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Job Layoff: Confronting Why Me?Perhaps you saw it coming. The fall in company stock prices. The news articles about company troubles. Maybe it was just rumors on the production floor, or a creeping suspicion that orders had slowed down and there was no longer the backlog of work which had been a security blanket. Maybe it was the way management started to avoid you and private meetings were held without any communication issued afterwards. Finally, it happened. The company, regretfully they assured you, no longer needed your services. The last paycheck was handed over, a checklist of Cobra benefits and unemployment insurance details were reviewed, time to gather your personal items allowed. You walked out in an unreal haze, barely noticing that the remaining staff concentrated on their work as if to avoid the possible contamination of being associated with someone they now saw as a loser. A few of your closer friends shook your hand, with averted eyes, and promised to stay in touch although you both knew that it would never happen. You drove home, wondering how to tell your family and asking yourself over and over, "Why me?" Welcome to the gray, anxious, claustrophobic world of unemployment. Was it fair that you were selected to go? Of course not. Is life fair? Of course not. The key to maintaining your sense of self-worth through the pressures of unemployment and the rigors of job search, an often demeaning process, is to reframe your outlook and look at yourself both objectively and kindly. You are in an uncomfortable position that was not caused by anything you did, or anything you didn't do. It happened, as bad things often happen to good people. Treasure yourself, your skills, and your personal value and learn to see what has happened to you as what it can be: an opportunity to take a "time out," to re-assess yourself, practice self-exploration and self-appreciation, and a chance to refocus your life in new and positive directions. Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES Career Success: Don?t Be Caught With Your Pants Down Do you want to know how to jump-start your professional career? 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A business which wants to expand its number of outlets should be looking strongly at the Ohio market place as there are many very strong and economically viable areas to do business. Your Goals Must Be Within Your Reach  Six Sure-Fire Ways to Get Yourself a Pay Rise Many employees do not care too much for their bosses or supervisors. It is an all too common trait. Most feel as though the boss knows nothing, has a superiority complex, is arrogant, is unapproachable, expects too much and pays too little. Are you nodding your head? Building Your Army of Supporters: How to Build Strategic Relationships in the Work Place! Once you have accomplished your task of getting in the door and getting the job the real job of career advancement begins! Top Ten Guidelines For Working With Executive Recruiters 1. Select the right type of recruitment partner Cover Letters Cover Letters: Are you telling them what they want to know? Always Have a Current Resume What is the biggest mistake people make with resumes? Surviving Corporate Politics Part 2: Keeping Up Appearances Never a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression, or so the saying goes. We all know that when someone is introduced into your work environment for the first time, their peers size them up immediately. How they are dressed, how they talk, and how they set up their workspace. Especially in large companies, where there is constant personnel movement, keeping up your appearance is a full time task. In smaller companies, how you compose yourself from Day 1 is of utmost importance. We will start with the basics: Resume Outline - Add Structure & Flow to Your Resume Building your resume, based on a resume outline will give it structure and flow... it provides an outline of all the things you should include in your resume. |
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