What to Do When You Have Lost Your Job During a Recession

It is an incontestable fact that the world economy is currently in a
recession mode, with no clear exit anywhere near in sight. The
recession period is a time of great turmoil in many workplaces.
Everyday there is bad news of companies reducing their headcounts, and
no one really knows where the axe will fall next.

Here are a
few tips to help you cope, and get started on your next executive
career search, if the axe happens to fall on you during the recession.

Don’t take it personally.
If the official position given for your lay-off is the recession, make
the choice to believe it. Sure, it goes against the grain, but it is
still the right attitude to hold. It is a far more empowering choice of
attitude than choosing to think that the boss has recommended you for
the axe for personal reasons, which is where the mind is likely to go
by default. Yet, if you choose to take the recession-induced lay-off
personally, you might find your self-esteem shattered, which might lead
to anger and deep depression, making the task of starting an executive
career search and securing another job a difficult, if not impossible,
undertaking.

Don’t go into denial. The earlier you accept
the sad fact that the inevitable has happened, the better for you.
Harboring the illusory thought that the company is likely to reconsider
their decision and reinstate you is likely to do you more harm than
good. Remember, everything happens for a reason, and your lay-off could
actually be a blessing in disguise. In fact, you have the power to make
your lay-off a blessing (at least in some way), if only you choose to
use that power. You could, for example, use the period between your
lay-off and getting another job for self discovery, which can then lead
to lifelong happiness.

Get Moving Immediately. A
recession-induced job loss is not like being fired for other reasons.
You don’t need to put yourself in an extended period of mourning and
torture yourself with extended soul-searching. Instead, you need to
start looking for other opportunities immediately; knowing full well
that getting a job in a receding economy is likely to take longer than
it would otherwise take. So the earlier you start the search, the
better for you. You don’t need a situation where you end up exhausting
all your savings before you get your next job and earn your first
paycheck. A good place to start is with an executive career search.

Improve on Your Skill Base. If
getting another job during the recession indeed takes longer than you
had anticipated, use the increased free time to update your existing
skills, and develop other skills relevant to your career. This is bound
to increase your marketability in the job market, and help your
executive career search go more smoothly, as job tasks tend to get
consolidated (to save on the headcount) during the recession. This
task consolidation in turn favors multi-skilled individuals. Moreover,
updating your existing skills and developing others is bound to keep
your mind occupied during the period between your lay-off and getting
another job, thus immunizing you from the negativity which tends to
take root during such hard periods.

As discussed in some of the
articles in this site, make sure to take classes and complete
certification programs to boost your skills in various areas. Refer to
the section Further Study on this website, to read more about this topic.

With
aid of these tips, you can keep yourself afloat, or at least keep your
head above the waters, even after falling victim to the recession axe.

-career advice-

Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia