Psychological Effect of Job Transition and What to Do

Part of my free time is helping folks create a successful job transition or career pivot. There has been a big uptick in folks in job transition in the past few months. So it was timely to talk about how one keeps focused and motivated through this whole process. It is not a subject taught in school, or anywhere else for that matter. Namely how a job loss, layoff, etc. is likely to severely affect your mood and mindset. It comes as a shock to our psyche while all our friends and work associates are busy in their daily work life, while we sit alone and contemplate the next steps for weeks, months, and sometimes even years.

When our daily routine is brutally interrupted by a job loss, we can easily get a dark path of depression, self-doubt, and despair. I have seen the proverbial “Eeyores” out there feeling this way. When you peel back their onion skin, you find out that they do not have a daily routine, don’t eat well, don’t exercise, and don’t sleep well. I found all of these are critical elements to put yourself in a better frame of mind going forward.

Below are a few ways to optimize your mind for success in transition:

• Journaling:

One way to get it all out of your head and onto paper is journaling. Write about your feelings, goals, aspirations, frustrations, etc., and keeping a record of your days was also very helpful. First, I wanted to outline five things each day that I was thankful for, for example my family, good health or a recent positive event. When you look at life that way instead of just your current professional situation, it really puts you in a better frame of mind. It may also inspire you, and perhaps gives you an idea for one or two things that you would want to accomplish that day or week.

Again, when we have goals, we have something to look forward to, and it puts us in a positive, forward-thinking mindset. Things that we can look forward to, and we are able to achieve within a certain timeframe, have a way to lift your spirits and give you a positive outlook.

Let’s face it, the hardships of life can get you down real fast, and even faster during a career transition, when you don’t have much of a focus or things to look forward to. I found journaling to have a great effect on my sense of accomplishment for the day or the week, and the ability to get it on paper to go back and review was quite helpful. Our minds don’t remember everything, so journaling is a great way to record it.

Finally, I always jotted down two-to-three things I aspired to do, was able to do, or even as a challenge to see if I could accomplish them in the future. These items, by the way, can provide input data for your Vision Board, something I will talk about later in this book.

During your career transition, you normally have a lot of time, but, as I said earlier, if you are not using it wisely, it can all go to waste. The more I learned during my career transition, the more I realized the importance of daily journaling—basically jotting down your thoughts of the day, ideas, and things to be thankful for each day.

Thoughts were mainly about how I felt each day—happy, sad, confused, etc. It helped getting it out and on paper. My journal was almost like a psychologist that didn’t talk back. It was therapeutic in a way, to get your feelings on paper. A transition can really be lonely and depressing at times. You don’t want to put any more stress on your relationships with friends and family than they can handle, and journaling helps get it off your chest.

Ideas means writing down at least one or two concepts for the day. It could be starting a business, or developing the next widget, or even writing a book. Imagine, if you wrote one or two ideas each day for a year, you could potentially have over 700 new ideas. Kind of like brainstorming if you were a business. As I came to learn, you are the CEO of “You, Inc.,” and if you’re not strategizing and brainstorming for new ideas, your competition will be, and will beat you tomorrow (as in getting the job that was meant for you).

Things to be thankful for means listing the parts of your life you are grateful for each day. It is critical to pinpoint why you do what you do. You may go through a tough and lonely time, but you can’t lose sight of your blessings in life, things you are truly thankful for. I found this can help when things look bleak.

Journaling can also be a testimony of the challenges you have faced and surmounted at the time (important, as our memory never gets better with age…), and can be used to reflect back later on what you did during this difficult time to overcome your challenges.

• Get a Library Card

Yes, they still have those and you would be surprised at the changes since you were at the library in your high school days. Most places that I researched are free. Or they charge a small amount, quite frankly an inexpensive investment for having access to a computer, a quiet place to do research, read, get information, assistance, and a place to go to besides your kitchen table or couch.

As I wrote earlier, you need a daily routine (“Day in the Life”). Part of that is getting up and getting out just like you would if you still had a regular job. Your most difficult job now is looking for a job when you’re in a career transition.

You could schedule a meeting room at a lot of libraries. Librarians are “subject matter experts.” Ask for their help in getting copies, scanning documents, etc. With all the assistance they can provide, why wouldn’t you have a library card?

• Set a Timeline:

At the beginning of my second career transition I quickly set a timeline, like “I have to find a new opportunity before six months” (preferably or less). Looking back at both transitions, I now realize that this was another painful lesson. My first transition took 13 months; not setting a timeline was a big reason why it took so long. Setting some kind of a timeline has a way to hold you accountable and stay on task. When you manage a project or set a goal for your team, you have to do the same thing. It also enables you to get certain new things done that you wouldn’t necessarily do or think of doing without a timeline, like cold calling or sending introduction letters to strangers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George Murray is a Global Operations, Supply Chain Leader & Army Veteran | Award-winning Author: HIRED: CUT YOUR CAREER SEARCH TIME IN HALF | George also asks leaders and business owners…if your company is struggling to find new employees, you are not alone. If you find new people, but they soon leave, usually for more money, you are not alone. If you are working hard to engage those who have worked for you for a while—-or are brand new—-this book has answers how to help so you are successful. It's all related to the company's culture in how you Ignite. Engage. and Retain with both long-term and new employees. Make those people feel important and needed—like they count and are appreciated every day, because if you don't, they might leave. Make your company a place "where you'd like to work" at all levels with IGNITE. ENGAGE.RETAIN.