Perhaps you saw it coming. The fall in company stock prices.
The news articles about company troubles. Maybe it was just
rumors on the production floor, or a creeping suspicion that
orders had slowed down and there was no longer the backlog of
work which had been a security blanket. Maybe it was the way
management started to avoid you and private meetings were held
without any communications afterwards.
Finally, it happened. The company, regretfully they assured you,
no longer needed your services. The last paycheck was handed
over, the checklist of Cobra benefits and unemployment insurance
details were reviewed, time to gather your personal items
allowed. You walked out in an unreal haze, barely noticing that
the remaining staff concentrated on their work as if to avoid
the possible contamination of being associated with someone they
now saw as a loser. A few of your closer friends shook your
hand, with averted eyes, and promised to stay in touch although
you both knew that it would never happen.
You drove home, wondering how to tell your family and asking
yourself over and over, “Why me?”
Welcome to the gray, anxious world of unemployment. Was it fair
that you were selected to go? Of course not. Is life always
fair? Of course not.
The key to maintaining your sense of self-worth through the
pressures of unemployment and the rigors of job search, an often
demeaning process, is to reframe your outlook and look at
yourself both objectively and kindly. You are in an
uncomfortable position that was not caused by anything you did,
or anything you didn’t do. It happened, as bad things often
happen to good people.
Treasure yourself, your skills, and your personal value and
learn to see what has happened to you as what it can be: an
opportunity to take a “time out,” to re-assess yourself,
practice self-exploration and self-appreciation, and a chance to
redirect your life into new and positive directions.
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