5 things to MUST do when Job Hunting

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to the latest episode of The Intentional Career Podcast.

I'm your host, Femi Akinyemi, the founder of the Unleashed Podcast Network, as well as the founder of the Unleashed Academy.

An online academy focused on helping ambitious professionals overcome the challenges that stops you from fulfilling your true talent, having the career you deserve, and earning the money 

you should as well, because who wants to work without earning the money they truly, truly deserve.

This week, I'll be speaking about something quite dear to my heart.

And it's one when I think about.

I can't sometimes, but almost shed a tear.

It takes me back to a few many years ago.

It was a Friday, four PM.

I set up my computer doing my job as normal, and I get an email for an invite to come to a meeting at 4 PM.

Looking back 4 PMs on Fridays have never been the same again.

You send me a calendar invite at 4 PM on a Friday.

Panic sets in. On a more serious note.

I get the meeting, I go to the meeting, I sit down and my manager in no uncertain term says, we've been looking at your performance. We don't think you're good.

You can cut it.

We're going to have to let you go. To add context.

This was a job I so loved.

I so enjoyed doing, and I thought, this is the role I was born to do.

But all of a sudden you're fired, sacked.

Losing a job can be devastating.

You can just imagine being walked down to the reception.

I'll take your pass, give us your laptop.

Is there anything else you need? Okay.

You don't need to come in on Monday.

Take the whole week to cool off and you can come in a week from now.

Don't worry.

We won't take this against your leave time.

Just take it as paid leave and we'll see you in two Mondays time.

I bet they thought they're doing me a favor.

They probably were thinking back, due date?

I don't know.

HR people you might have thought on this.

Do they let people go on a Friday so that you have the weekend to drink away your misery and your tears?

I don't know. I'm just asking.

Anyway, the loss of a job can be devastating.

Your career, your finances, your self esteem.

And let's not make any bones about it.

A lot of us identify with our careers. A lot of us, our careers are a form of self identity.

I'm a lawyer, I'm a doctor, I'm a mechanic, I'm a pilot. I'm a consultant. I'm a trainer.

I'm a something.

So when you have been deprived of the opportunity to be that thing, you identify as, it robs you of something, it leaves a void.

But more importantly, it can have a critical impact on your security, your wellbeing, as a knock on affecting your family.

And I remember at the time, I just I had my first child and all of a sudden, young family, bigger bills and you have your legs cut off from under you.

Devastating.

But most of us know that anyway.

But the thing is, while losing a job can be out of your control, the way you react to it is not. 

That is completely within your control.

You are responsible for your action when you are made redundant.

See, the company is ultimately doing what they do for their own best interests, as they see fit.

And if they don't think you are for them any more, then so be it.

But you've got to look after yourself.

So I'm going to be sharing in this episode.

And just before I go on, I've got a special, special gift for everyone.

If you are interested, click on the show notes for this podcast or if you're looking at this on social media, check the comment, check in the description attached to this. There is a link to my Free Career Resets Handbook.

It's a short guide that gives you the spiel on how to manage when you go to job loss and what you need to do to bounce back because it's all about bouncing back.

A free cheat sheet on how to bounce back after you've gone through a job loss.

Go there. Click on it.

I'll be sharing a few steps, I'll be sharing 10.

I'll just be saying some things you can do when you lose your job.

So number one, the very first thing you shouldn't do is don't take it personal.

Don't criticize a former manager.

And don't vent at the boss when they give you the bad news.

It's not a good look.

It's unprofessional.

It's really, really tough.

But what I try to do in the most time is I just don't see anything. And sometimes I go, do you have anything to say?

And I'm in that place where I go, well, what do you want me to say?

Because if I should say what I want to say, it's probably not going to be good for anyone.

It's certainly not good for me.

So my advice is stay calm, stay cool.

If you need to say, please, can I take some time?

Can I step out of the room to take some time to calm down?

But whatever you do, don't vent at your boss.

Don't criticize your managers behind their backs.

And don't take it personal.

Please don't take it personal.

Never let a job loss be a referendum on who you are.

Do not let that be the case.

Find out where you stand, number two.

Find out where you stand if necessary.

Find out severance packages, legally where you stand, employment rights, all of these things.

Find out. Know where you stand.

And if you have a leg to stand on, that's important to do.

Number two, review your finances.

You want to make sure you understand your finances, your info.

Look, when you're looking for a new job.

It could be like that, and sometimes it can go on quite a long time.

Review your finances.

Start very quickly making the right decision about how you manage your finances in the run-up to you getting your new job. 

Number three, value your supporters. Now you may feel flat. 

You may feel embarrassed.

You may feel like your instinctive reaction may be to hide away because to say your fact is never a good look.

Remember what I said?

It's tied to your self image and your self esteem, but confiding in people who are positive minded in your family, friends, people who know you, who can support you, is always a good thing. 

Surround yourself with love, with good vibes.

Get people to encourage you.

And social networks like LinkedIn can be good as well, so your contacts may be able to advise you to encourage you.

But I would say value your supporters.

Number four, be kind to yourself.

It's vital. It's very critical that you deal with the emotional disruption of losing your job.

But it's also equally important that you take care of your physical health.

You don't fall into that trap of not eating, not going up for work, burying yourself in your room and just watching TV, not seeing the light of day.

If you're a man, growing your stubble and not, care for yourself, feed your self esteem by looking good, by dressing good, by sounding good, by feeling confident.

Reframe your situation. One of the things I tell people when I coach them is always look at your job as one door closed, an opportunity to go into another.

It's an opportunity to learn a new skill.

It's an opportunity to redefine yourself.

It's an opportunity to try something else.

And lastly, I would say, take action.

Hit the job listings page.

Start looking for the jobs out there very quickly.

Take action.

The one thing you don't want to do is let a gap fill in there because when there's in action, it breeds.

I really don't want to use the word, the "D" word, but you can start to feel your own headed ideas.

You can start to get into your own way.

So what you want to do is take positive action.

Start to eat well. Exercise.

Reframe yourself. Look at your job.

Reflect on your successes as an employee or someone in your past. 

Just surround yourself with positive people and hit the job listings.

Go on LinkedIn, go on the popular job sites.

Start to apply for jobs.

Start to bring up your network and say I'm available.

I'm looking for work.

And if possible, nonprofit. Get involved in nonprofit.

Offer your services up for free just to keep the old gray matter. 

Keep your brain working.

Just do something.

Find someone mentor, to coach, and do all of this, and they just start to get you in a positive mindset.

These are some of the things that you can do. We've almost run out of time.

So I would say, if this you think makes a difference to you, if you know anyone who you think is going through that patch, because we all go through it, I guarantee you. That's one other thing to remember, losing your job is not something that, it happens to virtually everyone at least once

in our working life, especially these days where no one has a job for life.

If you know anyone, share this podcast with them, and they too can download the Career Reset Checklist.

It's a free guide to help you reset your career and make the right decisions about the next step to make.

But as far as I'm here to say, stay positive, stay focused, be kind, be intentional about your career. Take care of yourself and your mental health, have a great week.

Share this podcast and make a difference.