How To Get Back On Your Feet When Losing Your Job
When you lose a job, it can feel like the ground has been pulled from under you. Regardless of whether it’s a part-time job or one that you’ve been in for years, to lose your income can be a real punch to the gut. During this pandemic, many people have found themselves out of a job or taking a considerable pay cut that has resulted in the need to find extra work. With that being said, it’s important to look at your options in order to get back on your feet as soon as possible. Here are some tips to get back on your feet when losing a job.
Take Some Time To Reflect
It’s important to take some to reflect on what’s happened and that it can often be helpful to work on yourself for a while. It might be that you need to take a week or so just to get yourself into a better place. Losing a job can be mentally challenging, and as a result, you might not be in the right mindset to even start looking for a job, let alone attending interviews and networking with anyone who can help. You mental health and general wellbeing is something that you need to prioritize and focus on first before you move onto the next stage. Take some time out where you can and if you have savings, then it means you might be able to take a bit longer than you think. Just spending some time mulling things over and reflecting can be a good way of moving forward in a positive way.
Revamp Your Resume
Your resume is something that you may have either worked on recently, or it’s been a few years since you last looked at it. Even though you’ve not changed jobs, there might be certain courses or workshops you’ve done that have gained you more experience or even qualifications. These are all something that is worth adding to your resume and it’s a good opportunity to give your resume a revamp before sending it out to job applications. Consider what needs to change and what you might want to adapt depending on where you might be heading next. For some, a career change might be needed and for others, it might be a case of pitching yourself up for a job that’s a step up from where you were originally.
Call Up Any Connections
When you lose your job, it can feel like you’ve got no one to turn to, but that’s not the case. We all make friends whether that’s through our colleagues, through professional circumstances, or in our personal lives. Even if you don’t think you have connections, you probably do have. It’s worth getting in touch with those who you feel might be able to help you get your foot in the door for other job roles that might be available currently. Many individuals have managed to secure a job by being headhunted by those who know them or by being recommended. Obviously, we’re all a little bit biased when it comes to those we put forward personally for jobs, but there’s going to be some professionals that you know who will genuinely help you to find a new job.
So whether this is a list of emails or your close connections on LinkedIn, get in touch with those who can help.
Look At What’s Available On The Job Market
The job market is huge, and even if there’s a shortage of jobs currently, that doesn’t mean there are no prospects whatsoever. Sometimes, you might need to find a floater job to tide you over for the time being whilst you work on your skills or experience in order to get the job you do want. It might be that there are no jobs in the industry you want to be in, and so you’ll need to find something that’s similar to that. It’s worth focusing on your core skills and looking what those skills can be used for when it comes to other job opportunities. Take your time looking for jobs, and don’t just limit yourself to the one job board. There are tons out there, so make sure you spread your net far and wide where you can.
Consider A Change In Career
A career change might be something you consider when it comes to losing your job. The loss of your job might have been just what you need to push you to try something new. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise because, actually, you lost your passion or love for the job that you were in. With that in mind, it’s worth assessing what you might be qualified to do and what needs you to gain more qualifications or skills. There are plenty of courses both through full-time education and online that might fit what you’re after. For example, you’ve got online social work degrees that might be useful if you’re looking to head into a career in social care. Work out what’s available and make sure you’re picking out the right courses and training opportunities because most are going to cost you money. And when money might be tight or limited, you’re going to want to make the right choices.
Seek Financial Help If Needed
Financial help is something that’s often needed when you lose your job, and not everyone has savings that they can lean back on. With that being said, there’s likely to be plenty of opportunities out there to seek financial aid when it’s needed. This can be through the governing bodies that are in your area to seeking loans that can help you pay off all the necessities so that you can keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. It might be that you have to rely on family and friends too in some cases.
Getting back on your feet when you’ve lost your job is a hard thing to do, but once you’re up, the only way to go is forward.
