Hell, I hardly want to write this, but it’s a loteasier for me to be honest with myself and others through writing than it is throughtalking about it. Oh, and if you have some teeth you need removed, by all means ask anunemployed person about their job hunting activities andhow they’re spending their time. It’s the No. 1 way to get some free cosmeticdental work.But with all that said, I’m OK with the change, and you knowwhy? Because I have a plan. The same thing happened to me a few years ago at a differentfirm, and through that experience I learned both how and how not to deal with theemotional and logistical hardship of being handed a pink slip. Read on for aso-good-I-should-charge-money-for-it blueprint on how to get yourself off the dole in notime.Allow yourself time to process

So you’ve been kicked to the curb. The reasons why don’t matter right now.What does matter is giving yourself a little “me” time to let everythingmarinate in your head. If instead you were to dive head-first into the job search,you’d likely be running around like a headless chicken, desperate and withoutdirection. Don’t do that.Most pink slips are handed out on Fridays,because the weekend makes it less likely that the employee will return to cause some kindof disruption. In addition to taking the weekend, I advise taking the following Monday andTuesday to relax and recharge. What you do during that time is up to you, as long asit’s not related to job hunting or worrying about your situation. Treat the timelike a little vacation, and use it to do things that being at work normally wouldn’tallow. Maybe take on a small home-improvement project. Of course it’s neveradvisable to drink to excess, but if that’s how you want to grieve, then this is thetime to tie one on. Continue Reading

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