It happens to the best of us. You hit a bump in the rocky road of your career and find yourself out of work for longer than you'd like.
Being out of work for an extended period of time does more damage than just a gap in your resume. It affects your self esteem, how you view yourself, and what you believe you can bring to the table.
Everyone has doubts at some point in their career; this is your time. Know that you can and will get past this bump.
So How Do You Bounce Back? Follow These 5 Steps Below.
1. Remind Yourself That This Is A Moment In Time.
Your career runs for multiple decades. That's a long period of time. What this means is sooner or later a setback will happen in your career. It's just the way things happen. All cycles have up's and down's and this is your down. The good news is it's all up from here. Remind yourself that a job will be there, and is waiting for you, right around the corner.
2. Reacquaint Yourself With Your Accomplishments.
When was the last time you looked at your resume? And when you do, does it seem like your accomplishments were achieved by someone else? Just because you have not performed a function in a while doesn't mean you can't perform it anymore. It's like riding a bicycle; you never forget how. Spend quality time with your resume. Read the bullets slowly. Remember the projects you worked on and the people you worked with to obtain these results. Remind yourself that these are your accomplishments, which are something to be proud of. Just because it's been a while, doesn't mean it didn't happen.
3. Create In Your Mind What You Want To Happen Next.
I believe that people get stuck in the day-to-day doldrums of life when they don't have something to look forward to. You may not know when your next job is coming, but you can get ready for it. Ask yourself what you want next. Where do you want to work? What location? What type of people? How much do you want to be making? When you can see what you want, clearly and powerfully, you can get it. I find that when people are out of work for a while, they can't see themselves in their jobs anymore. The amount of time that has passed only matters to you. Visualize what you want so you can get back to work again quickly.
4. Don't Give Up.
Most people don't take discouragement well. When they first lost their jobs, they had vigor and excitement. They got up everyday and had people to call and job search related activities to work on. Over time, the momentum and activities diminished. That caused them to stop or slow down. Don't let this happen to you. You only need one job and one person to give it to you. The work you put in now will bring results; you just haven't seen them yet. A job search is not an instant gratification pursuit. It's a process that brings results over time, on its timetable and not yours. So, you have to keep going.
5. Believe In Yourself.
Most of the time, we are our own worst enemy. We tell ourselves why something cannot be done before someone tells it to us first. This approach keeps you safe from rejection and failure, but it also holds you back. This economy may be forcing you to get out of your comfort zone and into new territory, all great for your personal growth. (Even though it does not feel so great most of the time.) Many people who come to me want to be challenged in their career. It's what's missing in their jobs and their lives. Well, this is your challenge. Will you rise to the occasion or let it get the best of you? You already have a track record of achieving great things. This will be another one to add to your list.
Comments
Posted by: Donna Roberson On: 2/2/2010 4:22:28 PM
You are so right, we can be our own worst enemy, I've been waiting for someone to throw me a life line by hiring me, before i lose everything. I've been trying to hold on to my faith, hoping someone will give me a call, give me a chance. Working self- forefills me and at this point i'm really desparate.
Posted by: Rosalie Koslof On: 2/9/2010 4:30:31 PM
Being out of work for an extended period of time can be a good time to develop additional skills through workshops online or going back to school. It can also be a good time to develop your hobbies and make those skills employable. New networks can be developed from these new skills and networks can be developed by finding out about the persons that are linked to your current network of friends and work associates. Maybe, you can also link to those other persons in looking for a job. It is about expanding, expanding, and expanding in everyway-expanding skills, networks, etc.
Posted by: Jeremy On: 2/15/2010 11:49:17 PM
We work with a lot of people that are looking to get into photography, and the best we can say is to stay involved even if not full time or even at a extracurricular level.
Posted by: Denice Roy On: 3/2/2010 1:51:55 PM
Are employers wanting "younger" employees? I've been trying to get a full time office position for almost two years, without success, and am beginning to feel it's due to my age (59). I'm still very capable, physicall fit and energetic, mentally sharp & alert (can still learn new skills) and have over 20 years office experience, yet am not getting any employment offers.
Posted by: Jes On: 3/16/2010 5:11:09 PM
You bet there is age discrimination out there. What employers don't want to concern themselves with is that younger people (many who are rearing young children) may have to be absent from work frequently, costing the employer money. So while the employer thinks he's being smart by paying younger workers less, the more experienced worker is usually at work, on time, and ready to put in a full day. She knows that the job can be gone in an instant if she doesn't show she is a hard working, dilligent employee.
