I lost my job today.
In these strange times that we're in,
we need to talk about what do you do if you lose your job.
And if you're in this boat or worried about being in this boat.
Stay tuned because I'm going to give you the best strategies to help you if this
happens to you. Hello and welcome back to my channel,
where I help you slay your career and cultivate the successful life you deserve.
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I release a new video every Tuesday. Our topic today is a difficult one,
because worst case scenario for most people in their career is to lose their
job. Unfortunately, with everything that is going in the world right now,
there has been a lot of layoffs, a lot of furloughs,
and many of you may be facing job instability.
I know it's not the sexiest topic.
It's not the most glamorous, and it really feels far away
from the career advancement and workplace issue videos that I typically make.
But I know that this is a conversation I'm having with many of you privately,
and I wanted to bring in the conversation I want into the open.
Is it pleasant to think about losing your job? No, it's not.
But it's a lot less scary when you know exactly what to do,
and that there is life after layoff.
If you're ready to prepare yourself for the next step in your career,
click that like button and let's get right into it.
The first thing that you need to do is know that you are not alone.
And I needed to address this one straight away.
I'm just clear the air because although we don't talk about it,
this happens to almost everyone at some point in their career between
restructures, hard times, bad fits, and just incompetent leadership
that couldn't tell talent if it smacked them in the face.
There are many reasons why someone may face a layoff or job loss,
and it still feels like there's so much stigma around it.
Anytime that I speak with someone who is recently been terminated from their
job, there is so much shame behind it.
The thing is right now in this context,
this is something that so many people are facing
and it's something that's so many people have faced across history.
And I get it. It's not supposed to happen, especially if you're a top performer,
but the reality is is that no one is completely immune to adversity in their
career. I've had a lot of jobs over the course of my career,
and there's actually been four times that I have personally faced job loss.
Well five, if you count the time I was accidentally fired,
but that's a story for another day.
And sometimes when it actually happens to you,
it is a gigantic relief because you hated that job.
You hated your manager, you were ready for the next step anyway,
and it was the push for you to do it.
But sometimes it's scary because you have bills to pay,
or just the fact that you lost your job is something that you internalize
and feel like it's a reflection of you and your words. I can promise you,
unless you got fired for doing something truly terrible,
this is not a reflection of you or your potential in your career.
a little tiny bit of time to dwell on it a day, a week tops
and hopefully if you have severance pay,
you're going to have a little bit of wiggle room in So,
but I don't want you to live there in that place of feeling awful
and terrible because you've lost your job.
I want you to pick up the pieces and go on
so that you can find your next great opportunity.
And sometimes to do that you need the second strategy, which is to breathe.
If you're facing a job loss,
there's a good chance that your fight or flight response is going to be
activated.
It is a stressful situation to be in and it's not only going to be triggered in
that one moment in time.
It is going to be triggered again and again as you process what has just
happened. Now, especially in the moment when you hear the news,
do your best to keep your composure. can be really difficult. Let's face it,
there is a lot of emotions that this is going to stir up.
If you just lost your job, you might cry and that's totally okay.
If you're in the room with the person who has just given you the bad news,
you can ask to take a moment or for tissue.
If the person who just had to deliver that news to you,
it's a normal human being,
are going to have an immense amount of empathy for you at that moment in time.
And if they don't, ththeyere are probably a really toxic person,
and this is probably a great sign that this is best for you in the long run.
The reason though that breathing actually really works is taking a deep breath
in and a deep breath out allows you about six to 10 seconds when you're doing it
correctly, and that's going to give your brain time for the chemical
that is actually triggering your fight or flight response to actually dissipate
so that you can move into the rational center in your brain is to get to work
100% of the time. Maybe not,
but you know what it's worth doing and breathing never
hurts to do and it is particularly important to help you implement the next
step, which is to not do anything dumb, even if you really feel like it.
This is not the time to tell off your boss,
to tell the HR manager that they're a joke,
or to just navigate directly to glassdoor to leave a scathing review
about your incompetent employer when you lose your job.
And you definitely don't want to be the person who
steals confidential information or assets from the company on your way out the
door. It's totally normal to feel angry and to do these things,
but I promise you when you navigate this scenario with dignity and grace,
it is going to reflect on you and it is going to earn you a lot of respect from
the people who are watching you walk out that door.
Ultimately acting up and lashing out for them is going to validate
that they made the right choice and letting you go from your job.
That's not what you want to do.
And it's certainly not going to get you any positive references in the future.
And I say this because I have seen a whole host of really bad behavior
over the course of my career when this is how I have seen own in the middle of
the office.
I've seen someone log into multiple computer systems and leave a lot of really
disparaging remarks. Basically, I've heard a lot of really awful stories
that ended up trashing the professional reputation of that person
who was let go for nothing against them and as a direct result of their
behavior.
Instead of having a lot of people that were going to help them find the next
step. and what have been positive references for them,
they basically walked away because they didn't want anything to do
with that hot mess. And that does lead me directly into the next step
of what to do if you lose your job and that is to make a plan.
I know what you're thinking.
Oh, Jennifer, you and your plans... I just can't help myself.
There are instances where you lose your job,
where you are going to get a severance package,
which is hopefully going to give you a bit of a buffer into your next step. Now,
disguised in this unfortunate event of job loss is actually a huge opportunity
for you.
You have the opportunity to hit reset and to make the next great step in your
career. Ask yourself the essential questions to make sure that
you're bringing yourself into the right direction.
What kind of company do you want to work for?
Do you want the same job or do you want to do something different?
What strengths do you really want to focus on,
and amplify in your next role so that you can have the most
dramatic impact and accelerate the growth in your career?
I really encourage you to dig deep in these ones and if you do,
really want to dive into it and figure out what your ideal company as and really
what you want to do. I do have some videos that will help you do just that.
I will link them in the description bar down below.
And this is an incredibly worthy investment in your time.
It's not going to take months or years in order for you to do.
We are really talking about a few hours of self discovery to figure out
what you really should do next and when you're completely informed
about your ideal company and your dream job,
it is going to be so much easier for you to get out in the world and to find it.
Now. When you're doing that, you also should follow the next strategy
of what to do when you lose your job and that is to make an inventory of
greatness.
If you follow me on LinkedIn,
you know that I talk a lot about a Chronicle of Awesomeness,
which is something that you should be keeping,
but I know a lot of you aren't necessarily doing so yet.
What you want to make sure that you're doing though
is that you're taking a brain dump of all of the awesome things that you have
done. You can do this for your last job and really for every job
that you have actually had because it's going to give you the
foundation of the showcase items on your resume.
Create a list of things that you have overperformed on, what awards,
what acknowledgements, what compliments have you received.
The other thing that you can do if you have been given a notice period
is if you have received in complements from your manager, from your colleagues,
from your clients.
Make sure that you take record of that and I'm not saying to like take assets
or information that you're not supposed to,
but just take note of the things that really made you stand out
and got you noticed and appreciated because these are things
that you're going to want to showcase as you activate your search.
I know that you're going to have a really long list of amazing accomplishments
for you to showcase.
I do have a video series on creating a stellar resume coming up.
If you haven't already subscribed to make sure that you click the subscription
button, because I want to walk you through exactly how you're going to do it.
And as I mentioned, these points that you're articulating are going to
provide the foundation for your resume template
and it's going to help you when you need to tailor your resume when you're
applying for a job. Plus it's not going to hurt you in interview preparations.
And that brings us into the next step of what to do when you lose your job,
and that is to activate your network.
Now how you approach this is going to be completely unique to who you are.
I know some people go onto LinkedIn, write a post and get an outpouring
of support and love from their colleagues and from their friends
who really actively help them find their next role.
Whereas others don't want to broadcast that news so widely
and those to do direct outreach, no matter how you choose to do this,
the most important thing is that you pick a means of doing it that feels right
to you, and that you actually do it.
I've seen way too many ambitious professionals who just get bogged down
in the embarrassment of losing their job and they neglect to activate their
network. The people that already know you have already worked with you,
I can really attest to how great you are,
are going to be the greatest catalyst to help you land your next job. Well,
it is going to vary from company to company.
I know many companies have at least 50% of their hiring through referrals,
and I've heard of companies that are running referral hiring from 70 to 80%.
This is going to give you a huge leg up and this is also something that you can
focus on expanding as well.
Social proof is really important in hiring.
If you're referred to a job, your resume is actually going to get read, fo-sho,
without passing an ATS and that friend who refers you,
it's probably going to get a bonus and they might even be willing to help you
prepare for your interviews to make sure that you are going to be the successful
candidate, activate the contacts that you already have,
but also double down in terms of expanding and growing the network of people
that you know. You can do this right now through online communities.
You don't have to be going to events to do this,
but if events are your thing and they are up and running,
then go ahead and go to them.
Now there's one final thing that I want to talk about in the event that you lose
your job, and that is the exit interview.
Exit interview is are very commonplace anytime that someone is exiting
an organization except for usually when there is termination with cause.
If you are asked to do an exit interview,
know that you actually are not obliged to do so.
But it is an act of good will to do it.
The thing that I do want you to be considerate of in your exit interview
is what you actually say in your exit interview. Again,
if this is a company that you want to maintain a relationship,
if you're hoping to get referrals from the people that you worked with or
references from your manager, just going to be really,
really real with you when it actually comes to exit interviews.
Statistics tell us that exit interviews actually don't result in any actual
action. The conversation that you have needs to be the conversation
that you feel like you need to have,
but if you are earlier in your career and you still are establishing your
reputation
and you are really relying on employment for money as most of us are,
then I do want you to be considerate of the things that you're saying in your
exit interview.
Doing something such as trashing your manager or trashing leadership
or talking about how the company is completely and grossly and competent.
It's not going to get you very far, even if it's totally true. .
I know that this is particularly challenging if you have been laid off,
but I can't stress this enough.
Making sure that you're exiting the company with intention and grace
something that is going to bring you really far in terms
of establishing your professional reputation and staging yourself
for success in the next step of your career.
A bonus tip for you as someone who has been through it multiple times,
I promise you there is life after layoff.
I know that it is extremely jarring to lose your income and your identity.
If you're like me and are very wrapped up in what you do,
which if you subscribe to my channel, you probably are,
but I promise you that there is going to be a next step.
You are going to get hired by another company.
And I hope that it is your dream company.
Because so often when we are going through an adverse career event,
such as a layoff or a termination,
really anytime that we are facing job loss,
it is actually a great opportunity for us to make that step up to up level our
careers. Would it be nice if we were totally in control of what was happening?
Yeah, it would be.
But that's not actually the reality of the situation for anyone,
and if you are going through this right now. ,
I just want you to remind yourself and to write it somewhere that you see it
every day. Even if it feels really, really hard, you're going to be okay.
In fact, you're going to be incredible.
I want you to clean that head into the comments right now and write,
I am incredible. Because you are. And when you own it,
when you say it out loud. It just makes it true. I don't know how this works.
It just works.
And I really want you to use this unfortunate event as a step up in your career.
Head over to this video where I'm going to help you identify what your
ideal working environment is so that you can land your dream job next.
I'll see you over there. If this was helpful, do please click that like button.
Bye for now. {Bloopers}