Tag Archives: resiliency

Career Support Groups Help with Job Loss

Searching for a new job can be a lonely experience.  When you leave your old job (either voluntarily or involuntarily) you experience some very real losses.  We often think of the financial loss but there are other losses which are much more subtle but are equally hard to adjust to.  These include the loss of a daily routine; a sense of belonging; a feeling of purpose and the loss of regular contact with professional colleagues.  It can be a difficult adjustment.  And it’s easy to become isolated especially with the current popularity of job searching primarily on the Internet.

Start a Career Support Group

Here’s an idea . . . seek out a career support group.  It can either be one offered through an employment organization or a community group.  Or even better, start your own with other people who are in an active job search.  Not sure where to meet others like you?  Just start asking around especially if you involved with an employment group – we have ProNet for unemployed professionals in Northern Nevada – and invite a couple of other folks to join you for coffee once a week.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how helpful a group like this is especially in helping to reduce the isolation almost everyone feels in today’s new world of high-tech job searching methods.  We need the human touch – the chance to talk and support each other.  And people know people know people.  Remember 80% of professional jobs are never publicly advertised.  They are filled by personal contacts and referrals.  So reach out to others – you help them and they help you!

Posted in Career Tips & Strategies, Navigating Change | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Fear! Rattlesnakes & Coyotes

It’s early on a Saturday morning and the sun is just raising over the Virginia foothills here in SW Reno, Nevada.  It’s a perfect time for coyotes to hunt and for the rattlesnakes to come out from under the rocks.  It’s also my favorite time to get the dogs out (Snowball the elderly golden retriever & Dooley the Westie with attitude).  But as we set off, I’m a bit fearful of what we may encounter on the trail ahead – especially the coyotes. 

Turning Back or Pressing On

It’s tempting to cut the walk short and just head over to Starbucks.  But then I do a reality check and ask myself “Have I ever seen a coyote on this trail?” The answer is “No”.  “Have I ever encountered a rattlesnake – ever?” Again the answer is “No”.  And the internal conversation continues back and forth . . . “So what are you afraid of? Well, I’ve read about coyotes snatching small dogs. True, but the chances of that happening are probably slim to none on this Saturday morning.”  It’s a reality check as the sun peaks up over the hills that actually the dogs are just fine happily peeing on every piece of sagebrush as they trot up the dirt trail.  As for me, I remind myself that I will handle anything that happens – and it could – but it  probably won’t.  

Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

Our fears can keep us from so many pleasures if we let them.  Yes, things happen but we are stronger than we think.  It’s the “What If?” that can hold us back – that can convince us so quickly that we really shouldn’t do this or that because “What If?”.  I would challenge all of us to ask ourselves “But what will I be missing if I let fear stop me?”  Sometimes the risk is more than what we want to take but lots of times we fear something that hasn’t even happened and in reality will likely not happen at all.  So go on ahead . . . take the dogs out early morning and enjoy that sunrise which you would be missing if you let those fears get in your way.

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Layoffs: The Stress of Waiting

Over the last few days, I’ve talked to several people waiting to hear about possible layoffs.  It’s the end of the fiscal year and either they will be laid off  July 1st or not.  The waiting is the hardest.  Even for the most resilient and optimistic people this suspenseful time of not knowing is very difficult.

Employment changes are always challenging.  The “What Ifs” take over and you can find yourself imagining and worrying about all kinds of scenarios.  “What if I can’t find another job?”  “What if I have to move?”  “What if I can’t pay my mortgage?”  These may be very realistic concerns and the worry can quickly escalate especially in the middle of the night.

Taking Control of the Uncontrollable

The stress of the unknown is really all about control.  When you or your spouse is facing a layoff it’s easy to feel that you have little control over your future.  And that may be true as it relates to your paid employment.  But what about the rest of your life?  You (and only you) have control over that and once you take back that control there is a ripple effect on your paid work as well.  Here are three steps to get you started.

First, what isn’t changing in your life? List out the  main areas of your life (health, family &, friends, employment, hobbies, community etc.) that you spend time and energy.  I like to use the image of the 5 Olympic Circles because they connect creating synergy between the circles. And it keeps it simple with the 5 main areas of my “whole” life.

Second, have a realistic talk with yourself.  Are these other areas really changing significantly? Sometimes yes, but many times they are staying relatively the same.  Life goes on with many of the same routines and traditions – that’s actually quite reassuring.

Third, make a Plan B and a Plan C.  Have backup plans if you are laid off.  Know your options. Get an accurate picture of your financial situation.  You may be pleasantly surprised that it’s better than you had imagined.

Taking Control is Empowering

This is a new life chapter which you can design for yourself.  In my work as a career coach, I’m seeing people take this opportunity to create new career paths that they previously never thought possible.  Yes, a forced change such as a layoff is unsettling and disruptive.  But remember, that in the midst of chaos is the opportunity for incredible growth and possibilities.  It’s exciting and the sense of taking back control is incredibly empowering.

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Just Keep Pedaling: Rain, Hail & Cold

Just keep pedaling . . . wise words I repeated to myself as the rain, hail and cold beat down on my husband, Wally, and me as we rode our racing tandem bicycle in a 60 mile race in Northern California this past weekend.  With 250 other bicycles (including many other racing tandems) we were riding in the beautiful ranching community of Indian Valley close to Lake Almanor. 

“Who’s idea was this anyway?!”  Well, I guess in all honesty it was mine.  It sounded good on paper and we had planned for months to do this . . . but who would have known that we’d have rain, sleet & snow on Memorial Day weekend.  But there we were with nothing to do but keep on pedaling.  

What Makes for Success

So as the miles swept by under my pedals (we average about 16 miles an hour) I got to thinking about what makes for success on a challenge such as this.  I came up with five ideas:

  • Set the vision of finishing (with glass of wine & hot bath)
  • Concentrate on the rhythm (I close my eyes but Wally keeps his eyes open)
  • Be in the moment (listen to the sounds around me & relax in the movement of the tandem)
  • Stay in sync with the cues Wally is giving me for the steep uphills & fast downhills
  • Trust in the bike, the front rider (has to be a strong rider) and my own ability

And we were done . . . 5 hours later with frozen feet and “screaming” quads we pedaled into Greenville High School to check in and say thank you to the volunteers who fed and encouraged us all along the way.  And it was more fun to send the IPhone pictures to those college kids who think Mom & Dad are too old to barely move.  A great adventure and some wonderful reminders that it really is well worth it to just “keep pedaling”.

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Can’t Quit Now – Cross Country Skiing

It was a gorgeous Sunday – the blue skies and the deep snow (over 65′) of the Sierra Nevada Mountains were awesome.  A small band of us (husband Wally & friend Cary) were out to do one last long trek to Point Mariah at the Royal Gorge ski area on the Donner Summit.  It sounded pretty easy – and we had been working up to it – but it turned out to be a long, long way out to the farthest point which overlooks a magnificent gorge – feels like you’re standing on top of the Grand Canyon.

Mindset Makes the Difference

But we’re cheerful, healthy and young so we just kept going and going and going.  After all, you can’t quit.  You’re way out in the middle of nowhere – no place to go but back to where you started.  It reminded me of my old days of running half marathons – finishing is all about your mindset.  There is definitely a trick to relaxing your mind, focusing on the moment and just pressing on.  We really have amazing strength and persistence when we put our mind to it.  And having others with you that also don’t quit is essential.  So we just kept going . . .

”Wally Walks” Go On & On

By the end of the day, we had skied over 12 miles up and down hills and through beautiful forests.   It took us almost six hours since we were on classic skies (slower that skate skies).  As we came up that last long hill, the ski patrol were already taking down the signs and closing up the lodge.  We felt good – we were tired, hot and hungry but we made it.  And we were even able to send the ski patrol back out to check on two young college boys who were still out at the point on their rental skies. 

Over a glass of wine and a wonderful dinner in Truckee we toasted another fun story and memory.  We call these “Wally Walks” which means you never quite know where you’re going, how far it is or when you’ll be back.  Wally is always optimistic (and does carry a map) but never quits.  (He’s an ‘ole retired marine pilot.) This was a challenge but I learned again that I actually can do a lot more than sometimes I give myself credit for – and I bet that goes for many of you too.  So challenge yourself and enjoy your successes!

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