Keeping Your Spirits Up: Dealing With Disappointment and Depression in the Job Search

Losing your job is a really difficult thing to go through. Lay offs especially are extremely difficult to get through. Here is an article from the South Carolina Employment Security Comission offices on Keeping your Spirits up, boosting confidence and avoiding depression!

List your positives
Make a list of your positive qualities and your successes. This list is always easier to make when you are feeling good about yourself. Perhaps you can enlist the assistance of a close friend or caring relative.

This will not only help boost your confidence but help prepare you for interview questions and being able to present your best attributes to a potential employer.

Replay your positives
Once you've made this list, replay the positives in your mind frequently. Associate the replay with an activity you do often. Use the list before performing difficult tasks and review the list when you are feeling down or to give you energy before you attempt some difficult task.

Recall successes
Take time everyday to recall something you've accomplished.

Know your strengths and weaknesses.
What are you good at? What skills do you have? Do you need to learn new skills? Everyone has limitations, what are yours? Are there certain job duties that are just not right for you and that you might want to avoid? Balance your limitations against your strong skills so that you don't let the negatives eat at your self esteem. Incorporate knowledge into your planning.

Knowing your strengths and finding balance between them and your weaknesses will help you find something that will challenge yourself but also help you succeed and be flexible in your job search.

Picture success
Practice visualizing positive results or outcomes and view them in your mind before the event. Play out the scene in your imagination and picture yourself in whatever you're about to attempt.

Build Success
Make a "to do" list. Include small, achievable tasks. Divide the tasks on your list and make a list for every day so you have successes daily.

This sounds a little childish when I first read it but really making a to-do list will help you set concrete goals and actually accomplish things. Especially in a job search setting a goal to research your top companies or follow up on several applications will really help you prioritize and organize your job search. If you're [weird] like me, there's no better feeling than ending the day and having a completely crossed off to do list!

Surround yourself with positive people.
Socialize with family and friends who are supportive. You want to be around people who will "pick you up" not "knock you down." You know who your fans are. Try to find time to be around them. It can really make you feel good.

They are also your first step to networking. Talk to them about ideas or people they know that you haven't thought of.

Volunteer.
Give something of yourself to others through volunteer work. It will help you feel like you are doing something worthwhile and may actually give you new skills.

Of course regular visits to your S.C. Workforce Center can also do wonders for your confidence. We'll do everything we can to help market your abilities.

It can be hard to avoid feeling depressed or low on self-esteem when you're out of work and have been looking awhile. But keep searching and even use this time to find out what makes you happy and enjoy the things you wouldn't be able to do if you were working full-time.

Thanks to the South Carolina Employment Security Commission for those tips on keeping a positive attitude. You can find The Employment Guide at your local ESC every week. Also, here's some other great tips for dealing with job loss specifically in a recession from Robert Scoble and Penelope Trunk.

- Rosie Reilman

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