New York Magazine has an excellent feature this week profiling a number of New Yorkers who have lost their jobs in the past few months. The profiles range from a 40-year-old IT director at a financial services firm, to an actress who’s found that commercial work has dried up, to Citigroup’s head of diversity (I guess lofty ideas like a diverse work force go by the wayside when you’re a bank on federal welfare) to an online editor at the New York Sun, which set on Sept. 30.
The subjects talk a lot about the loss of self-esteem and motivation that comes with losing your job. One subject says, “Recruiters call about new positions, but it’s always the same old story. They say you are a great fit, and then you don’t hear from them for days. Nothing pans out. I feel helpless, like a failure. It’s your manhood, you know? I’m the only provider at home.” From another: “My girlfriend goes to job one and job two every day; if only I had so much to pack into a day. I’ll contemplate shaving and getting dressed to go scope out a host position at a bistro, but then I’ll really like that I still have my plaid boxers on and I’ll tell myself I could always go tomorrow.” And another: “My family likes to joke about ‘my vacation.’ ‘How’s the vacation going?’ Not really funny. I fell asleep for 30 minutes the other day and wished it could be like some Rip van Winkle thing, except instead of waking up 30 years later, I’d wake up and have a new job.”
The outlook isn’t bleak for all of them. Some are looking forward to reinventing themselves. Others are glad to be out of a job they really didn’t like anyway.
Something they (and you) might want to take a look at is an organization I’m part of called The Five O’Clock Club, which provides coaching for job seekers (both those who have lost their jobs and others who are looking for new jobs). There’s a real science to job-seeking and most people don’t have a clue how to approach it properly. Knowing the right way can mean the difference between a three-month search or one lasting four or five times as long. The Club offers group and one-on-one coaching and has a system that is very specific, time-tested–and it works. I’d be happy to tell you more. Feel free to get in touch with me at mitch(at)e2ecoaching.com.
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