I’ve wanted to write a post on this topic for a while, but my schedule hasn’t really allowed me the time to think through how to best present a perspective on it. Fortunately, there are guest writers out there who can save the day in instances like this.

The article below came in from a guest writer named Mariana Ashley, who like me has an insider’s perspective on this topic as someone who has been laid off before. In her piece, she touches on the emotional blow that folks who’ve been laid off and then offers a couple of tips on how to change one’s view of receiving a pink slip. I really like the spin she’s put on this topic and hope all of you do, as well.

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How to bounce back after being laid off
By Mariana Ashley

There’s no way around the fact that it’s hard being laid off. There are few other incidents that incite more embarrassment and loss of morale, not to mention the hit you take in your finances and career plans. One day you’re doing your normal routine at the office, and the next day you’re getting a pink slip. It’s terrible, but it happens to many employees across the country.

If you’ve been laid off recently, it’s absolutely imperative that you don’t let it go to your head. More people get laid off than you’d think, and oftentimes it has nothing to do with their work ethic or the way that management perceives their behavior. Especially in these rough economic times, many layoffs occur because businesses downsize in order to stay afloat, or they’re shuttering their doors entirely. Keeping a steady job is almost as rare as finding a new one.

Of course knowing the reason why you’re laid off won’t make you feel any better about it actually happening, but it’s important to keep things in perspective. The fact of the matter is that you have value in the workplace, and it’s up to you to market yourself as best as possible so that you can reenter it. You have to truly believe that you can weather the storm of unemployment in order to succeed during such hard times.

Optimism is your friend

You have to exude an almost unnatural amount of optimism if you want to make it through the rough few weeks after getting laid off. After your employer gives you the boot, it’s almost too easy to become disenchanted about future employment and fall into a period of despair. I’m telling you from personal experience that giving into despair is the last thing that you want to do. You have to force yourself to look at the bright side of the situation. You have time to assess the trajectory of your career; you can learn from mistakes and experience at your previous employer so that you’ll know what to avoid when you move on somewhere else; you can even dabble in doing some freelance work on the web.

The point is that you never lose sight of your prospects in life. Getting laid off is tough, but you can definitely bounce back from it. You just have to believe with all your heart that you can turn things around and land in a better place, no matter how farfetched that sounds to you now.

The ideal opportunity for a career change

If anything, this stopgap in your career provides the perfect excuse for you to step back and decide if your current profession is the right fit for you. Maybe you went to college and studied to be an accountant, only to go through your career hating the vocation up to the point that you were laid off. The same could occur in any profession—you thought that you’d be happy in a certain career but now you’re not, and you’re unemployed. But perhaps it’s for the best. Maybe the industry that you were laid off from is in a downward spiral anyway, and now you have the chance to enter a career in an industry with much more promise.

Above all, this is a time to revisit the passions for other callings that you tabled long ago; a time to explore potential professions that might yield unexpected riches if you put enough time into them. In other words, give yourself a chance to try new things.

What about you?

Have you been laid off? If so, how did you use the time in between jobs? Did you change career tracks? Let me know!

Mariana Ashley is a professional writer and blogger with a penchant for researching and writing about personal growth, education, and how technology changes the way we communicate. Mariana is technically retired after years of teaching middle school history in Nebraska. However, she still devotes some of her time to professional projects that involve online colleges in Nebraska. Please send your questions and comments to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com. Any feedback is welcome!