3 Ways Not to Sell Yourself Short

When you are “downsized” from your job, it is easy to begin to doubt your value in the workplace. To lose your job is a terrible blow to anyone’s self esteem and when it happens to you it is even worse. Someone once said, “When your neighbor loses his job, it seems that the country is in a recession. When you lose your job it seems like the country is in a depression.” That is just it. When you lose your job it can be disastrous. You worry about you bills, your future, your family’s future and not to mention your car is starting to make that funny noise. As you ponder your predicament even further, you begin to wonder what your friends, family and neighbors all think about you being unemployed? All of this doesn’t help your quest to find a new career.

Whoever said life was a bowl of cherries forgot about all the pits that come with it. With all of this negative thought energy spinning around in your head, it is easy to become susceptible to low self esteem. With low self esteem comes the perception that you have a lower value in the changing market place. This does not help you find an administrative job.

If you are going to get back into the job market at the same or an even higher income you generated before, you must change your thinking. Since your mindset will determine your thought patterns, and the ultimate actions you take to continue your career, it is imperative you take charge and not sell yourself short. Here are three ways to prevent this from happening to you.

First, realize that what has happened to you has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen to hundreds of thousands of people in this country. It just so happens your number came up and you were chosen by that “fickle finger of fate” to be given the opportunity to look for new employment. Recognize that this is only one of the many bumps in the road we will all experience as we go through life. And that reminds me, stop using the word “unemployed” to describe your situation and start using the words “between careers.”

Next, do an inventory of all your strengths and weaknesses. Begin to think about pursuing your new career based on your abilities and competencies. Let them be a guide to the kind of work you will pursue. After identifying your weaknesses, make up your mind to seek out the people, the training and the books to help shore up your weaknesses and move in the direction of self improvement.

Finally, look for friends you can confide in, who will help you reinforce your belief in yourself. Remember, you already have what it takes. You just have to develop it, and make it a lifetime mission to create the career that will help you grow as a professional and as a human being.

Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author.