Lost your job to COVID? A 3-step guide to bouncing back
It was another work (from home) day, and you spot an email with the subject line — “Restructuring”. Within seconds, you feel your heart sink into a bottomless pit. It won’t be long that your identity and self-worth will be taking a massive hit. Even if you were not particularly fond of your job, losing one suddenly can be a big blow. Though it will suck bad for some time, you need to move swiftly to bring your A-game back.
Here are three steps you need to use as a guide to help you help yourself better.
Step 1: Pay gratitude
Step 2: Grieve and Harness your Growth Mindset
Step 3: Update your resume and Network on LinkedIn
Step 1: Pay gratitude
First things first, you should not ever trash your former employer anywhere. If you sit and think about the time you spent at the organization, you should feel proud of your self and the growth you achieved at the organization. Be grateful for the opportunity you had of being able to bring value to the table to your previous employer.
Here are few phrases that you should use, “I met some great people,” “I achieved strong growth there,” “I learned so much,” etc. while being upbeat and positive when discussing it all.
Of course, we know the other side of the story too; not every co-worker was a friend, or that strong management teams can commit strategic failures also. Most importantly, we are responsible for our career graph and our future.
Step 2: Grieve and Harness your Growth Mindset
Relish that big bowl of icecream or snipe some folks in MOH or maybe take long mid-day snoozes, day after day and grieve well. Whatever rows your boat, but make sure to put a limit on the same. Five days? 1 Week? Your call, but after you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, you have got to harness your growth mindset and reframe the situation you’re going through.
Look at the silver lining. You have this opportunity to pitch yourself to the next organization you have wanted to work with for quite some time now. Being laid off because of #COVIDrestructuring in response to “Why did you quit your last organization?”, now that is something.
Step 3: Update your resume and network on LinkedIn
While I hope you have invested in getting yourself a good professional resume. If not, it is now time to update it to better suit your career interests. If not done already, it is high time to invest in work necessity.
In case you didn’t get the word going around town, I do write professional resumes. I am your go-to-person.
Lean into your mentors and clients and ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn. How can a potential employer hire you without requiring much convincing? If you have your former clients validating your work and mentors singing your praises, mission accomplished!
I encourage you to think out of the box and get recommendations from your boss and your colleagues to validate the work you have brought to the organization. Given the unprecedented situation due to COVID, chances are your boss will be more than happy to assist you in getting you the next best thing.
Don’t hide that you’ve been laid off; instead, use it as an advantage!
Unfortunately, in a world where this situation seems to be universal, show your potential employer how well you could steer yourself out of this situation. Don’t escape it and make it public.
You were not fired. Please. Don’t subject yourself to that discouragement.
- Employees are fired because of their not so good work performance.
- Employees are laid off because the organization has been restructured, and the position has been eliminated.
Life is a lesson, and so was this job. Instead of questioning your abilities and terming yourself a failure just because you were laid off, attempt to rewire your brain to think that you graduated from this job. Now it is onto the next one.
More importantly, remember to slow down for a while and take it easy for your career is a marathon and not a sprint ;)
Oh, also, here’s a parting thought: How about you treat the hand raised at the beginning as a sign of victory and kick-start your second career innings? Perspective, my friend.
Meanwhile, I’ll be here cheering the Post COVID you, on and always.
Ps. The entire COVID situation is an unfortunate period in human history. This post does not attempt to undermine the pandemic and the sorrow it has brought upon all of us. It is never my intension to hurt personal feelings instead make the most from what we have.
I have a blog called Empower To Strive (https://www.empowertostrive.com) and write on the Growth Mindset. You should read more articles like there, there. I can’t wait to meet you, there. Thanks!
