Maybe business in general has been poor, and cutbacks were in order. You didn't survive all the cuts. Or maybe the company was simply going down the drain because top management chose to stick with buggy whips when it should have switched to transmissions. Perhaps you're the victim of a sale or merger. The people now on top want their own teams, and for any number of reasons that does not include you. Regardless of the reason for your firing, you're part of a sizable army. According to Business Week: "Even in rosy times, it's estimated that about 500,000 managers are fired each year. It happens on all levels, and it happens for a wide variety of reasons, some of which aren't very rational."
Or you may be on a job and about to tell your boss, "Take this job and shove it!"
For whatever reason, you have a crisis in your career, and this article aims to help you. First we discuss attitudes, and next look at some traps you can fall into. Then we move on to details. What kind of people do you respond to most favorably on first meeting? The pessimists, the grumblers -or those who are cheerful, positive, and enthusiastic? And so it is with job hunters.
Starting off on the right foot is terribly important, and the impressions you make on possible employers in the first few minutes of meeting are crucial. Not that a favorable impression at the start will necessarily carry through even the first interview or the series of interviews it may take to get a new job, but a negative attitude will often ruin your chances in the first five or ten minutes. Psyching yourself up to make every interview a success will help you display a positive attitude.
Not only is a positive attitude important with prospective employers, it is also important in dealing with your friends. If you display a negative attitude with them, it will convince them it was your fault that things didn't work out for you at XYZ, and they may not stretch themselves to give you more than perfunctory help. Obviously you want the help of as many people as possible - and their best help - at this time. Furthermore, a negative attitude will cause you real difficulties in any job you get.
How can you avoid such an attitude? Analyze the things that you have to be thankful for, and develop a positive image of yourself through careful preparation of your credentials for your job search. These steps will give your confidence a real lift.
Another key step is to carry on an aggressive campaign. You should be so busy that you have little time for negative feelings, and you will always have some positive prospects ahead of you.
Being out of a job is distressing, yet a job search also gives you a chance to reflect on the important and positive aspects of your life. This may be your opportunity to find a job more in line with your current and future needs.
But you may ask, "Just what do I really have to be thankful for?"
Before you answer this question visualize yourself six months or a year from now, when you have accepted the kind of job you really want and are working again. You are getting a good salary. Your life is settled in a normal routine. You have the prestige among your friends and in your community that comes from having a job considered a good one. You are dealing daily with interesting people and can use your skills and experience to solve challenging problems. These are your goals, your expectations. Now look at some other items that might be going for you.
Your health - if you have good health, you have one of the greatest assets in the world. You may not be in the best of health, but take a look around you and realize how much better off you are than many.
Your family - if you have a strong family, it is one of the most satisfying things in life and can be a great source of comfort and pleasure. At this time you likely will be very pleased by the support your family gives you.
Your friends - you have a great many of them, more than you probably realize. Most of them stand ready to help in any way possible. Often they will not seek you out, since they don't know how they can help. You will be pleased how most of them will support you, if you contact them.
The positive accomplishments in your career and your life - not only is this important background for your campaign, but it is a source of great strength for you. The careful preparation plan explained later will help you recognize all you have to offer.
Your material possessions - they are a means for you to lead a reasonably comfortable life, and are a source of satisfaction and pleasure.
Sure you will have disappointments. That's part of the process. But there will also be a number of rewards.
People will rally to support you - often people you don't know or hardly know - and this will be a source of real satisfaction.
There are three alternatives for you: One, you can withdraw, or withdraw in effect by running a low-key campaign and hoping that somebody will rescue you. Two, you can run a campaign with little emotional risk - mailing hundreds of resumes to companies, answering ads, and concentrating on seeing your friends. This is considerably better than the first, but it underplays the opportunity you have. Three, you can show the world what you are really made of.
