Editor's note: Following is the second installment of a series on bouncing back from a layoff. (Read the first installment.)
A career setback can be like a romance gone bad. If you don't learn from your
mistakes, you're doomed to repeat them, most likely in your next job. Many
professionals are so eager to flee a bad job or fearful of being jobless, they
jump from one job mismatch to the next, just like some people do in their
personal relationships. If you've been knocked down but haven't looked at what
caused your stumble, you're setting yourself up to fall again.
Regardless of the kind of setback you've experienced, it's easy to think that
you have failed in some way. After a job loss, even the most optimistic person
has moments of doubt or second-guesses what happened. You may wonder:
- "If I'd only seen the signs."
- "If I'd only acted sooner."
- "Where did I go wrong?"
These beliefs, no matter how unfounded, are unproductive and can drag on you
like an anchor, preventing you from moving forward. An experience can be
considered a failure only if you don't learn from it or correct the behaviors
that caused it.
Assess What Was Beyond Your Control
To make a career comeback, you must reflect on what has happened in your
professional life up to this point. You might be thinking, "Find out what
happened? What do I have to review? I lost my job because..."
- "My CEO was a crook."
- "My industry went in the toilet."
- "My company went out of business."
Those things may be true, and they could have made headlines. Or, your
setback may have been due to a company merger, closure or restructuring.
Typically there's nothing anyone can do to prevent such events, no matter how
talented or tenured they are.
In fact, many types of career setbacks are beyond an individual's control.
Even if your employment loss is reported in the media, such as a mass layoff,
and everyone in the country knows it wasn't your fault, your ego may take a hit.
You can know intellectually that you aren't responsible personally for what
happened, but your emotions still may cause you to ask, "Why me?"
You need to look at your career critically and determine if you were a victim
of circumstance or if your departure was due to events and actions that you
could have influenced.
Reflecting on what happened can help restore your self-confidence because
you'll see that the issue and the reasons for it were beyond your control (if
that is what happened). You'll also gain an understanding of what to look for in
the future, so that the next time trouble brews at work, you aren't caught off
guard and can take charge of your career destiny.
Circumstances Under Your Control and Influence
Review the questions below and search your memory for specific examples that
may apply.
Did I hang on too long?
Some professionals overstay their usefulness to an organization. Unless you
are continuously challenged, receiving promotions and feeling periodically
refreshed, it's possible to lose passion for what you do.
Was my setback a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Did you subconsciously want this to happen? Did you want to change jobs or
leave the industry, but couldn't make the move without being forced? Was
sabotaging yourself an easier way out than having to initiate the change
yourself?
Did I put blind trust in management?
Being loyal and trusting people is one thing. Accepting everything you're
told without question is another.
Did people like working with me?
You don't have to be the life of the party or the most popular person in the
office. You don't even have to be agreeable all the time. However, it's
important to not be toxic to the people you work with. Were you a complainer? A
politician? A nitpicker? Did you always have to be right? Did you refuse to let
other people offer their opinions or get a word in? Did you hinder others from
doing their work?
Was I visible for the wrong reasons?
When people heard your name, what was the first thing they thought?
Hardworking, friendly, funny, family oriented, smart or cooperative? Or did they
think you were: a rageaholic, a heavy drinker at holiday parties, always late,
etc.? What were you known for?
When asking yourself these questions, did any recurring patterns or trends in
your career and work life emerge? Has this or something like it happened before?
Have you identified any weaknesses or circumstances that have derailed you in
the past? Do you repeatedly make poor choices? Perhaps your actions are
destructive and prevent you from moving ahead, again and again. The problem may
not be with the organization or your job, but that you keep taking the same
baggage from one organization to another.
