Much of our practice is meeting with people who are losing their position. Especially when the person is older than 45, the time it may take to find a new job can be excruciatingly long. I always advise people not to take a break but to throw themselves into the search. I also advise them to stick to their habits. Set the alarm; leave the house; go to a set place and treat the day at work. The new job is looking for a job. I recommend daily or at least every other day meetings. Buy people breakfast and coffees. Increasingly one gets work either from headhunters or from one’s own network. Forcing one’s self to network and look good for meetings keeps one focused and limits depressive procrastination.
This New York Times article, ‘How to deal with job search depression’, describes what I see each week. The toll of the transition is hard and not discussed. Let’s discuss it more as a culture, and help people through this grieving period.