You can’t hide from the facts. Yes, you’ve lost your job, but you didn’t
lose your identity. You might feel the need to hold back on information,
but being open, and even vulnerable, isn’t a bad trait when people
are trying to help. If you have kids, the age of the children will dictate
how much filtering is needed in your messaging to them. My kids were
twelve, fourteen, and sixteen years old when I had to tell them about the
job loss. My wife and I were straightforward and simple with our approach.
I said that I lost my job due to budget cuts, but had the utmost
confidence that I would land a job as soon as I could. I emphasized that
my job was to find a job and that each day was a work day.
We found that that matter of fact approach reduced the burden that
children sometimes feel they have to carry. Holding back because of embarrassment
or other reasons will only cause more mental anguish as you
try to bottle up. Make the effort to be more open with the information.
You’ll find a very large population of people who have been through it,
who know someone who has gone through it, or are simply there to help.
The support comes when people start to know your story.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby