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21 Reasons to Celebrate Your Layoff

January 14, 2009 | Author: Jessica Howard | Filed under: Layoffs

The worst has happened. You’ve  lost your job. You are now the person that you’ve seen on the news, carting the remains of your career out of the office in a cardboard box. Ashes to ashes, department to department …

Wait a second. It’s not your career that’s dead. It’s just a job. So, quit digging your own grave.

In fact, there are actually quite a few reasons to celebrate being laid off: 21 of them, in fact.

Sure, you’re worried about money - join the club - but letting fear or sadness take the wheel will drive your career further off track. As you drive away from your last job, it’s best to look back and laugh.

Here are 21 Reasons to Celebrate Your Layoff:

1. Let’s get the party started by looking at this roundup of cartoons that skewer layoffs. Thanks JobMob, for pulling this together. The one you see above, “You say unemployment, I say funemployment,” is a cartoon by  Natalie Dee.

2. Let’s face it: corporate culture is often ridiculous. These euphemisms for layoffs say it all. Were you the victim of a RIF (reduction in force?) or a synergistic restructuring plan? While your boss might have gently said you were being “let go”, you probably still felt like you “got whacked”.  Ahhh, listen to the sound of no more workplace psychobabble.

3. Speaking of boss, isn’t it fun to realize that you’re now it? For the time being, you’ve got no one clocking your hours or performance. You’re CEO. Give yourself the afternoon off!

4. Kiss office politics goodbye. There was probably at least one co-worker who excelled at making your last job more difficult: the don’t-you-know-who-I-am? lifer, the wayyyy-too-happy-to-be-getting-paid-zero intern, the close-talking-gossip-trolling … Poof! They’re gone. Just like that.

5. Rather than getting sucked into “Why me? I worked harder than (fill in the blank)?” mode, think about the conditions your former colleagues are now working in. Morale’s in the toilet, productivity dives, everyone’s looking over their shoulder, they’re doing more with less. You’re probably not missing much.

6. Suit and tie, heels and pantyhose are now optional. No more commute or schedule. A lot of time, stress and money goes into maintaining a 9 to 5 (6, 7, or 8) schedule. You’re gaining zen mileage by exiting the daily grind. Continue showering, though.

7. You have time to do that one thing that you’ve wanted to for the last six months. Whether it’s see a movie, try a restaurant, check out a museum or Guitar Hero, do it. Revel in the irony that company severance is picking up the tab.

8. Indulge in introspection. Now that you’re more relaxed about the whole layoff thing, celebrate the opportunity to think about yourself. Stand back and get perspective. Where were you in your career and where were you headed? When we’re in the job treadmill, it’s easy to forget why we’re running.

9. Take the time to dream: What kind of life and career do you want? Visualize it. Write it down. What does it take to get there?

10. Celebrate your strengths. Author/researcher Marcus Buckingham says that we often make the mistake of trying to fix weaknesses, rather than playing to our strengths.  Did your previous work showcase your unique talents? Look at what you’ve done best in your career and figure out how to do more of it.

11. You get to start with a fresh reputation. In your last position, you were a known quantity. You were identified with particular successes and failures (table dancing at the 2003 Christmas party). Now, you get to start over, with more experience and perhaps a new handbag. How will you do things differently?

12. Change is scary, but good: A layoff can be a blessing in disguise, because it forces us into action and growth. You can’t accomplish anything without being willing to change. When we’re laid off, we don’t control the timing of the change, but good things can still come from it.

13. Whew! That’s a lot of introspection. It must be time for Oprah. Kick back with O for some fluffy interviews and makeovers. Oprah didn’t get to be Oprah by watching Oprah, so write down some goals during commercials.

14. Dive into your people bank: When you’ve got that “I’m never going to find another good job ever again ever!” feeling, it’s a good idea to remind yourself of all the people you know. We all know you’re more likely to get a job through networking than through job ads. Break your list down into subsets of colleagues, comrades and contacts.

15. In this economy, the laid off certainly aren’t alone. Thousands (millions?) of others are in the same boat. The Wall Street Journal’s Laid off and Looking blog allows us to follow the job-hunting ups and downs of eight out-of-work professionals.

16. Feed your curiosity about long-lost friends and family members. Google the guy who was the “beer god” back in college, or the cousin who moved to Australia. How and what are they doing? Get in the habit of getting back in touch with people.

17. You have time to work out: Driving to work, sitting at a desk for eight hours, then driving home isn’t great for your heart or mind. If you’ve put off exercise for the past few weeks or years, now you have a chance to get going again. Excercise will also boost endorphins, and opportunities to meet new people.

18. You get to learn a new skill. Yes, you’ll be spending a lot of time on the job hunt, but there’s always a benefit to learning. Potential employers will probably be impressed that you’re doing something improve your skills.  Here’s a post about learning more effectively.

19. There’s an opportunity to explore new styles of work: Lots of people dream of being their own boss. Or working from home. Or part-time. Talk to someone who leads an alternative work life; ask if you can spend part of the day with them. Volunteer to help them, and get a better idea of how they do their thing.

20. Celebrate the fact that as a 2009 job seeker, you have an arsenal of job search, career management and networking tools at your disposal. Blogs, Twitter, a gazillion job boards, LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo. Thank goodness it’s no longer all about picking the right font and shade of paper for your resume.

21. If you’re still not convinced that this could be the best thing that ever happened to you, think about your worst-case scenario. Is it working at Starbucks? Well, Starbucks saved this guy’s life! When Michael Gates Gill got fired from his high-powered NYC marketing job, he ended up going to work at Starbucks and being happier. He wrote the book How Starbucks Saved My Life, which is going to be made into a movie. How’s that for a happy ending?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 and is filed under Layoffs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

xygoxen

2 people have left comments

Great blog! I referenced you in my latest post today…

NM wrote on January 17, 2009 - 4:47 pm | Visit Link

This is a great list — just going through this in our family so appreciate it.

becky wrote on January 29, 2009 - 10:15 pm | Visit Link

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