What’s Next after a Layoff

A layoff just happened. A number of my friends and colleagues became corporate refugees.  Becoming a corporate refugee is tough.  I feel for them.  I have been through the unexpected loss of a job.  I have a running joke that I have a talent for picking companies that merge, move or go under.

While I can now joke about this "talent" of mine, the perfection of these experiences was that I learned I would live through them.  I learned that ‘job security’ was an illusion.  The only job security that exists is understanding your own strengths and talents and how to articulate that value so that you could provide it to a company that needs what you have to offer.  It also means becoming aware of or understanding what type of work environment allows you to do your best work, and going out and finding it or creating it.

Before finding or creating your best work, you have to shore up your rattled self-confidence.  A job loss throws you right out of your comfort zone and it can feel like a crisis.  You are smack in the middle of the ever-changing job search game.  There are new rules to learn, like using LinkedIn and other social media. Sitting alone at your computer submitting resumes makes you wonder if they actually go somewhere. You have to reconnect with your network of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances for emotional support, job leads, and finding job hunting resources.

The great thing about losing your job is that it is your golden opportunity to really take a hard look at your values and what is important to you, and determine what is next for you.  Do you just want a jobthat you step into and out of or do you want to use your strengths and talents to make a uniquecontribution to the world?   In today’s economy you aren’t just a cog in the wheel of an organization, you are a creative individual serving a purpose in your own life.  Organizations need your unique qualities, your vision, and your energy to survive and thrive.  You need to think about what makes you tick – what inspires and fascinates you and makes you come alive – and then go do that.  I took that inspiration from this quote by Dr. Howard Thurman:

"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

I whole heartedly agree! What the world needs is people who have:

• come alive
• explored what makes them tick
• found what excites them
• discovered what they are they good at
• figured out what is fun for them
• discovered what makes time fly for them
• found out where they do their best work
• discovered who they want to work with
• found work that allows them to change the world

Although it is really tough to see it at the time it occurs, when you are right-sized, outsourced, or down-sized into becoming a corporate refugee, it is the perfect time to explore these things and take your next best step to finding your best work.  Work that makes you come alive.  If you need some help with that, the Your Best Work, Find It, Love it, Live It telecourse is for you.  It might be just the support you need to help you not just survive, but thrive in today’s job market.

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Want to go from stressed out to streamlined?  Wishing you could spend more time actually doing the work you love?  Mia Turpel’s know-how as a business and career coach, speaker, project manager and trainer will help you do just that. Are you in a career transition? Discover how to find Your Best Work in the Your Best Work, Find It, Love it, Live It telecourse. Need a coach?  Are you a manager or leader that needs coaching training?  Contact Coach Mia Turpel.