You may recall last month’s Leadership Q&A. Or…you may not…afterall it came out March 10…right before our world changed. At any rate, here is a link to Should I Stay or Should I Go. 

Obviously a lot has changed in the month since. Many of you may have had the choice made for you through a reduction in force (RIF), layoff or furlough. (Know the differences!) You may now be among the 100’s of thousands who have lost their jobs. You may be asking yourself or others, “Now What?” 

My answer to last month’s question is right where I recommend starting to answer this month’s question: Reflection! 

Step One: Reflection

One of the exercises I recommend to anyone who is in transition is to make a Top Ten List (borrowed from Letterman, but not nearly as funny). Actually, I recommend three top ten lists:

• Top Ten things you would use to describe the perfect job
• Top Ten things you would use to describe the perfect boss
• Top Ten things you would use to describe the perfect company

Then force rank each list 1 to 10 (no ties). 

Step Two: Journal

If you follow my writing, you know I am a big fan of keeping a journal. There are many benefits to writing in a journal. In his post “10 Surprising Benefits You’ll Get From Keeping a Journal” on Huffington Post, contributor Thai Nguyen describes some of the benefits you will get from journaling. At least three (and probably all ten) will help you in your transition: achieving goals (your goal is to probably find a new job); healing (you may not be physically injured or ill, but you HAVE suffered a trauma); self-confidence (you may be questioning yourself and your skills right now). 

I’d like to add a couple more benefits to the list. Keeping a journal can help you process what has just happened. You want to work through those emotions before you start to network for your next position, and certainly before you go on your first interview. You need to make sense of what has just happened. Writing it down gives you the ability to reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and plans. You can refer back to your writing to see how your thoughts, feelings and plans have evolved over time. 

The other benefit I’d like to point out, is it helps to keep you organized. You will be busy in the days and weeks to come. It will be easy to forget some things and “misremember” others. Having a record of your daily thoughts and activities will help you to keep it all straight. 

My wish and my promise

I wish you success on our journey to your next opportunity. My wish is that you find peace among the chaos, clarity among the confusion, and confidence among the doubt! 

My promise is if there is anything I can do to help along the way…ask! Send me an email, connect with me on LinkedIn, let me know how I can help.