The experience of losing the job you loved or needed is often devastating. Many sources offer advice for keeping yourself busy while you are looking for work. Popular suggestions are: going back to school, taking a training course to acquire new skills for your resume, taking a vacation, and starting a new hobby. Some people may also recommend that you spend time working through the loss of your job. If you do this prior to interviewing for new jobs, you are more likely to come across as relaxed and freshly prepared for a new opportunity.
There is another way to look at your jobless situation. After spending a lot of time looking for jobs in other companies within your area and in other parts of the country, you may eventually wind up rethinking your opportunities at home. After all, that is where you live. With no income coming in, it may be hard to afford a move. The advice offered here is to think about how the connections you have from the job that you lost can help you find a new job.
First, just because you lost your job doesn’t mean that you didn’t make a positive impact on your coworkers. If you think about which of your colleagues and business contacts respected your work and were sorry to see you go, these are the same people who might help you find a new job. The best business contacts are people from other companies who already respect you as a quality professional. They might just help you get your foot in the door with their company or another company.
Second, if you felt disappointed about how you were terminated, but your supervisor promised to give you a good reference, you should take him or her up on the offer. Of course, you should first weigh in your own mind how sincere you think the offer was before taking advantage of it. Sometimes a kind supervisor might also help you with job leads. Just because she no longer has a place for you in the company doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be happy to see you succeed elsewhere.
Third, think about the types of positions in which you could use the skills that you already have. These jobs are related to your former job, but not exactly the same. Talking with your former colleagues and brainstorming yourself about what your experience prepares you to do within your industry can open up some new opportunities that you hadn’t thought about.
Finally, if you are offered a position in another company using your connections, don’t be afraid to accept a lower salary. If you get your foot in the door, you may find yourself quickly moving up the pay scale once you have initially proven yourself. Don’t give up on your job search. You have established strong relationships in your previous job, and those connections don’t have to end because you no longer work there. Make the most of your people’s power. You might just find a way for it to work more quickly for you than applying for random jobs in other companies.