How To Deal With Negative Feelings Over A Job Loss

By Randy Place

When you're having trouble coping over the loss of a job, you don't know whether to scream or go bowling. Your initial outcry, "I've been screwed," is only natural. Having to deal with employment rejection is no fun.

What follows are three ways to deal with negative feelings over loss of a job -

1. Allow yourself a short period of time to mourn over your loss. Effects of job loss can feel overwhelming. So you need to acknowledge your feelings and decide to cope with change.

2. Get busy with your job search. One of the best antidotes for feeling depressed is activity. I learned this truism one morning when a fellow career coach, Cindy, inquired, "How are you today?" When I replied that I was feeling depressed, Cindy suggested that getting into activity would be the best medicine. It was. Whenever I'm feeling down, I start working on a project as one of the ways to deal with lowered feelings.

3. Leave emotions behind when meeting people. When you wallow in emotions, your anger is projected on to prospective employers. This can ruin relationships. You will be unsuccessful at interviews and bowl a lousy game.

Give top priority to your psychological barriers

You'll successfully deal with negative feelings by admitting the problem exists and is affecting your life -- especially your career plan. When you're having trouble coping and are thinking, "somebody throw me a rope," then agree to consult with a therapist, career counselor, or social worker. Take your pick. And then move on.

While dealing with negative feelings over the loss of a job, most of you will not be forced to abandon your job search. But it's a good idea to slow down its pace. Just continue the networking and self-assessment stages of your job finding campaign. That takes the most time, anyhow.

Your giving top priority to dealing with negative feelings surrounding the loss of a job, helps to remove psychological barriers that keep you from being at your best when interviewing for the job you really want.