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How to Rebuild Your Confidence After Job Loss

That moment your boss calls you in his office and hands you the termination letter can be heartbreaking, and painful. If the termination was due to poor performance, you feel guilty, but the pain is still the same even when the company had to let you go because it's downsizing.  What follows is a series of events and thoughts that significantly lower your self-esteem and confidence. As the trend continues, it gets more challenging to dress up and step out of the house. Before your life becomes a mess or plunges into financial difficulties, take back the control.

For a start, buy yourself a nice outfit, if you love jewelry, order some bold and attractive pieces such as round cut diamonds and take yourself to dinner. The new clothes and jewelry will boost your confidence which will lift your spirit. 

Accept the Loss

Maybe you could have put in more effort, but it's too late. There is nothing you can do to reclaim the job, but you can do a lot to make the present better and use the experience as a lesson. Once you are over the guilt trip, your mind clears up, and you can focus on building your career or looking for another job.

Understand Why It Happened

It doesn't mean that you are lazy, but probably, you need to work on yourself to land and keep a job in the future. Maybe you are going through a rough patch in life, such as dealing with a sick loved one, separation from a loved one, death, or addiction. Some problems such as addiction are hard to admit, but if you want to build a more meaningful life, accept and get help. As you look at the issues that led to the termination, you may even realize you weren't cut for that job, or you shouldn't be working at the moment but concentrating on studies or solving personal issues.

Take Time to Recover

Don't start job hunting immediately but take some weeks off, reflect on your life and take the necessary action. Use this time to attend to any issues in your life and talk to a professional if need be. You can also build meaningful relationships during the break. Probably what you need is some time off to relax and reflect on your life. A lack of motivation and burnout can also lead to poor job performance. However, don't just sleep and feel sorry for yourself but impact those around you or the community. For instance, you can start a workout routine, volunteer at a local facility, or help some elderly couples in your neighborhood run errands.

When you feel you are ready, start job hunting. Don't feel bad if you don't land a great job at the start but work hard to grow your skills. You will soon get a promising opportunity but remember to utilize the lessons from the termination to keep the job or move on to better positions. Most importantly, cultivate a work-life balance.