If you've just recently lost your job, don't feel bad. You are not alone. Millions of people, not only in the U.S., but even in Europe are out of work. The U.S.' and Europe's Economic Turmoil has unfortunately taken its toll on a lot of people.
The bright side is, it's not the end of the world! There are plenty to be grateful for that most of us take for granted or not even consider as important in our lives, but they are. Family, friends, our health, are just some of the things that we can be grateful for! Okay, yes being grateful for all of them is fine and dandy, but the reality is you are still unemployed. Don't panic, you still have options!
Though I'm not a therapist by any means nor recently lost my job, but as an entrepreneur, my businesses have unfortunately been affected as well by the economic downturn. Therefore, I had to learn how to adapt and cope with the economic changes in order to get by and survive.
Here are some tips that I would like to share with you that I've used and found beneficial. Hopefully you'll find them valuable as well:
3 "A's" to Remember
1) ACCEPTANCE
2) ASSESSMENT
3) ACTION
ACCEPTANCE
Okay, so you just lost your job...SO WHAT?! GET OVER IT! I know these are pretty harsh words but it's the truth. And TRUTH HURTS! The point is, it's not the end of the world. LIFE GOES ON and so should yours. You can't sit there every single day feeling sorry for yourself because guess what...it's not healthy for you and it will definitely not pay your bills! Self-pity and denial will take you nowhere! So the very first step in this process is ACCEPTANCE. Accept the fact that you lost your job and move on with your life. I know it's easier said than done. Though losing a job is something that never happened to me in my entire working career, I too had experienced NOT HAVING A JOB by personal choice. Nevertheless, not having a job is not a very good feeling. But so much for negative feelings. What this article is about is how you can get yourself back on track AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after losing your job. The good news is that it's not as hard as you might think it is. As long as you keep your positive attitude, be determined, patient, and most of all resilient, YOU'RE GONNA BE JUST FINE! So relax and don't panic! Just take it one step at a time.
Right now you're probably saying to yourself "I'm really trying my hardest to get over losing my job but it's not easy. I still don't understand why I got laid off when I'm such a hard-working, dedicated, and loyal employee!"
Well, that's all good and dandy. But to better understand why things happen, let me explain a little bit about "Outsourcing" and "Lay Off". While these two words have different meanings, the end result is the same in any business. "The company is cutting cost to save money at the expense of their employees losing their jobs, period."
As an entrepreneur (employer) myself, I had to make some tough decisions in the past. And this includes "downsizing" or "laying off" people. It had to be done for the survival of my business, and of course myself. It's not my proudest moment, I can tell you that for sure. But at the end of the day, if I didn't do what I needed to do, more people would've been affected, most likely including losing my business. It's nothing PERSONAL against my employees, it's just all tough BUSINESS decisions I had to make. So, what I'm trying to say to you is DON'T TAKE IT PERSONAL. It's not something that you did or didn't do. It's just something that the company you were working for had to do, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. So don't feel bad at all!
With that said, let's move on to the next "A"
ASSESSMENT
Before lining up at your local unemployment office, there are several things that you should assess first.
1) Your Financial Situation If you have any savings in the bank, find out exactly how much you have then create a monthly budget. Create a monthly budget that includes your housing (rent or mortgage), car payment, insurance (health, car, etc.), and food. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND scrapping your UNNECESSARY EXPENSES for now such as going out to dinner, movies, shopping, etc. By minimizing your unnecessary expenses, it will help you stretch your savings a little longer while you're getting yourself back on track. After you create your monthly budget, figure out how long your savings in the bank will last you so you can plan your next move.
2) Your Skills Line up your skills. On a piece of paper, write down ALL your skills that you're good at. This isn't exactly your resume, but rather just an outline of your qualifications as an evaluation so you know where to go next. This will also help you discover that maybe it's time for you to re-invent yourself and perhaps learn new skills to improve your marketability, or for some self-fulfillment purposes to say the least. Let me give you some examples of what I'm talking about.
Let's say that you worked in manufacturing (cars, electronics, shoes, clothing, etc.) industry and you lost your job. Ask yourself these questions:
- "What equipment and tools did I use and know how to use?" - "What computer software and program did I use and know how to use?" - "What are my additional duties and responsibilities other than my daily task?"
Okay, let's say your previous work involved administrative duties, ask yourself these questions:
- "What computer software and program did I use and know how to use?" - "What are my additional duties and responsibilities other than my daily task?"
So, do you get my point? The more you know about your skills, the better you'll be. If you need or want to learn new computer skills, there are several websites on the internet that offers FREE Online Computer Learning Classes. Here are a couple of them:
After you've made your ASSESSMENT, the next step is for you to take some ACTION.
ACTION
Based on your financial situation assessment, you can now determine if going to your local unemployment office is needed. If you feel that you need financial assistance, explore all your options of receiving help from the government, not only unemployment financial help but also look into food stamps and housing assistance.
If you are in the U.S., here are some government websites that you might be interested in:
* US Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance
* US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service
* US Department of Housing and Urban Development Rental Assistance
Whether you decide to seek help from the government to get back on your feet or you want to do it on your own, make sure that you keep yourself pre-occupied. You can do this by constantly learning something new, such as computer skills. Computer skills are and will always be needed and sought by employers. So, the more computer skills you learn, the better off you'll be.
If starting your own business is in your mind, it is also a good choice. There are lots of home based businesses that you can do from the comfort of your own home. You may want to consider reading my book "Outsource Yourself! A Practical And Step-By-Step Guide To Starting A Work From Home Business". My book is full of invaluable information, from getting your necessary business documents to getting your clients! Click here for more information about the book.
Here are some other information that you might find interesting:
• Obama to Congress: Time to Help Small Businesses
• US Small Business Administration
Good luck to you and hang in there! Remember, it's not the end of the world. Be STRONG and stay POSITIVE ALWAYS!
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