5 Surprises about Job Loss
Diana L. D. Jacobs, PhD., a veteran social psychologist, quickly learned that to support people in their growth requires a variety of skills which she acquired by earning a certificate in Gestalt therapy training, becoming a certified personal trainer, and most most recently becoming an executive and personal coach with an emphasis in Positive Psychology.
Her own professional journey along with her skills enables those in career transition to develop the self-awareness and confidence for them to move happily to the next chapter in their lives!
![1611424296259[1].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60d0d30ae574e00339919763/1625561569811-Y72R950EG0GAHYQMAK31/1611424296259%5B1%5D.jpg)
5 Things You Might Be Surprised to Learn About Job Loss
In my time working with individuals who have lost their jobs, I can assure you that it’s not all resumes and interview practice. That’s because job loss, losing one’s job, is not just a matter of writing resumes and practicing responses to “tell me about yourself.” As a career transition coach, believe you me, I’ve had to draw on my skills as a personal and executive coach, an academic advisor, a social psychologist, and Gestalt therapy training –in addition to being a wordsmith and persuasion tactician (the real skills behind resume writing and interviewing).
Here’s what you might be surprised to learn.
Surprise 5
Job loss and job acquisition is as much about personal development as it is about career development. Job loss affects many aspects of a person, not merely financial. For some, job loss affects their very identity and their social and personal lives.
Surprise 4
Career transition work is more about building confidence than building resumes. Sure, career transition work on the surface may appear to be updating resumes and using the correct search terms on Indeed or LinkedIn. Beneath the surface, however, it is really about building confidence. Not surprisingly, job loss shakes one’s confidence to the core and loss of confidence is enemy number 1 of finding a job. Thus, part of career transition work is helping clients build and tap into their confidence.
Speaking of beneath the surface . . .
Surprise 3
Clients dream a lot about their former job. One’s unconscious is hard at work during this period I’ve learned to regularly ask my clients about their dreams because initially, they dream quite a bit about their former workplace. And yes, if the client wants to, we process their dreams. The decrease in frequency of workplace dreams serves as an important indicator of the client’s healing and moving on with life.
Surprise 2
Time between jobs becomes a period of self-exploration. Many of my clients used the time between jobs as a period of exploration and a chance to ask themselves “What do I really want to do?” In fact, a former executive decided to give up the executive life to start his own health business. Though most clients end up in the same industry and for some the same type of position, it is only after doing this type of exploration that they decide that they really do like the work they used to do and re-enter the job force with a renewed love for their work.
And the number 1 surprise about job loss?
Surprise 1
All of my clients saw the job loss as ultimately beneficial! Don’t get me wrong, it was not a pleasant experience for any of my clients. Yet, after a period of adjustment, clients acknowledge that their departure was for the best. For some, they realized the organization was just not the same as it used to be. For others, they had been thinking about leaving for some time and losing their job was just the kick in the pants they needed to do it.
Job loss is life opportunity. With the support of a well-rounded career transition coach (not merely resume writers and interview coaches), clients received they care they need to recover and move on to a life better than they could have imagined.
---
