Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2012, during Spain’s unemployment surge, as in its description of “a situation that affects more and more Spaniards every day”.
Sadly, this is an everyday reality. Positivity and planning are the key elements for getting through it personally. The causes are endless: mergers, reorganisations, workforce cuts, absenteeism and all the other factors behind a situation that affects more and more Spaniards every day.
It is something that can happen to any of us; nobody’s job is safe today. We think it will be other people who fall, when in reality it could be any of us. But… are we prepared for it? Do we know how to react to an unexpected call from the department delivering the bad news? How do we face the new situation?
The advice we can get varies a great deal, from the psychological to personal finance, but in both cases it comes down to two levels of solution: positivity and planning.
Psychological guidelines
At first we will be flooded with sadness, anger and fear of an uncertain future. We will be full of negative feelings about this new and unexpected situation. Don’t suppress these feelings, and cry if you need to, but only at first. This situation is painful, but it doesn’t last forever. The more we cling to the pain, the longer it will take us to get going again with something that can improve our circumstances.
Be realistic, completely realistic. It is no more and no less than what it is. The situation is serious, but it isn’t tremendously serious either. Let’s not overdramatise; that isn’t the answer either. Keep things in proportion.
Talk about it. Letting off steam is good, and so is telling people about it in positive terms. Don’t complain or overwhelm people; just tell them. One way to look for work is to let your social networks know you need it. Telling the world around you about your new situation can be an opportunity both to vent and to look to the future.
Treat your dismissal like moving house: a temporary situation between one job and the next. The world doesn’t end; it carries on. We need to find a way to change jobs, because being let go should be seen as an opportunity to look for a new one.
If you have been a good worker until now, why wouldn’t you go on being one in the future?
Personal consequences
A contract means stability; it allows the family to keep moving forward in life. It isn’t just a piece of paper but the personal sense of being able to get ahead as a family: paying the mortgage, the bills and the children’s education. Losing it means losing stability and status.
Anxiety, low self-esteem and a poor self-image, high blood pressure, depression and self-neglect are symptoms that dismissals, whether expected or not, can bring on. The most serious cases end in alcoholism or even drugs. Strong emotions knock away the fundamental pillar on which people were building their lives as individuals and as professionals.
The family suffers. Fights, rows, despair. The fear of no longer being the family breadwinner provokes reactions that, in some cases, are unacceptable.
Disillusionment is another important element at this stage. Phrases like “I’m no good any more”, “where am I going to go” and “nobody wants me” become more frequent as time passes and new opportunities fail to arrive. All people get are doors slammed in their faces every time they turn up at a company looking for work. It is important to work on staying positive and on finding new opportunities.
Keep your mind busy and look for alternatives to every “no” and every closed door. Stay occupied, and treat looking for a job as your current job. Put all your effort, hopes and goals into it. It will be hard, but you will get there.
Make a list of tasks and of contacts to get in touch with and offer your professional know-how to. Learn about all kinds of selection processes, and find out what companies require and what each process involves. Put in a full working day “training” to look for, and find, a job.
Face every new opportunity with a positive, open attitude. Don’t get stuck on the past you have lost; move forward with the new possibilities that lie ahead. Identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can compete in the new job market, and use this period of job hunting to build up your strengths and reduce your weaknesses.
Some people manage to get over it after a short time. A branch of industrial psychology has also emerged to help people through this stage and find new professional paths; the sooner those come, the fewer the consequences.
Guidelines when a new job opportunity comes up
Let specialists guide you. They can advise you on your best professional qualities, find your strongest points and teach you how to look for work. If it has been years since you last looked for a job, things have changed a lot since then, so find someone to teach you.
Let go of any negative feelings towards the company you worked for, and when a new opportunity comes up, don’t talk negatively about your working past or show resentment towards it. That was another stage, and in the new one nobody is interested in what happened before.
During the new selection process, show your strengths and be able to explain what makes you worth hiring. Steer clear of any references to the past; use your other work experience only as examples of your professional qualities.
Speak positively about all your experiences, but start by accepting the new situation. You are unemployed, sadly, like many others. That’s all right: it is the beginning of a new opportunity.
Featured image: Amtec Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
