Do You Feel Depressed after Losing Your Executive Position?

By Sandy Prock M.Ed., JCTC, Co-Owner of www.ExpertExecutiveResume

If you feel depressed after losing your job, or if you are about to lose your job, or you are unhappy with your present position, welcome to “normal.” I do not mean to trivialize your feelings, far from it. Feeling depressed is one feeling we all struggle with from time to time and it is a difficult feeling. What I mean by welcome to “normal” is that what you are feeling is normal. Psychologists call this situational depression. Simply stated, if you experience loss, or even change of any sort, it can feel depressing.

Let’s look at feelings of depression and see how we can make sense of what is going on inside and outside of you.

Depression is sometimes a call to deeper reflection. Sometimes depression results when we feel overwhelmed. Job loss can feel overwhelming; however, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

When faced with loses or big decisions we can sometimes feel overwhelmed. Chuck Close, a famous artist, is a fabulous example of how we can learn to face obstacles and turn them into opportunities.

In a documentary, Chuck admitted that he had a learning disability. He said he felt crippling paralysis with decision-making. He felt overwhelmed when he faced any form of decision making, until he learned to break the problem down into small bits. He said he found he could solve any problem in small bits and that eventually they added up to solving the big problem.

An example was that as a portrait artist he broke down the face into small one inch squares, and painted each square - this way he did not have to worry about painting the whole face, or even an eye or a nose, just a small one inch square at a time. His portraits were huge. His paintings spanned 8 feet by 8 feet or larger.

When he became a paraplegic, he lost use of his hands. That did not even stop him; he learned to attach a paintbrush onto his arm and continued to paint one square at a time.

He said he turned his disability into creating with “difference.” His work is in museums and he is very successful.

As an executive or manager you are no stranger to decision making, however, facing the job search process sometimes does feel overwhelming, even for professionals like you.

We can learn from Chuck. Break down your job search process into bite size pieces.

• Feel your feelings, this will unpack your sense of loss and prepare you for your future.

• Review your job history and pull out your achievements. This will build your confidence in a concrete and visible way.

• Review your job history and take this opportunity to discover your favorite job duties and create a new job search plan focusing on your strengths. Turn your loss into an opportunity to better your personal life and work experience. The more you focus and work in your areas of strengths, the happier we are.

• When you are ready, create a professional and polished resume, cover letter and other documents. This is not a time to be shy. You have only seconds to market your strengths and grab the attention of your potential new employer. Make your documents work for you.

• Bone up on your interviewing skills. Know your story inside and out. If you master the process listed above, you are on your way to mastering the interviewing process and building your innate confidence.

• Study and research job search strategies.

• Use the Internet and do your research. Know details about your favorite companies. Even better, figure out how you can specifically help them achieve their goals and why you would be a perfect fit in their company culture.

I hope this gives you a taste for how to break down your job search into bite size pieces.

Bob and I wish you the best in landing an even better job, one that meets all your needs and where you can work in your areas of strengths and be your personal best.

Bob Prock is a national award winning resume writer. If you have any questions about a professional resume, cover letter or other job search documents, please call Bob at 1-864-292-5288 or email him at ExpertResume@yahoo.com. Check out our Executive Resume site for more samples of Executive and Managerial Resumes (www.ExpertExecutiveResume.com).

Sandy Prock M.Ed. (Masters in Education-Vocational Guidance and Counseling), JCTC (Job and Career Transition Coach), Co-Owner of www.ExpertResume.com and www.ExpertExecutiveResume.com