Mar 24, 2009 1:10 pm US/Eastern
How To Deal With Being Laid Off
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Laid off workers are no longer just an abstract number. Too often today, they are a neighbor or a family member. It's a situation requiring a new set of coping skills for people who never dreamed they would be in this position.
Bruce Wiggins is one of those people. "Most recently, I was a business development manager with a national staffing firm, and I got laid off 11 months ago."
In Massachusetts, 100,000 more workers are now unemployed, than there were a year ago. For each person, that is a major blow to their way of life, and a significant hurdle to overcome.
Read: WBZ's Mass. Unemployment Resource Guide
Victoria Villalba, a career counselor, says "One of the initial steps obviously, in a loss of a job for many of us, is we mourn that. It's a loss."
Although Villalba says it's understandable to miss an old way of life, it's important to move on. "I think that what we need to do is get over that loss as quickly as possible."
Psychologist Gaby Cora believes that today's issues, however, present unique problems. "One of them is this stress is unremitting. It is not going away. So while people that it might be getting better, but as the same time we have tough times ahead of us."
Some people are now finding themselves without work after being burned out over the past year. Cora says, "The other characteristic is that stress may have been increasing for some people as well."
That means it's time to regroup and feel good about yourself, before you try to write the next chapter in your life. Cora explained, "If you look at lifestyle strategies, I love to help people out so that they can concentrate on eating well, exercising daily, relaxing on a regular basis, and making sure that they can sleep well at night."
Then, you will be ready to move on. Villalba said "Be prepared to put on a suit, look crisp, polish up your resume, call and network with everyone that you have ever worked with before, with family and friends, and allow those people to introduce you to other people."
Advice like this is helping Bruce Wiggins. "I think that it's going to get better, and I hope that it does." And having a positive attitude like that can make a big difference.
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