Everything in life comes down to attitude and with the right attitude you can change the loss of a job into an opportunity to change yourself from a mediocre employee to an outstanding one while working at a job you enjoy.

According to the National Association for Counseling and Development, the average person experiences 5 to 12 job changes during their working lifetime. However, even though it is a common experience the person going through the stress of losing a job and having to find another one cannot escape the stress associated with being temporarily out of work. To make it easier experts tell us to simply take one day at a time and to follow a simple 12-step program.

Careerbuilder.com lists this twelve-step plan which includes the following:

1. Make sure that you file your unemployment claim as soon as feasibly possible. This can be filed at your nearest state unemployment office on the first day after you lose your job.
2. Take time to recover from the shock of losing your job and realize that it doesn’t matter if you have known about the loss for months or if it was sudden. No matter how long the length of time is you may still suffer from a range of emotions that range from guilt to anger to depression. You should realize that these feeling are not unique and are shared by everyone who is forced to endure this situation.
3. Draft a budget to ensure that you have the necessary funds to survive. To do this you will need to first determine how you spent your money prior to your unemployment and then decide how you can cut temporarily cut back to live within your out-of-work budget.
4. Once you are sure that you can survive sit down and prepare a dynamite resume that will knock the socks off the people interviewing you. Make sure that your resume is accurate and describes your qualifications and achievements including examples of measurable accomplishments that you have documented.
5. Draft a cover letter for your resume. While each letter must be customized for the job you are seeking you can prepare one that overall allows you to make quick changes to fit the bill for any position that you are seeking.
6. Next, network with the people you know. Here the old adage that it isn’t what you know so much as who you know that can help to land you the position you want. A network can include former co-workers, family, and/or friends.
7. Now you are ready, so buy a great interview outfit that will give you the confidence you need to face the person you hope will be your new boss. On top of making you feel better, the outfit can also help to make a good first impression. Remember, however, that while casual dress is often ok in the work environment itself it is never ok for the interview. For the interview you need to look all-business.
8. Before the interview practice your interview skills. A minimum of three hours should be spent preparing for each interview. This preparation should include learning facts about the company you are hoping to work for such as the number of employees they have, their products, and their long-term vision. You should also draft concise answers to the most commonly asked questions such as why you want to work for the said company. You may also want to ask your own questions such as what is the company looking for in their ideal candidate.
9. Keep a schedule just like you were at work. Your job during this time is preparing for interviews and interviewing so make yourself unavailable to family and friends during business hours.
10. While you are waiting for an interview to be offered enhance the skills you need to qualify for the job. This will boost your self-esteem as well as better prepare you to fill the needs of the company you are hoping to work for.
11. After 5 take time for fun. Get away from the stresses of looking for work and plan time to spend with your family and friends.
12. Lastly, stay connected. Just because you are no longer working for the same company you most likely have friends that you would like to stay in contact with. Don’t isolate yourself this will lead to depression and until you have established yourself in a new job you will need the contacts from the old job to feel like you have the necessary ties. 

Given, you will need to keep yourself in top shape if you want to be considered for an equal or better job especially if you had worked for a company long enough to have moved up the salary ladder. However, if you can hang in there you can be assured of the old adage that anyone who really wants to work will find work even if it is only temporary until they land the job that they really want.

I know this is true after watching my daughter when she lost a job to down-sizing. She was a single mother and refused to accept any help. As a result, she started work at a temp agency while she was still receiving severance pay from her old employer. She actually made more during the two-weeks she was working this way than she did when she was working for her former employer. Thankfully, her job ethic provided her with a regular full-time job opportunity within the first month of her lay off and she ended up making more money than she had in her previous position. Given that, one must realize that every cloud can have a silver lining if you are willing to look for it and yes, work for it.

Tags: unemployment, unemployment insurance, job opportunity, job interviews, interviewing, national association for counseling and development, nacd, careerbuilder.com