Losing a job disrupts a worker's
sense of stability and career plans.
For those people whose work is
a source of personal pride and
value, the sudden loss can be disorienting.
When Jim was skimmed from his pharmaceutical
company in order to reduce costs,
he suddenly felt disoriented. Despite
his understanding of the financial
reasons for eliminating his position,
it seemed to him as if his company
had rejected him.
Since he had
managed multiple teams and thrived
on the ability to influence others,
he felt frustrated by his loss
of power and the sense of significance
that it had brought him. Jim
knew that he was staving off a
depression
only through the encouragement
of his family and friends. He
did not feel that he exuded the
confidence
he needed to successfully pursue
other jobs.
Then Jim refocused. After all,
the layoff was not the culmination
of his professional history or
the exhaustive evaluation of
his merit. Instead of dwelling
on his
loss, Jim made a list of his professional and personal accomplishments.
For
example, he had successfully
launched a new drug, taking
it from experimental testing
through marketing. He had initiated and developed a new employee mentoring
program in his company, effectively
training other mentors to provide
guidance to employees.
As a result, the morale of the office and communication flows improved.
After
highlighting several other accomplishments, Jim made a list of the constructive
feedback he received from his team, colleagues, and managers. Several people
had noted his initiative and his organizational abilities, others had thanked
him for his encouragement and accessibility. Still others saw him as an
excellent negotiator. Two of his
managers had commented on his attention
to detail
in quality standards. He could
see
on paper that his colleagues
respected him.
As Jim considered his career
at the pharmaceutical company,
he began
to gain an appreciation for his
experience and contribution
there. In addition
to helping
him feel better, the process refined his goals. Jim saw more clearly what
kind of position enabled
him to flourish. With a renewed
sense of confidence in
his objective achievements and
value, Jim launched himself
into the search. |
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